Thursday, December 31, 2009

Boise State holds off Cowgirls

BOISE, Idaho -- The Wyoming cowgirls fell behind too many times to overcome, as Boise State prevailed 73-67 on Thursday.

The Broncos jumped out to double-digit in the second half, only yo see the Cowgirls rally. But each time Wyoming came back, Boise State had an answer.

The game was the final non-conference contest before the Cowgirls (9-3) open Mountain West Conference play next week. Boise State moved to 11-3 with the win.

“We made some key mistakes against a very good Boise State team tonight,” UW head coach Joe Legerski said. “We gave up too many offensive rebounds and you can survive a night like that when you are doing other things well, but we struggled in some areas. We also didn’t shoot that well from the free throw line, so it really compounds the problem. When you add those things up it gives your opponent too many advantages. It’s always difficult to lose but I saw a lot of progress from this group. We had our chances down the stretch unfortunately we didn’t have a couple of shots go our way.”

Wyoming was led by Aubrey Vandiver, who recorded a career-high 29 points, along with 11 rebounds. It’s her eighth double-double of the season. She was followed by Hillary Carlson with 11 points and five boards. The Cowgirls shot 24-of-60 (.400) from the field and 10-of-20 (.500) from the free throw line.

“Aubrey was excellent tonight with 29 points and 11 rebounds," Legerski said. "She single handily kept us in the game and you just keep asking more of her. We talked about going to the bench a little bit more and trying to keep us fresh, but it’s difficult to keep a player like her off the floor. We just need to have other players be able to step up and help her out.”

Boise State was led by Tasha Harris with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Jessica Van Hoogen added 15 points. They shot 25-of-65 (.385) from the field and out-rebounded the Cowgirls 51-34.

Wyoming played well early, leading 27-20, before the Broncs went on a 14-0 run and led 43-36 at halftime.

Boise State came out and scored six of the first seven points and led by as much as 15 before the Cowgirls would rally.

Vandiver would hit a basket to end an almost five minute scoring drought, which would start an 11-2 run to pull them to within six, 57-51 with just over nine minutes left in the game. Boise State would respond with two 3-point field goals to give them a 12-point advantage and the Broncs would never look back.

The Cowgirls open MWC play Tuesday in Fort Collins against Colorado State. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Ducks smother Cowgirls early for win

by Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

The Wyoming Cowgirls dug themselves a hole that they couldn't get out of, falling to a talented Oregon team on Sunday, 78-66 in the Arena-Auditorium.

The Ducks (9-2) bothered the Cowgirls with a smothering full-court press and scored the game's first 11 points, leading by as much as 22 in the first half. Oregon forced 26 Wyoming turnovers in the game, including 21 in the first half.

The first 10 minutes told the story of the game.

"With today's game, I was very pleased with the effort that we gave," Wyoming coach Joe Legerski said. "To dig yourself such a big hole to begin with, we're down 20-24 points early. It jut became an issue for us to have to fight from that far back."

Oregon led 45-28 at halftime and was back up by 21 in the second half. The Cowgirls battled back to make it a nine-point game with 11 minutes left, only to see the Ducks answer with a 10-0 run for some breathing room.

"It's very difficult in practice to try to simulate the speed of the game and what is going to happen with the pressure," Legerski said. "I thought we got better as the game when along, but the game was determined in the first eight minutes."

Wyoming junior Aubrey Vandiver, who led the Cowgirls with 19 points and 10 rebounds, said the start was obviously disappointing for the team.

"We just didn't come out prepared and their pressure got us with so many turnovers," Vandiver said. "It was a real disappointing first half."

It was a matter of the Cowgirls coming back and doing what they do well, and at times, they were able to do that in the second half. While not into moral victories, they felt better about things after making a game of it in the second half.

"If we wouldn't have gotten ourselves in the hole at the very beginning, we would have been right in there or we could have even come out with the win," Wyoming sophomore guard Kristen Scheffler said. "It's kind of a learning experience for us, to know that we can lay at that level. We just have to calm down and play like we know how."

Even when the Ducks weren't forcing turnovers with their press, they were taking valuable time off the clock for Wyoming to set up its offense.

"We're a very patient team, waiting for the best shot possible, and when you only have about 10 seconds left, you're probably not going to get the best shot and that's what happened," Vandiver said.

Hillary Carlson and Scheffler finished with 15 points each for the Cowgirls and Emma Langford added 12 points. Carlson also had 13 rebounds for UW.

With their press, the Ducks were also able to play more physical than the Cowgirls. Once Wyoming started to push back a little, they were also able to get back in the game.

"We're going to see teams that are going to push us like that, so we definitely can learn from this and be a better team from it," Carlson said.

Micaela Cocks led Oregon with 17 points. Taylor Lilley and Nia Jackson scored 14 points each for the Ducks, followed by Amanda Johnson 10.

"We played exceptionally well in the first half ... the only thing that you worry about is, 'Can we do it for 40 minutes?" Oregon coach Paul Westhead said. "They shot the ball much better in the second half, which we knew they were going to do. We wanted to keep them in control and not let them get too hot."

The Cowgirls will return to action on Dec. 31 at Boise State.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Cowgirls roll past Weber State


Richard Anderson photo
Wyoming's Aubrey Vandiver drives past Weber State's Ali Thorderson Friday night in the Arena-Auditorium.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

The ball just fell into Aubrey Vandiver’s hands, so she says. The ball went in the basket for the Cowgirls and not for the Wildcats, which was obvious to the naked eye.

It was all about focus for Wyoming on Friday night, as the Cowgirls ran past Weber State 78-40 in the Arena-Auditorium.

Vandiver, looking as if last year’s redshirt year was well, well behind her, scored 16 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds, as the Cowgirls shot 51 percent from the field, including a sizzling 9 of 16 behind the 3-point arc.

Defensively, Wyoming had 12 blocked shots and 10 steals, holding Weber State to a cool 27 percent from the field.

Yeah, that’s paying attention to the task at hand, all right.

“We’ve been really focused and have been training really hard for this,” said Wyoming junior post Jade Kennedy, who had a pretty decent game herself, with 12 points, five rebounds, five assists, four blocked shots and three steals.

The Cowgirls (9-1) spotted Weber State the first two points of the game, then scored 16 unanswered and led comfortably the rest of the way.

“Tonight we talked about coming out with a focus, an energy, because we knew that Weber State would have that energy to play hard,” Wyoming coach Joe Legerski said. “We got off to a great start offensively and then Weber State upped the intensity and we matched it.”

Kristen Scheffler and Kennedy both scored 12 points for Wyoming, with Hillary Carlson adding 11 points. Six Cowgirls scored at least nine points, as they shot 51 percent from the field, hitting 9 of 16 3-pointers.

Counting last Saturday’s 102-54 win over Dakota State, Wyoming also has 50 assists on 67 field goals made.

“We got into our rhythm and motion and were comfortable shooting, and we’re you’re relaxed shooting, the shots go in more often than not,” Vandiver said.

And if the ball didn’t go into the basket, Vandiver was there, with 12 defensive boards and five offensive rebounds.

“The ball was coming to me,” she said with a smile. “I know on a couple of them my teammates were boxing out so good, that it was just easy to go up and grab the ball.”

Then again, Vandiver’s aggressive play was heated a bit by Weber State grabbing one away from the Laramie junior.

You might say that payback was in store the rest of the way.

“Weber State is pretty aggressive and I know one time they ripped the ball away from me and I sort of used that as motivation,” Vandiver said. “But I know my teammates helped me out a lot, they boxed out. When they do that, it is easy to just let the ball come to you.”

Caitlin Anderson led Weber State (6-6) with 10 points. The Wildcats struggled offensively, shooting just 27 percent from the field, hitting 1 of 13 3-point attempts. Wyoming shut down the Wildcats with two major scoring droughts -- seven minutes in the first half and five minutes in the second half, outscoring Weber State 33-0 in those two runs.

“If we can get our defense going and hold them down -- I think we got a couple of decent steals that led to layups -- it allows us to get into our offense and gets us going more, I guess,” Vandiver said.

The Cowgirls return to action Sunday as part of a men’s-women’s doubleheader, as they host Oregon at 2 p.m. The Cowboys follow by hosting South Dakota at 5:30 p.m.
 

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Cowgirls roll past Dakota State

by Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

CASPER -- Finals week and very little practice time didn't seem to slow down the Wyoming Cowgirls Saturday in the annual Wyoming Shootout at the Casper Events Center.

Wyoming coach Joe Legerski couldn't have scripted the game much better, as the Cowgirls rolled to an 102-54 win over NAIA Dakota State.

The stat sheet said it all: 51 percent shooting from the field, 31 assists, five turnovers. Not bad for a team that practiced about as much all week than it normally does in one day.

"We had about three and one-half hours of practice this week because of finals," Legerski said. "Usually, we get in three and one-hours a day. You take a look at how much time we gave away, I thought we came out focused. We moved the basketball; we found Hillary inside and Hillary had 26 points. When they start collapsing on Hillary, we had an answer from the perimeter."

The Cowgirls (8-1) overcame a slow start to dominate the Trojans, an NAIA team that played the game as an exhibition.

Lashonda Martin scored 10 points for the Trojans (4-5).

Carlson was 11 of 16 from the field and also grabbed nine bounds before being replaced midway through the second half.

"We hadn't played in about a week and had just been concentrating on finals," Carlson said. "We had a lot of motivation and we really came out and played well."

Of the 31 assists, 16 came from the point guard position. Starter Randy Richardson had 10 assists and backup Bec Campigli added six.

"It was 31 assists on 39 field goals and that is even more important," Legerski said. "We talked about keeping the ball off of the floor early. We kept it on the floor too much early and we changed up offensively of what we wanted to do and it really seemed to keep the ball off of the floor and cleared the lanes for everyone."

Sophomore Kristen Scheffler scored 21 points, followed by sophomore Emma Langford with 16 and junior Aubrey Vandiver with 13. The Cowgirls led 48-30 at halftime and pulled away behind strong outside shooting. Wyoming opened the second half by hitting its first four 3-pointers and finished the game connecting on 14 of 31 attempts.

"We did a really good job of sharing the ball," Carlson said.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Washington State hands Cowgirls first loss

UW-WSU boxscore

PULLMAN, Wash. -- There was no comeback in store on Saturday for the Wyoming Cowgirls, as Washington state built an early lead and never looked back, stopping the Cowgirls 63-50.

The loss was the first of the season, dropping Wyoming to 7-1 on the year. Washington State moved to 3-4.

“I thought we didn’t make very many shots in the first half,” said UW head coach Joe Legerski. “We came out shot 20 percent from the field and went 0-7 from beyond the arc. We had some good looks at the basket, but the ball just didn’t go down. Washington State came out and applied some pressure that we haven’t seen all year, which you can’t simulate in practice. It makes you rush a little when you don’t need to.

" In the second half, we played with a little more composure and didn’t have to rush every shot. We came out and changed up a bit and cut the lead to seven. You have to give Washington State credit they would have an answer on every score which didn’t allow us to gain any ground on the lead. "

Three Cowgirls finished the day in double-figures, led by junior Aubrey Vandiver, who had her fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds. She was followed by Emma Langford with 10 points and nine rebounds, while Randi Richardson added 10 points and four steals. Wyoming shot 18-of-55 (.327) from the field and were out-rebounded 43-39.

“Aubrey really came out to compete tonight," Legerski said. "She led us in scoring and rebounding, and not only that she was on the floor for 39 minutes. The game tonight was extremely tight. You had to pull down every rebound and make every shot.”

Washington State was led by Jazmine Perkins with a game-high 17 points and six rebounds, while April Cook added 16 points. The Cougars shot 20-of-61 (.328) from the field and 15-of-19 (.789) from the charity stripe.

Wyoming will host the Dakota State Trojans on Saturday at the BlueCross BlueShield of Wyoming Shootout in Casper. The game is set to tip off at 1 p.m.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Cowgirls still unbeten with win over Idaho

Moscow, Idaho — The Wyoming Cowgirl basketball team (7-0 overall) had to overcome a five point halftime deficit to earn a 61-55 victory over the Idaho Vandals (1-7 overall), on Thursday night in Moscow.

“I thought this was a very difficult game tonight,” said head coach Joe Legerski. “Idaho did a tremendous job and ran a matching zone with our offense and we had to make a change to our motion to get things moving in our offense. It seemed like every time we were trying to get back into it, we would miss a shot, not come up with a rebound, and they would make plays. You have to give Idaho a great deal of credit for their effort tonight just for the way they played and competed. We talked about coming out and winning the second half, which is always important whether you’re up or down going into halftime. We showed great composure in the final four to five minutes of the game, and Jade Kennedy hit a huge shot to tie it.

Three Cowgirls finished the night in double-figures led by junior Hillary Carlson. She recorded a game high 20 points, while shooting 7-12 (.583) from the field and 6-8 (.750) from the free throw line. Emma Langford followed with 14 points and six boards, while Jade Kennedy added ten points, four rebounds and four assists. Aubrey Vandiver finished with a team high 12 rebounds and nine points. As a team, Wyoming shot 20-55 (.364) from the field and 13-16 (.813) from the charity stripe.

“Hillary Carlson played about seven minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. We kept going to her in the second half and she comes out of the game with 20 points. She worked extremely hard at the post and you can see the confidence growing in her game. We need her to get the basketball and when she does she makes good decisions.”

Idaho was led by Shaena Kuehu with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Kanisha Bello had 13 points and Rachele Kloke added 11. The Vandals also shot 20-55 (.364) from the field and out rebounded the Cowgirls 44-33.

It was very low scoring to begin the game as the two teams were tied up at 3-3 through the first media timeout. Hillary Carlson hit a basket to end the scoring drought for the Cowgirls to put them up 5-3, but the Vandals answered with two three-point field goals to regain the lead 9-5. Wyoming responded with a 7-0 run to take a 12-9 lead, unfortunately Idaho scored the next nine straight to take a six point advantage, 18-12. After a Cowgirl three-point field goal, the Vandals scored another seven unanswered to extend the lead to double-figures 25-15. Wyoming closed the gap by scoring the last five points of the half but still headed into the lockerroom down 25-20.

The Cowgirls picked up where they left off from by scoring the first six points to begin the second half to take a one point lead, 26-25. Idaho responded quickly with a 7-0 run to regain the lead, 32-26. Wyoming chipped away at the lead by scoring 10 of 14 to pull even at 36 all, but again the Vandals came back with a 10-2 run to make it an eight point lead, 46-38. The Cowgirls continued to battle and scored six straight to pull within two, 46-44, with 5:40 left in the game. Wyoming would eventually tie it up at 49, but a basket the Vandals put them back up 51-49. Hillary Carlson would hit one of two free throws to make it a one point game, 51-50. Idaho continued to have an answer as they hit another shot to make it 53-50, but Jade Kennedy hit a three-point field goal to tie it up at 1:50 left on the clock. Four straight points by Hillary Carlson made it a two possession game, 57-53. They would allow the Vandals to just score one more field goal as they pulled out the 61-55 victory.

Wyoming will close out the weekend against the Washington State Cougars, on Saturday, Dec. 5. The game is set to tip at 3:00 p.m. MT.