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.