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.