Cowgirls hold off Rams

Cowgirls-Rams boxscore

By Wyoming Sports.org

FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Nothing comes easy for a young team and that was certainly the case for the Wyoming Cowgirls Tuesday at they opened Mountain West Conference play.

Wyoming (10-3) built a 16-point lead in the first half and led by 11 at halftime, but had to hold on for all it had in the final seconds, edging Colorado State 64-61 at Moby Arena.

With the Cowgirls opening league play with three of their first four games on the road, Wyoming coach Joe Legerski will take the win any way he can.

“We didn’t make all the plays down the stretch, but made enough of them to come up with a victory,” Legerski said. “Aubrey (Vandiver), Hillary (Carlson) and Emma (Langford) did a great job of carrying this team to a victory.”

Vandiver, who hit a big 3-pointer late in the game, finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds for her seventh straight double-double of the season. Langford, with 14 points in the first half, added 15 and Carlson, despite fouling out with over seven minutes left in the game, added 14.

CSU (8-6) was led by Chantilla van Grinsven, who recorded 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Legerski couldn’t have asked for a better first half, as the Cowgirls shot over 50 percent from the field and were in control for much of the way.

The Rams, however, took advantage of their rebounding edge and used second-chance points to chip away in the game, pulling within one in the final seconds.

The Cowgirls struggled at the free-throw line and missed five in the final minute, but the three that they made were enough to get them over the hump. The Rams missed a last-second 3-pointer that would have tied the game.

The Cowgirls will continue play on the road, as they take on the San Diego State Aztecs Saturday at 3 p.m.