Wilson shows glimpses of the future; Cowgirls return to action at UNLV

“I have been working hard in practice, especially in the last couple of weeks. Coach has said that my time is coming, so when I get into a game, I need to do my best." -- Cowgirl freshman Sara Wilson

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By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

For Wyoming true freshman Sara Wilson, Saturday was either a breakout game or just one of those games.

Regardless, head coach Joe Legerski, the Cowgirls and UW fans don’t really care. It was a career game, nonetheless.

Wilson scored a career-high 17 points on 5 of 6 shooting from beyond the 3-point line as the Cowgirls rolled past Air Force 98-37.

For the newcomer from Grant, Neb., Saturday was a game she won’t soon forget. Going into the contest, Wilson had played just six games, scoring 12 points on 3 of 11 shooting, including 2 of 9 3-pointers. She had played one total minute in Mountain West Conference play.

Until Saturday, that is, as the blowout allowed Legerski to play clear his bench in the first half.

“I have been working hard in practice, especially in the last couple of weeks,” Wilson said. “Coach has said that my time is coming, so when I get into a game, I need to do my best."

It went for all of the Cowgirls, as all 10 scored and the team combined to hit 20 of 30 3-pointers.

The outside shot, though, night be Wilson’s strength. Ironically, the Laramie Boomerang did a feature story on Wilson earlier in the week, talking about her improved play in practice and the fact that she is a shooter-in-waiting for the program.

Evidently, her wait was just a couple of days to prove just that.

“Our fans got a chance to see our future, Sara Wilson,” Legerski said. “She can really shoot the ball. There were times that she was so open, that we had talked about running the offense a little more, she just looked and I just told her, 'go ahead and shoot it,' because she was that open. To go 5 of 6 shows what a shooter Sara is.”

Will Cowgirl fans see more of Wilson this season? It probably all depends on the situation. Tuesday night, the Cowgirls won’t like be in that same circumstances as they take on UNLV at 9 p.m. in Las Vegas.

The fact that Legerski was able to go with Wilson and other youngsters for such a long time could help with the quick turnaround against the Rebels.

“We’re right back at it, on the road,” Legerski said. “The starters maybe only played two or three minutes into the second half. The biggest thing is that with a short bench is we are playing everyone. You see what Leah Fitzgerald did, Chaundra Sewell, Sara Wilson they ended up getting extended minutes.”

While Wilson score 15 of her 17 points on 3-pointers, Legerski was just as impressed with her regular two-point field goal.

“There was nothing better than the drive Sara had to the basket,” he said. “It was an athletic move to get to the basket … strong to get the ball up to the backboard and into the basket.”

About UNLV

UNLV, 2-5 in league play and 9-12 record overall, is led by Erica Helms, who is averaging 13.2 points and 2.1 rebounds a game. She is followed by Kelli Thompson, who is adding 12.7 points and 4.3 boards per game.

This is the 30th meeting between the two teams. UNLV leads the series 18-11. The last time the two teams met was Feb. 18, 2009, as the Cowgirls defeated the Lady Rebels 50-44 in Las Vegas. UNLV is coached by Kathy Olivier, who is in her second year with the program and 17th overall.

One of those league wins for the Rebels was at Utah, a 54-49 victory. The other was a last-second 77-76 win at Air Force last week.

Legerski said his team needs to play well and not expect to shoot 75 percent from the field as they did against the Falcons.

“Going on the road changes everything,” Legerski said. “Players are comfortable in their own environment, as you could see with the way we shot the ball on Saturday against Air Force. Going to play UNLV, we have to be at the top of our game again and execute for 40 minutes. You want to hope that there is some carry-over and if we were at home, I would believe that there would be more carry-over than on the road.”

The Cowgirls, 4-3 and 13-6, continue to be led by junior Hillary Carlson, who is averaging 14.7 points and 2.4 blocks per game. Carlson had 21 points against Air Force on 10 of 11 shooting. She is followed by fellow junior Aubrey Vandiver with 13.6 points and a team-leading 9.2 rebounds per game, while Emma Langford is adding 11.8 points and 3.4 assists.