The Wyoming Cowgirls ended their run at the MWC Championships with a 60-51 loss against the San Diego State Aztecs on Wednesday night in Las Vegas.
“I think what we witnessed tonight was a tremendous basketball game,” said head coach Joe Legerski. “Both teams came out and competed for 40 minutes, and every possession mattered. I thought at times San Diego State stepped up probably in the last three and a half minutes, made some big stops. We had our chances.
“With the experience of competing against San Diego State, I think it’s a basketball game we’ll learn from. It felt like playing the No. 1 seed out there. They create so many problems for you on the perimeter, plus on the inside. I’m just so proud of my team that, you know, we got off to a shaky start and then we came back and closed down the half down, too, still had a chance with a possession about three and a half minutes to go.”
Hillary Carlson led the Cow2girls (19-11) 25 points, along with a career high 18 rebounds. Her 18 rebounds equaled the MWC single game record set Tuesday by UNLV’s Jamie Smith. She was followed by Aubrey Vandiver with eight points and 11 rebounds, while Jade Kennedy added eight points as well.
“Hillary Carlson was just huge tonight. She literally kept us in the basketball game,“ Legerski said. “To have 17 at half, 25 total points, eight offensive rebounds, played 39 minutes. She really carried the load tonight and it was very important to keep her in the basketball game.
“I thought the heart showed tonight, Aubrey Vandiver had eight rebounds offensively. It gave us an opportunity when you’re shooting 2 percent, a credit to San Diego State’s defense, yet we just kept fighting and finding ways to just stay in the basketball game.”
The Aztecs had four of their five starters in double-figures led by Quenese Davis. She had a team high 16 points, plus six rebounds. Jessika Bradley recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 boards while Coco Davis and Paris Johnson recorded 14 and 13 points respectively. San Diego State shot 21-52 (.404) from the field and 16-19 (.842) from the free throw line.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Cowgirls hold on to win MWC opener
UW-UNLV stats
Cowgirl postgame quotes
If last Saturday's win over UNLV was a preview for the rematch in the Mountain West Conference Tournament, then the Wyoming Cowgirls could live with it.
As it turned out, there were a lot of similarities, as the Cowgirls blew an 11-point second-half lead before stopping the Lady Rebels 60-55 Tuesday night at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
With the win, the Cowgirls (19-10) will face San Diego State Wednesday night at 8 p.m. The third-seeded Aztecs drew a first-round bye. The victory was just the third win for the Cowgirls in their MWC tournament history.
Last Saturday, Wyoming lost a 13-point lead only to rally for the win. On Tuesday, the Lady Rebels tied the game two times in the later stages of the contest, but Wyoming never relinquished the lead.
Despite giving up 24 offensive rebounds and hitting just 10 of 21 free throws, the Cowgirls found a way to win again.
“We always talk about it being a 40 minute basketball game,” UW head coach Joe Legerski said. “We played UNLV the last game of the season, and it came down to the last minute of the basketball game, just like it did today.
Aubrey Vandiver scored a team-high 24 points and Jade Kennedy knocked down two late 3-pointers that put the Cowgirls back in the lead for good.
“Two players I thought were huge for us. Aubrey really carried this team for about 34 minutes, and during one timeout I talked about that other people needed to step up because we started standing around watching Aubrey trying to do everything," Legerski said. "I thought Jade had a big three, came back, and hit a nice two point shot that really gave us a lift and took a little bit of the pressure off Aubrey to be able to do what she does so well, is carry this group.
“We made big plays by grabbing offensive rebounds and coming up with the play, none bigger than what Aubrey grabbed to force another jump ball. We had the basketball again, got the ball in and back to the free throw line.”
Hillary Carlson finished with 13 points and four blocked shots for the Cowgirls, while Kennedy added 10 points.
UNLV (13-18) was led by Markiell Syles with 13 points and 13 rebounds off the bench. Kelli Thompson had a team-high 15 points, while Jamie Smith recorded 18 rebounds. The Lady Rebels out rebounded the Cowgirls 53-34.
After spotting the Lady Rebels the first two points of the game, the Cowgirls would seemingly take control, capping the first half with a last-second basket by Vandiver for a 28-21 lead.
The Cowgirls jumped out to a 34-23 lead early in the second half and still led by 10, 44-34, with a little over 11 minutes to play. But UNLV once again came back and tied the game at 47-each and 51-all.
Kennedy's second 3-pointer of the second half put the Cowgirls up by three again and they held on -- despite some anxious times at the free-throw line -- for the win.
Wednesday night's game with San Diego State will be broadcast on The Mtn. The two teams split during the regular season, both winning on their home court.
Cowgirl postgame quotes
If last Saturday's win over UNLV was a preview for the rematch in the Mountain West Conference Tournament, then the Wyoming Cowgirls could live with it.
As it turned out, there were a lot of similarities, as the Cowgirls blew an 11-point second-half lead before stopping the Lady Rebels 60-55 Tuesday night at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
With the win, the Cowgirls (19-10) will face San Diego State Wednesday night at 8 p.m. The third-seeded Aztecs drew a first-round bye. The victory was just the third win for the Cowgirls in their MWC tournament history.
Last Saturday, Wyoming lost a 13-point lead only to rally for the win. On Tuesday, the Lady Rebels tied the game two times in the later stages of the contest, but Wyoming never relinquished the lead.
Despite giving up 24 offensive rebounds and hitting just 10 of 21 free throws, the Cowgirls found a way to win again.
“We always talk about it being a 40 minute basketball game,” UW head coach Joe Legerski said. “We played UNLV the last game of the season, and it came down to the last minute of the basketball game, just like it did today.
Aubrey Vandiver scored a team-high 24 points and Jade Kennedy knocked down two late 3-pointers that put the Cowgirls back in the lead for good.
“Two players I thought were huge for us. Aubrey really carried this team for about 34 minutes, and during one timeout I talked about that other people needed to step up because we started standing around watching Aubrey trying to do everything," Legerski said. "I thought Jade had a big three, came back, and hit a nice two point shot that really gave us a lift and took a little bit of the pressure off Aubrey to be able to do what she does so well, is carry this group.
“We made big plays by grabbing offensive rebounds and coming up with the play, none bigger than what Aubrey grabbed to force another jump ball. We had the basketball again, got the ball in and back to the free throw line.”
Hillary Carlson finished with 13 points and four blocked shots for the Cowgirls, while Kennedy added 10 points.
UNLV (13-18) was led by Markiell Syles with 13 points and 13 rebounds off the bench. Kelli Thompson had a team-high 15 points, while Jamie Smith recorded 18 rebounds. The Lady Rebels out rebounded the Cowgirls 53-34.
After spotting the Lady Rebels the first two points of the game, the Cowgirls would seemingly take control, capping the first half with a last-second basket by Vandiver for a 28-21 lead.
The Cowgirls jumped out to a 34-23 lead early in the second half and still led by 10, 44-34, with a little over 11 minutes to play. But UNLV once again came back and tied the game at 47-each and 51-all.
Kennedy's second 3-pointer of the second half put the Cowgirls up by three again and they held on -- despite some anxious times at the free-throw line -- for the win.
Wednesday night's game with San Diego State will be broadcast on The Mtn. The two teams split during the regular season, both winning on their home court.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Kennedy paces Cowgirls to win
UW junior Jade KennedyBy Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org
Last Wednesday, Jade Kennedy spent a majority of the win over Air Force in a giving mood, with a career-high 11 assists.
On Saturday, she took her opportunities to score, with a career-high 23 points as the Cowgirls held off UNLV 78-73 on Saturday in the Arena-Auditorium.
"Against Air Force, I was able to find the girls, who knocked down the shots," Kennedy said. "Today, I was just open."
Saturday's effort came at a good time, as it not only was the Cowgirls' final regular-season home game, but Kennedy's parents -- William and Leonie Kennedy - were able to witness their daughter's performance live.
"It is really good to look up in the stands and see Mom and Dad," Kennedy said.
Kennedy hit 7 of 10 from the field, including 6 of 9 3-pointers, scoring 17 points in the first half as Wyoming led 44-37 at halftime.
UW head coach Joe Legerski said there were several stars in Saturday's game.
“Jade Kennedy was unbelievable in the first half shooting 5-of-7 from beyond the arc and 17 total points. She ended up getting us going," Legerski said.
Legerski also said that true freshmen Rebecca Campigli and Chaundra Sewell were two players that gave them a lift off the bench and playing extended minutes. Then there was Vandiver's performance, especially in the end.
"We’re up three points with 29 seconds and Jade misses her second free throw, Aubrey gets the rebound for a tie up and we get another opportunity," Legerski said. "It really changed the way we played defense, but that rebound by her is a player with a big heart and making a play. Her numbers were tremendous with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and it’s to the point you expect that from her.”
The Cowgirls (9-7 MWC, 18-10) needed all of Kennedy’s points, as they blew a 13-point second-half lead before rallying in the final two minutes.
Wyoming appeared to have things in control, leading 61-48 with 12 minutes left, but Kelli Thompson scored 11 points and the Lady Rebels used a 19-2 run to take their first lead since midway through the first half. UNLV led by four with 4:49 remaining, only to see the Cowgirls bounce back.
Five points from sophomore Kristen Scheffler put the Cowgirls back in front and two free throws by Hillary Carlson put Wyoming up 74-69 just under a minute to play.
Again, UNLV came back as Thompson hit a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left to make it a two-point game. The Cowgirls held off the UNLV charges by hitting 4 of 6 free throws in the final seconds.
Vandiver scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Wyoming, which hit 13 of 26 3-pointers. Vandiver hit 3 of 4 free throws late in the final 35 seconds and also had a big steal and offensive rebound that enabled the Cowgirls to retain possession late in the game.
Erica Helms scored a career-high 23 points to lead UNLV (6-10, 13-17). Thompson scored 22 points, with Sandrine Nzeukou adding 13 for UNLV.
With the win, the Cowgirls finished in a tie for fifth-place in the league standings, but will be the sixth seed heading into Tuesday’s Mountain West Conference Tournament in Las Vegas. They face the Lady Rebels once again, at 8 p.m.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Cowgirls roll past Falcons again
The Wyoming Cowgirls broke out of a scoring and shooting slump in a big way, thumping Air Force 87-60 Wednesday night in Colorado Springs.
The Cowgirls had scored just 95 points in consecutive close losses to BYU and Utah, but found their scoring touch again for their second road win in Mountain West Conference play. The Cowgirls are now 8-7 in the MWC and 17-10 overall.
Wyoming, which hit 20 of 30 3-pointers in the 61-point blowout against Air Force earlier in the season in Laramie, once again found the Falcons zone defense to their liking, hitting 18 of 31 attempts.
“Once again, we shot the ball extremely well against Air Force,” UW head coach Joe Legerski said. “The big three -- Hillary (Carlson), Aubrey (Vandiver) and Emma (Langford) -- led this group and shot the ball well. Jade Kennedy had by far her best floor game with 11 assists. Our offense flowed through Jade and she made great decisions with the basketball. I’m very pleased to get a win at Air Force a difficult place to play.”
Vandiver, who was 0-for 7 from behind the 3-point arc Sunday against Utah, finished with a game-high 24 points and nine rebounds, while shooting 8-of-14 from the field and 5-of-8 3-pointers. She was followed by Carlson with 21 points and nine boards, while Langford added 17 points and seven rebounds. Kennedy's 11 assists were a career high. she also had nine assists against Air Force in the first game.
Wyoming shot 31-of-51 (.636) from the field, while recording 37 rebounds and 27 assists.
Air Force (0-15, 3-25) was led by junior Raimee Beck with 14 points and seven rebounds. She was followed by Kathleen Schjodt and Anna Leipprandt with eight points each. The Falcons shot 22-of-60 (.367) from the field and 6-of-18 (.333) from beyond the arc.
The Cowgirls will play their final regular season game Saturday as they host the UNLV Lady Rebels. The game is set to tip off at 2 p.m. at the Arena Auditorium.
The Cowgirls had scored just 95 points in consecutive close losses to BYU and Utah, but found their scoring touch again for their second road win in Mountain West Conference play. The Cowgirls are now 8-7 in the MWC and 17-10 overall.
Wyoming, which hit 20 of 30 3-pointers in the 61-point blowout against Air Force earlier in the season in Laramie, once again found the Falcons zone defense to their liking, hitting 18 of 31 attempts.
“Once again, we shot the ball extremely well against Air Force,” UW head coach Joe Legerski said. “The big three -- Hillary (Carlson), Aubrey (Vandiver) and Emma (Langford) -- led this group and shot the ball well. Jade Kennedy had by far her best floor game with 11 assists. Our offense flowed through Jade and she made great decisions with the basketball. I’m very pleased to get a win at Air Force a difficult place to play.”
Vandiver, who was 0-for 7 from behind the 3-point arc Sunday against Utah, finished with a game-high 24 points and nine rebounds, while shooting 8-of-14 from the field and 5-of-8 3-pointers. She was followed by Carlson with 21 points and nine boards, while Langford added 17 points and seven rebounds. Kennedy's 11 assists were a career high. she also had nine assists against Air Force in the first game.
Wyoming shot 31-of-51 (.636) from the field, while recording 37 rebounds and 27 assists.
Air Force (0-15, 3-25) was led by junior Raimee Beck with 14 points and seven rebounds. She was followed by Kathleen Schjodt and Anna Leipprandt with eight points each. The Falcons shot 22-of-60 (.367) from the field and 6-of-18 (.333) from beyond the arc.
The Cowgirls will play their final regular season game Saturday as they host the UNLV Lady Rebels. The game is set to tip off at 2 p.m. at the Arena Auditorium.
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