LARAMIE — The Wyoming Cowgirl basketball team (4-2 overall) battled down to the final minute but fell short 63-59 against the 11th/17th ranked Colorado Buffaloes, on Wednesday night in Laramie.
Two Cowgirls finished the night in double-figures led by junior Kayla Woodward. She recorded a team high 17 points and six rebounds. Kaitlyn Mileto added 12 points while Fallon Lewis had eight points. Jordan Sibrel also had six rebounds as well. Wyoming shot 20-57 (.351) from the field and 14-23 (.609) from the free throw line.
Colorado was led by Brittany Wilson with a game high 19 points, followed by Arielle Roberson with 13 points and 12 rebounds. The Buffs shot 23-63 (.365) from the field and 10-11 (.909) from the charity stripe. They also out rebounded the Cowgirls 42-40.
“Before the start of the game we talked about an opportunity that you don’t get a lot of ranked teams to come play in the Double A,” said head coach Joe Legerski. “We had a chance tonight and we discussed how many positives there are in a season whether you win or lose there are positives to be made. We also have to make corrections to some things that need to be worked on. We did a tremendous job against a team with size and we were able to match them on the boards. There were things we can take away from this. Fallon got in foul trouble and we had to juggle our line-up. Kaylee Hoffman came in and had a solid night at the four spot.”
Wyoming got on the board first with baskets by Sibrel and Dent to put them up 4-0. Free throws by Rachel Hargis at the 17 minute mark were the first points for the Buffs. A three-point field goal by Huggins gave Colorado their first lead, 5-4. Out of the media timeout, a basket by Woodward gave UW the lead back 6-5. CU answered with a 5-0 run to make it 10-6. Fallon Lewis hit a shot to end the run, but a three-point field goal by Brittany Wilson got the lead to five, 13-8, through the second media timeout. Each team scored a basket to make it 15-10, and then both teams went cold. Finally, a field goal by Kaylee Hoffman ended a four minute drought by either team and then a basket by Woodward pulled the Cowgirls to within one, 15-14. Arielle Roberson stopped the six minute scoreless drought for the Buffs putting them up by three, 17-14, with 6:43 on the clock. Dent hit a shot by to tie the score which was quickly answered with a Roberson layup. Started by a Mileto three-point field goal the Cowgirls closed out the half on a 10-2 run to take a 27-21 lead into the lockerroom.
The Cowgirls took a nine-point lead out of the halftime break with a three-point shot by Woodward. Colorado responded 11 straight points to regain a two-point lead, 32-30. A basket by Dent tied the score at 32 all, which was followed by an 8-0 run to give the Buffs a 40-32 advantage. Four points by Wyoming made it a four point contest, 40-36, with 13 minutes to go in the game. The Buffs would score six of the next eight get the lead to eight, 46-38. After free throws by Woodward closed the gap to six, 46-40, CU extended the lead to 11, 51-40. The Cowgirls tried to chip away at the lead with a 5-1 run to pull to within seven, 52-45, with 7:31 remaining. A three-point play by Jamee Swan got the lead back to ten, 57-47, but Wyoming just wouldn’t go away. Over the next four minute stretch, they went on a 10-2 run to pull within two, 57-55. With 57 seconds remaining, Chelan Landry hit a jumper to even up the game at 57 all. Out of a timeout, Brittany Wilson scored a layup to give CU a two-point lead, 59-57. The Cowgirls couldn’t take advantage of shots and CU hit free throws down the stretch to hold onto the 63-59 win.
The Cowgirls will travel to Colorado Springs to participate in the Air Force Classic. They will face SIU-Edwardsville, on Friday, Dec. 6, at 4:30 p.m. and North Dakota State, on Saturday, Dec. 7, at 2:00 p.m.
