Cowgirls drop heartbreaker at CSU

FORT COLLINS, Colo., -- The Wyoming Cowgirls lost a heartbreaker Saturday afternoon on the road at Colorado State as the Cowgirls’ second half comeback came up just short, losing in the waning seconds to the Rams, 68-65.

The Cowgirls led 64-60 with 2:51 to play, but scored just one point the rest of the contest and turned the ball over three times late down the stretch as Colorado State (14-2, 10-2 MW) took advantage late and held on for the victory.

Dagny Davidsdottir got the Cowgirls (8-9, 6-8 MW) off to a quick start, hitting three of her first four shots in the opening five minutes and scoring six points, but unfortunately picked up two quick fouls during those five minutes and was forced to head to the bench. Quinn Weidemann scored five-straight for the Cowgirls breaking a 12-12 tie and started a 7-0 run for UW, forcing a CSU timeout with 46 seconds to play in the opening quarter. The Cowgirls played a solid first 10 minutes offensively, going 8-for-13 from the floor and led 19-12 after one.

The Rams responded to open the second, going on a 9-0 run to take a 21-19 lead before a Tommi Olson layup ended the CSU run. The Rams’ offensive onslaught continued in the quarter however, as they outscored the Cowgirls 22-10 in the second, shooting 10-of-16 in the frame and took a 34-29 lead into halftime.

Both teams got it going offensively to begin the second half as the two squads traded hoops. An Alba Sanchez Ramos jumper got the scoring going in the third, and UW trailed 34-31. A Weidemann 3-pointer with 7:24 to go in the quarter knotted things up at 38-38, but CSU then scored the next six points, four of which coming at the free-throw line to go up 44-38. A pair Ola Ustowska 3-pointers got the Cowgirls to within two, 48-46 with 23 seconds to play, but CSU ended the third with a layup and led 50-46 after three.

Weidemann gave Wyoming its first lead of the second half with 4:39 to play in the game, 58-56 on a layup. After CSU responded with a layup of its own, Ustowska’s third 3-pointer of the second half gave the Cowgirls the lead back with just over four minutes to play, 61-58. After the Rams hit a pair at the line, Sanchez Ramos got an old-fashioned 3-point play to put Wyoming up 64-60 with 2:51 to go. The Rams would respond quickly with a 3-pointer the next time down the floor to cut the Cowgirl lead to 64-63.

CSU would get a layup with 1:08 to play and reclaimed a 65-64 lead off a McKenna Hofschild hoop. After a Wyoming turnover on its next possession, the Cowgirls would get a defensive stop and called a timeout with 10 seconds left in the game, still trailing by one. The Cowgirls would again turn the ball over after the timeout and were forced to send CSU to the free-throw line after a pair of quick fouls.

The Rams knocked down just 1-of-2 at the line but UW’s attempt to tie was just off by Weidemann and then the Cowgirls sent the Rams to the line again with just three seconds to play and CSU knocked them both down to go up 68-64. Alba Sanchez Ramos was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer but with just under one second left, the Cowgirls ran out of time as Sanchez Ramos intentionally missed the last free throw after splitting the first two. Sanchez Ramos’ free throw with .9 left was Wyoming’s only point the final 2:51 of the contest.

“We were unable to finish, they were able to execute the last three minutes,” said Head Coach Gerald Mattinson.

“Give them credit, we had some opportunities but didn’t get it to go today. We played well enough to win and had some chances, but we’ve got to make some better decisions down the stretch. That’s why CSU is in first place, they executed and they forced us to make some mistakes late.”

Weidemann once again led the Cowgirls in scoring against CSU, scoring 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including going 2-of-4 from 3-point range. Weidemann also added a pair of rebounds and assists on the day. McKinley Bradshaw and Ustowska were both big off the bench for the Cowgirls in the loss, scoring 12 and nine points, respectively. Bradshaw hit 4-for-6 shots and two from beyond-the-arc while Ustowska went 3-for-8 from deep.

Davidsdottir and Sanchez Ramos each chipped in with eight points apiece. Davidsdottir added a pair of blocks in the loss while Sanchez Ramos also had a block while tying a career-high with a game-best 12 rebounds. Olson and Jaye Johnson led UW with four assists each on the afternoon.

Wyoming shot 48 percent (24-for-5) in the loss and went 7-of-19 from 3-point range (36.8 percent) while going 10-of-15 at the free-throw line. CSU shot 26-of-62 (42 percent) and hit two 3-pointers while going a solid 14-of-16 at the charity stripe.

Next up, the Cowgirls return home to close out the regular season with four consecutive home contests to end the year. UW welcomes Utah State to Laramie for two games beginning Thursday, Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m.

* University of Wyoming press release