The University of Wyoming women’s basketball team is in the midst of a three-game losing skid against Mountain West foes after falling 63-60 in overtime against league-leading UNLV on Wednesday night in the Arena-Auditorium.
The Cowgirls (14-11 overall, 9-5 MW) led well into the fourth quarter before being outscored 18-12 in the frame and 10-7 in overtime. UW went scoreless for nearly six minutes across the fourth quarter and overtime.
“We had an eight-point lead with three-and-a-half to play,” coach Heather Ezell said after the loss. “Unfortunately, we let them claw back into the game. We couldn’t knock down shots when we needed them. We got great opportunities and great looks, we just couldn’t make one.”
The Cowgirls won’t have much room for error going forward as they host New Mexico (18-9, 9-5) at 2 p.m. today in the Arena-Auditorium. The Lobos gave UW its first MW loss of the season 68-61 on Jan. 17.
This time around, Ezell wants to see her team take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves and leave nothing extra on the floor. After the last loss against New Mexico, Ezell mentioned being impressed with the quality of the Lobos’ starting five and bench depth.
“It’s not so much the fast start,” Ezell said. “It’s scoring at the right opportunities early and taking advantage of that. We don’t want to be in an up and down game with anyone in the league.
“That’s not the pace we’re going to play, but we have to make sure we’re reading the right things and knocking shots down when we have the opportunity to score early.”
The play of junior center Allyson Fertig will play a significant role in whether UW gets back on the winning side of the ledger. Fertig was neutralized in consecutive losses against Boise State and Colorado State but got back on track against UNLV with a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double.
Fertig playing well makes everyone else on the court a more confident player, senior guard McKinley Dickerson said.
“It’s good for us and good for team morale,” Dickerson said. “Going forward, I think she’ll continue to play with confidence and be that player for us.”
Fertig cannot take down the Lobos alone. Other Cowgirls will need to find the bottom of the net when called upon. UW went 1-of-13 from 3-point range down the stretch against UNLV, which helped the Rebels mount their comeback.
“They’re a good team, they made the baskets they needed,” Dickerson said. “We couldn’t trade baskets with them, and it caused us to fall behind.”
Added Ezell: “We fouled too many times in the fourth quarter going into overtime and allowed too many extra chances. … It’s unfortunate when you look at the fourth quarter.”
One of the biggest challenges for the Cowgirls lies within New Mexico’s ability to grab defensive rebounds. The Lobos lead the MW in defensive rebounds (30.79 per game), while UW is tenth in offensive rebounds (7.5).
Ezell feels the numbers can be a bit misleading as the Cowgirls put an emphasis on getting back to the defensive end of the court early and avoiding their opponents moving in transition.
“We’re never going to out-rebound teams,” Ezell said. “We send everybody back and want our defense set to go against all five. What we need to do is limit their second-chance opportunities and offensive rebounds.”
Fortunately for UW, New Mexico is ninth in the MW in offensive rebounding (7.71) while the Cowgirls nab defensive rebounds at the seventh-highest clip in league play (26).
While the game against the Lobos could play a significant factor in seeding for the MW tournament, Ezell understands the team’s identity is to take the season one game at a time. The most important thing to Ezell is a win today.
“It’s going to be a battle either way,” Dickerson said. “We’re hungry for this win. We’ve now had a few very close losses, and we’re hungry. We must keep the confidence we’ll get back on our horse by March.
“We have a couple of weeks to go, and I think we’ll be ready to go and terrifying (to play against).”
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Austin Edmonds covers Laramie High, University of Wyoming and community athletics for WyoSports. He can be reached at aedmonds@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @_austinedmonds.
