Cowgirls advance to WNIT's Super 16

Three of the Cowgirls' first four field goals came from beyond the 3-point arc.

"We've been working on getting that winning feeling back," Cowgirls coach Heather Ezell said. "It's been bottled up for a while, and this was letting the cat out of the cage. They were ready to go on both ends.

"We were locked in offensively and made everything tough defensively."

Senior McKinley Dickerson entered play seven points away from the 1,000-point club, and she surpassed the threshold with a nine-point opening frame. Dickerson finished the first half with 14 points.

"I was definitely nervous," Dickerson said. "I'm happy but relieved we were finally able to put it all together."

The Roadrunners' offense failed to get going early, shooting 9-of-32 (28.1%) from the field in the first half. The Cowgirls enjoyed runs of 11-0 and 7-0 as a result.

UW held UTSA scoreless for the final 3 minutes, 42 seconds of play in the first quarter. The Cowgirls made a point to stay aggressive in the second, making a pair of 3-pointers in the opening 2:03 of the second frame.

"It's not so often we have as good of a (quarter as we did in the )first quarter," UW sophomore Malene Pedersen said. "It was good to set the tone. We built back up the energy for our bench, which is what we needed to get back on track."

The Cowgirls' offense experienced their first hiccup of the game with a 3:28 scoring drought in the second period. Pedersen and Dickerson combined for 29 of UW's 45 points in the first half to help build a 45-20 lead going into the break.

"Malene came ready to go," Ezell said. "She was getting her feet set and knocking down shots to get us started. (Dickerson) coming in to get her 1,000th point was really locked in, too."

After UTSA shot just 9-of-32 (28.1%) in the first half, Jordyn Jenkins came out on fire in the third quarter. She scored 18 points in the third frame on 7-of-7 shooting from the field.

"We knew what she was capable of," Ezell said. "We thought we could make some guard catches tough and get her out of her spot. We did that well in the first half. She started to get going in the second half while we needed to close some gaps.

"I give a lot of credit to Tess (Barnes) and Madi (Symons). Tess may not have scored, but she made every one of those 28 points tough on Jenkins."

Despite shooting just 1-of-7 (134.3%) from deep in the third quarter, the Cowgirls still held a 23-point lead going into the final 10 minutes.

"We have to keep being competitive," Dickerson said. "I felt like we kind of lost that around midseason. If we keep being competitive, we'll stay strong and finish. That's our main focus. We've struggled with that."

The Roadrunners opened the fourth on an 8-2 run and continued to apply pressure, eventually cutting UW's lead to 15. The Cowgirls were held to 12-of-29 (41.4%) shooting in the second half and were outscored 23-16 in the fourth quarter.

Despite the cold shooting in the second half, the Cowgirls were able to hold on to the 16-point win to advance in the WNIT.

"it's important for us to control the pace," Pedersen said. "We need to run when we can, but also be solid and play smart. It's something we continue to work on, because it's such an important element for us."

Jenkins had a game-high 28 points for the Roadrunners, followed by sophomores Sidney Love with 12 and Siena Guttadauro with five. Jenkins also accounted for every Roadrunners' 3-pointer.

UW finished with three players over 15 points, including a team-high 24 from Pedersen, 17 points for junior Allyson Fertig and 16 for Dickerson. Fertig's day ended with a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double.

For the second straight season, the Cowgirls will play in the Super 16 of the WNIT. UW will play the winner of Northern Arizona and South Dakota later this week, with the time and location yet to be determined.

"We wrote on the board, 'Finish and advance,'" Ezell said. "But I told them before we can advance, we have to finish. So, let's keep our pedal to the metal."

WYOMING 80, UTSA 64

Wyoming...... 26 19 19 16 — 80

UTSA...... 8 12 21 23 — 64

Wyoming: Mellema 2-9 2-4 7, Barnes 0-6 0-0 0, Pedersen 8-15 4-4 24, Ustowska 1-4 0-0 3, Fertig 6-10 5-7 17, Savic 0-1 2-2 2, Dickerson 7-9 0-0 16, Ollilainen 0-0 2-2 2, Symons 2-2 0-0 4, McKenna 2-5 0-0 5. Totals: 28-61 15-19 80.

UTSA: Jenkins 11-20 3-5 28, Coleman 2-6 0-0 4, White 1-5 0-0 2, Proctor 2-4 0-0 4, Love 5-11 2-2 13, Udo 0-3 4-6 4, Linton 1-1 0-0 2, Guttadauro 2-6 1-3 5, Rowe 0-1 0-0 0, Sam-Grant 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 25-60 9-13 64.

3-pointers: UTSA 5-14 (Jenkins 3-5, Coleman 0-1, Love 1-1, White 0-1, Proctor 0-2, Guttadauro 1-3, Rowe 0-1); UW 9-26 (Mellema 1-3, Barnes 0-6, Pedersen 4-9, Ustowska 1-4, McKenna 1-1, Dickerson 2-3). Rebounds: UTSA 35 (Love 6); UW 37 (Fertig 10). Assists: UTSA 8 (Proctor 3), UW 21 (Mellema 7); Turnovers: UTSA 12 (Five with 2); UW 9 (Fertig 3). Steals: UTSA 5 (Five with 1); UW 5 (Pedersen 2). Team fouls: UTSA 23, UW 15.