CHEYENNE – In a rematch of last year’s Mountain West tournament title game, the University of Wyoming women’s basketball team did enough down the stretch to pull out a win.
Leading by as much as 13, the Cowgirls held off a second-half surge from Fresno State for a 61-58 road victory Saturday in Fresno, California.
The Bulldogs only led twice in the entire contest, both times coming in the final 5 minutes of the game. A Daylee Dunn 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs their final lead with 2 minutes, 30 seconds remaining. UW responded with a pair of buckets from Alba Sanchez Ramos and Quinn Weidemann, and a McKinley Bradshaw 3-point play with 45 seconds remaining helped seal the game.
“Sometimes, it’s just about making key shots, and I thought none was bigger than when Alba squared up and made the 14-footer, and it calmed everyone back down,” Cowgirls coach Gerald Mattinson told KFBC radio. “Huge effort, and very, very proud of our team.”
Despite struggling offensively and from the free-throw line, the Cowgirls made just enough shots late to stay ahead. They shot 12 for 22 from the free-throw line and 4 for 9 from the stripe in the fourth quarter.
Compared to the 33% it shot from the field during the second half, UW shot at a 52% clip in the first half, which allowed it to maintain its advantage for the first 20 minutes.
“You don’t come in here often and get wins,” Mattinson said. “The first half, we played probably as well as we played all year. Defensively, we had a really nice plan, and I thought it caused them problems, and, offensively, we were playing well.”
The Cowgirls jumped out to a quick 7-0 run in the first quarter and continued to build on it through the rest of the first half. Midway though the second quarter, they went on a 7-0 run to build a 13-point lead before taking the same margin into the break.
Fresno State did its best to try to show different defensive looks in the first half, switching between different zone defenses in both the half- and full-court. But UW seemed to have an answer for each situation and capitalized with a 23-point second quarter.
After cutting UW’s lead down to six in the third period, the Bulldogs went on a 2:28 scoring drought to close the frame. However, they quickly regrouped early in the fourth, keeping it at a one-possession game from the 8:23 mark until UW pulled away with less than a minute to play.
Bulldogs junior guard Haley Cavinder led the Mountain West in scoring, averaging 19.5 points entering the game. The Cowgirls limited her to just 11.
Weidemann led UW with 12 points, and Bradshaw added 11 points and nine rebounds. Sanchez Ramos finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
The two teams were scheduled to play in Laramie on Jan. 9, but that contest was postponed and has yet to be rescheduled, meaning Saturday’s matchup may be the only time the teams meet in the regular season. The win gives the Cowgirls the head-to-head advantage.
Now, UW (11-10 overall, 7-5 Mountain West) will look to win its third straight at San Jose State on Monday. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.
WYOMING 61, FRESNO ST. 58
Wyoming.…….................…. 14 23 10 14 – 61
Fresno State…...................... 8 16 16 18 – 58
Wyoming: Fertig 2-7 2-7 6, Sanchez Ramos 4-10 3-4 11, Bradshaw 4-12 1-1 11, Weidemann 3-10 3-4 12, Olson 2-4 0-0 6, Ellis 2-2 3-4 7, Mellema 3-3 0-2 6, Barnes 0-0 0-0 0, Savic 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 21-49 12-22 61
Fresno State: Book 1-4 0-0 3, Stricklin 3-8 0-2 9, Motta 4-7 1-4 9, Han. Cavinder 4-11 3-4 11, Hal. Cavinder 5-12 1-1 11, Peterson 3-6 2-2 8, Dunn 1-4 0-0 3, Lacy 2-3 0-0 4, Fairley 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 23-57 7-13 58
3-pointers: UW 7-19 (Weidemann 3-7, Olson 2-4, Bradshaw 2-6, Sanchez Ramos 0-2); FSU 5-16 (Stricklin 3-4, Dunn 1-3, Book 1-4, Han. Cavinder 0-1, Hal. Cavinder 0-1, Lacy 0-1, Fairley 0-2). Rebounds: UW 32 (Bradshaw 9, Sanchez Ramos 7); FSU 37 (Motta 11). Assists: UW 12 (Sanchez Ramos 6); FSU 12 (Han. Cavinder 5). Turnovers: UW 9 (Bradshaw 2, Olson 2); FSU 8 (Han. Cavinder 3). Blocks: UW 0; FSU 2 (Hal. Cavinder, Peterson). Steals: UW 4 (Sanchez Ramos 2, Olson 2); FSU 4 (Han. Cavinder 2). Team fouls: UW 13; FSU 19. Fouled out: none
Attendance: 1,027.
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