University of Wyoming junior center Allyson Fertig (45) makes a move toward the basket during the Cowgirls’ 68-63 victory over Colorado State on Jan. 20, 2024, at the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie.
University of Wyoming junior center Allyson Fertig (45) makes a move toward the basket during the Cowgirls’ 68-63 victory over Colorado State on Jan. 20, 2024, at the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie.
CHEYENNE — University of Wyoming women’s basketball coach Heather Ezell warned her players prior to last Saturday’s game they were starting to get away from what they were doing well on the court.
The coach’s fears came to fruition against Boise State, which ran UW out of the building. The loss served as a microcosm to the Cowgirls’ issues on the road this season, stemming from slow starts and teams getting them out of their rhythm on offense.
“They were able to take advantage of us and get us frustrated,” Ezell said. “They were able to push us off some screens where we weren’t cutting at the pace where we needed to cut.
“When you play really good teams like that, it’s tough to win without running really good offense.”
UW has played lights out at home this season, posting a 9-2 record and an undefeated mark in Mountain West play. However, the road has been an issue all season long.
The Cowgirls sit with a 4-6 mark (3-3 in conference) away from the Arena-Auditorium, and have lost three of their past four games on the road.
One of the biggest issues, according to Ezell, is the team struggling to get off to fast starts. In its three road losses in conference this season, UW has posted a minus-5 point differential in the first quarter, and has been minus-3 and minus-8, respectively, in its past two games.
“We have to make sure we are coming in ready to play,” Ezell said. “It doesn’t matter if you are playing at home or on the road, (energy, effort and attitude) are the controllable.”
UW has been on a bye since the game against the Broncos last Saturday, and it came at the perfect time.
Boise State was able to find success against UW on the defensive end by effectively neutralizing the motion-heavy offense UW likes to run. Ezell said the team has been hard at work since getting back from Boise at shoring up its offensive end.
“We kind of joked about it, but we went back to square one (on Monday),” the coach said. “We went back to stations where we are going, ‘Hey, we are breaking this down,’ and we are getting back to the fundamental pieces of motion and just focusing in on those kind of things.”
The Cowgirls head south to take on Colorado State this weekend in the second edition of the Border War. The Cowgirls are 3-1 in their past four meetings against the Rams, with the only loss coming last season in Fort Collins.
In order to stop the Rams, the Cowgirls will once again have to contend with one of the most dynamic scorers in the country this season. Rams’ super-senior guard and preseason MW player of the year McKenna Hofschild enters today’s contest averaging 23.6 points per game — a mark that ranks fifth in all of Division I this season.
When the teams met in January, the Cowgirls did a solid job of limiting Hofschild’s effectiveness, surrendering just 18 points on 6-of-16 shooting, and just nine points through the opening 36 minutes.
In spite of the lockdown performance by UW’s defense in the first meeting, Ezell knows how difficult containing Hofschild can be.
“We always say we aren’t (going to try to) hold her to no points,” the coach said. “She’s going to get her points, and we just have to make sure that every shot she takes is contested or tough.”
While UW’s defense will play a critical part in determining the outcome, its offense will play just as much of a factor. Specifically its leading scorer, Allyson Fertig, who is coming off one of her quietest performances in a Cowgirls uniform.
Ezell expects a big response out of the 6-foot-4 junior, who was held to just two points and no made field goals in the game against Boise State.
“She’s one of those players that won’t let a bad game affect her,” Ezell said. “She’ll come out with the same fire in her eyes and hopefully be able to get back on track against a really good CSU team.”
WyoSports’ Austin Edmonds contributed to this story
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