by staff–25 Feb ’16
The Wyoming basketball team (12-14 overall, 5-11 MW) recorded its second lowest scoring output of the season in its 53-40 loss against the San Diego State Aztecs (11-15 overall, 6-9 MW) on Wednesday night in San Diego.
“I thought defensively we played as well as throughout the year,” UW head coach Joe Legerski. “Offensively, we struggled and let the frustration boil over. We just need to find a way to regroup and play a tough one on Saturday against UNLV.”
Sophomore Natalie Baker led the way with ten points and three blocked shots. Senior Marquelle Dent added nine points and four assists followed by junior Hailey Ligocki with eight points. Sophomore Liv Roberts brought down a team-high seven rebounds. The Cowgirls shot 14-of-53 (.264) from the field and 4-of-20 (.200) from beyond the arc.
The Aztecs were led by Ahjalee Harvey with 16 points and eight rebounds. Deidra Smith followed with ten points and five rebounds. SDSU shot 22-of-53 (.415) from the field and out rebounded UW, 37-30.
Out of the break, the Aztecs extended the lead to 14, 30-16. A basket by Dent at the 8:14 mark ended a nine-minute scoreless stretch for the Cowgirls. Wyoming scored 8 of the next 11 to close the gap to nine, 33-24. Unfortunately, San Diego State outscored the Cowgirls 20-16 the remainder of the way to win the game, 53-40.
It was low scoring to begin the game as the teams shot a combined 4-of-15 with Wyoming taking a 5-4 lead through the first media. The Cowgirls extended the lead to six, 12-6, with a 6-2 run through the first quarter. It was tough going in the second quarter for UW as the Aztecs went on an 18-2 run to gain a 24-14 double-digit lead headed in to the locker room. The Cowgirls shot 1-of-8 (.125) from the field, 0-of-4 (.000) from three and closed it out on a seven-minute scoring drought.
Dent led the way with six points and two assists followed by Ligocki with four. Roberts brought down four rebounds. Wyoming shot 5-of-20 (.250) from the field and 1-of-7 (.143) from three. San Diego State was led by Harvey with nine points and five rebounds. Smith and Greenhouse each had six points. The Aztecs out rebounded UW, 20-11, and had 14 points in the paint.
Wyoming will play its final conference game of the season on Saturday against the UNLV Lady Rebels. The game is set to tip at 2 p.m. MT at the Arena-Auditorium. The Cowgirls will honor seniors Marquelle Dent and Jordan Kelley prior to the contest.
