by staff–5 Feb ’21
The Wyoming Cowgirls came up short Thursday night in Fort Collins, Colo., as Wyoming dropped its first game of a two-game series with Colorado State, 69-61. Quinn Weidemann led four Cowgirls in double figures with 15 points in the loss.
Weidemann went 6-of-13 from the floor, while hitting a pair from beyond-the-arc. Weidemann also notched three rebounds and game-highs with four assists and two steals on the night. Tommi Olson scored a career-high 14 points for the Cowgirls (8-8, 6-7 MW), also on 6-for-13 shooting and added nine boards. Alba Sanchez Ramos and McKinley Bradshaw each added 11 points apiece while Sanchez Ramos grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to record her first career double-double.
Wyoming got off to a nice start to the game as Weidemann canned each of her first two shots from beyond-the-arc to give the Cowgirls an early 6-2 lead. Following that however, CSU went on a 7-1 run and led 10-7 before trading buckets with the Cowgirls to end the first and led 12-9 after 10 minutes of action.
The Rams (13-2, 9-2 MW), who won their sixth straight Thursday, took control of the game late in the second quarter, as they ended the first half on a 12-3 run the final four minutes of the second to push a 27-23 lead, into a 39-26 advantage at the half.
In the third quarter, CSU lengthened its lead to as many as 16 points, two separate times in the period before Wyoming was able to whittle down the lead to 52-39 after three quarters of play. Both teams put up 13 points the first 10 minutes of the second half.
CSU hit a 3-pointer to begin the fourth quarter to go up 55-39 before UW eventually started cutting into the deficit. The Cowgirls would get the margin down to eight points, numerous times, but couldn’t get over the hump late, thanks in part to six made free throws the final half minute for the Rams. UW outscored the Rams 22-17 in the fourth.
For the game, the Cowgirls shot 23-for-54, a 42.6 percent clip while CSU was 26-of-57, 45.6 percent. The Rams also went 6-of-9 from 3-point range and made 11-of-12 at the free-throw line. The Cowgirls missed six of their 16 free-throw attempts while going 5-of-12 from 3-point range.
Wyoming had a slight edge in points off turnovers, 7-4, while CSU outscored the Cowgirls in the paint by just two, 36-34 and in second-chance points, 6-4.
The Cowgirls will look to avoid the sweep Saturday afternoon in the second game of the series with the Rams, tipping off in Fort Collins at 1 p.m.
Postgame audio with Cowgirl head coach Gerald Mattinson, as the Cowgirls held CSU to under 70 points for the first time this year…..
