The implications of the Wyoming women’s basketball team’s 95-92 triple-overtime loss to the Colorado State Rams were not fully realized until several days after the final buzzer sounded.
The following Monday, selection committees hundreds of miles from Laramie ended the Cowgirls season.
Whether or not they had reason is entirely debatable.
Call their void in the WNIT and the WBI a rejection or an insult or an overlook. Call it whatever you want, as long as you acknowledge it for what it is. A snub.
Despite the Cowgirls winning record (overall 20-11, conference 10-8) and their advancement into the semifinal game of the Mountain West Tournament, a feat their male counterparts failed to accomplish this season, the NCAA passed on selecting the Cowgirls for the WNIT.
Gazelle followed suit with their failure to extend an invitation for the team to play in the WBI.
Although Wyoming is no stranger to being overlooked, the Cowgirls were also absent in both post-season tournaments last year. This year their performance should have earned them a spot in one of the tournament’s brackets.
The Cowgirls met with each of the Mountain West’s post-season representatives and walked away with a list of victories. The Cowgirls succeeded in a major 75-49 upset against the Rams, achieved a substantial 87-76 win over the Mountain West champion Fresno State and defeated San Diego State 69-60.
Along with Fresno’s one-game presence in the NCAA tournament, San Diego State and Colorado State were the sole teams selected to represent the Mountain West in post-season play. Both were selected to play in the WNIT.
While Colorado State’s selection is understandable due to their first place finish in the Mountain West standings and second place finish in the Mountain West tournament, SDSU’s selection hardly seems viable.
The Aztecs suffered a wide-margin loss in the first round of the tournament against New Mexico, finished one place behind the Cowgirls in the Mountain West standings and ended their season with an overall losing record (13-17) and an unimpressive conference record (9-9).
In spite of San Diego’s mediocre performance, their season was selected to continue over the five teams that finished with a better record than the Aztecs, leading Cowgirl fans to wonder what the team needs to accomplish next season to secure a trip to a post-season tournament.
This kind of snub is disappointing enough on paper, but the implications of such an oversight extend to an emotional plane when athletes facing the end of their collegiate careers are involved.
Senior guard Fallon Lewis took to her twitter account after the Pokes were left out. Her brief tweet said it all.
