Behind the pair of freshmen Tereza Vitulova and Alba Sanchez Ramos scoring a career-high 16 points each, the Cowgirls tied the fifth-largest margin of victory in school history with a 98-37 win against UCCS. Four other Cowgirls reached double-figure scoring in the Cowgirls’ highest offensive output since scoring 99 points against UNLV on Feb. 28, 2015.
“You always worry about a letdown,” said veteran head coach Joe Legerski. “We had a big game on the road at Saint Mary’s. It came right down to the last minute, and you wonder how your team’s going to respond. We talked about trying to improve the things we can, and I thought we did that tonight. People were shooting the basketball and making the next pass.” Junior Taylor Rusk scored 12 points in just 14 minutes, seniors Marta Gomez and Rachelle Tucker each chipped in 11 points, and senior Bailee Cotton scored 10 points to round out UW’s double figure scorers. On the glass, Tucker and Cotton each grabbed seven rebounds, while Vitulova collected a career-high six of her own. Freshman guard Tommi Olson came off the bench and chipped in a career-high six assists, while fellow freshman Karla Erjavec had a career-high four dimes of her own.
“Karla really sees the court. When we were out running, she was finding people,” Legerski said. “Clara Tapia came out in the second half, made two big steals and got us going again. I think there were a lot of plusses in the game. What I’m happy about, is when we had a big lead, the team still came in and executed what we’re trying to get done.” Defensively, Olson recorded a career-best six steals – the second Cowgirl this season with six steals in a game, joining Erjavec. Sanchez Ramos, senior Clara Tapia and Erjavec each had two steals of their own as the Cowgirls had 18 as a team. The 18 steals tie a season high and ties the ninth-most in a game in school history. Cotton and Vitulova each had two blocks, while Gomez added one of her own. Cotton opened the game’s scoring with a pair of free throws after she was fouled on a shot after some solid Cowgirl passing. She grabbed a defensive rebound and scored a layup on the other end. It wasn’t all about scoring for Cotton, as she forced a five-second call on the Mountain Lions during an inbounds play, and on the next defensive possession, she blocked a shot. The Cowgirls’ defense resulted in more points, as a steal by Gomez resulted in an and-one for Tucker at the other end to put the Cowgirls up 14-5.
A rusk fast-break layup pushed the lead to 20-5, capping an 11-0 Cowgirl run to end the first frame. Vitulova scored in the paint to start the second quarter, and the Cowgirl sharpshooters Gomez and Rusk hit back-to-back threes before Rusk scored another fast-break layup. The Mountain Lions scored a three that ended a quarter-opening 10-0 Cowgirl run. Freshman Quinn Weidemann continued her hot streak from behind the arc with a trey that put Wyoming up 34-11.
Olson entered the game and picked up a pair of assists, a steal and a bucket in quick succession, as the Cowgirls entered halftime with a 45-11 lead on the strength of a 14-0 run. The 45 points are the most the Cowgirls have scored in any half this season. A pair of Tapia steals out of the break led to five points for the Cowgirls: a Gomez three and a Rusk layup, both of which were assisted by Tapia. Tapia is now one assist shy of 300 in her career. Erjavec scored on the fast break before Rusk hit her second three ball of the night. Vitulova then scored six-consecutive Cowgirl points while Mountain Lions scored a free throw and a layup. Tucker converted an and-one play to put Wyoming up 66-18. Vitulova scored her 11thand 12th points of the quarter with a pair of free throws, as Wyoming took a 71-25 lead into the final quarter.
The Mountain Lions found their offense in the fourth quarter, scoring five of the first seven points in the frame. Olson passed to Alba Sanchez Ramos for a corner three, and Sanchez Ramos recorded a steal while running back in transition. The Mountain Lions ended a 4:46 scoring drought with a free throw, trailing 79-31, but Sanchez Ramos drained another corner three to answer, and Tijana Raca followed with a three from the other corner on the next possession. Sanchez Ramos capped a 13-0 run with her final three pointer of the night, and the Mountain Lions scored on their last possession, making the final 97-37 for the Cowgirls. Wyoming shot 57.6 percent (38-of-66) from the field, 50.0 percent (14-of-28) from three and 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from the free throw line. The Cowgirls totaled 23 assists and just eight turnovers.
The Mountain Lions shot 26.5 percent (13-of-49) from the field, 42.9 percent (6-of-14) from three and 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from the line. UCCS had eight assists and 25 turnovers. Wyoming is back in action at the Pacific Thanksgiving Tournament, where they will face North Texas and Pacific. The first game is on Friday, Nov. 23, and the second is Saturday, Nov. 24.
