(Autumn McPherson Photo)
Coming off their highest scoring output of the season in their Mountain West opener against San Jose State just a few days ago, it felt like the Wyoming Cowgirls had some serious momentum entering their road contest against Fresno State. The Cowgirls scored a season-high 83 points against the Spartans, making 10 threes while shooting 46% from the field in that outing.
After one quarter of play in Fresno, the Cowgirls held onto an 11-6 lead after their excellent three-point shooting from the game prior translated to a 3/4 start from deep against the Bulldogs. Henna Sandvik–fresh off scoring a career-high 21 points in the Cowgirls’ win over San Jose State–got the scoring started for the Cowgirls just 18 seconds into the second quarter.
Then, the Cowgirls never scored again until the 9:29 mark of the third quarter.
Despite not scoring the basketball for over 10 minutes, the Cowgirls will still battle their way back to a one-point game at the end of the third quarter. The Bulldogs would score 12 straight points to open the final quarter of play, however, as they would ultimately run away with the contest in the fourth quarter and win by a final score of 53-36.
Turnovers would be the Cowgirls’ undoing in this contest, as they finished with a total of 24 turnovers, turning the ball over on an astounding 38.7% of their offensive possessions.
That is a less than ideal stat that certainly does not translate to wins on the road in conference play.
The Bulldogs were also very turnover prone in the contest, coughing the ball up 19 times themselves. The Cowgirls were not able to take advantage of those turnovers enough, though, as they only scored 13 points off the Bulldogs’ 19 turnovers.
The Cowgirls’ poor scoring depth also reared its head within the contest, as senior standout Malene Pedersen finished with 17 of the Cowgirls’ 36 points. Sandvik was the next highest scorer with only seven points in the game, and Madi Symons added six points. Freshman Jane Rumpf added a triple as the only points off the bench for the Cowgirls.
As a unit, the Cowgirls finished the contest 32% from the field and 29% from deep. The Cowgirls were also heavily outmatched on the glass, as the Bulldogs nearly doubled up the Cowgirls in rebounds as the Cowgirls finished with 19 and the Bulldogs pulled down 36 rebounds.
The Cowgirls continue Mountain West play on the road at New Mexico on January 31, where they will look to enter the new year with a win and 2-1 record in the league.
