UW return to action on Wednesday
LARAMIE, Wyo. (Jan. 27, 2018) – Senior Liv Roberts and junior Bailee Cotton helped lead the Wyoming basketball team (14-5 overall, 7-1 MW) to a double-digit win, 58-46, over the San Jose State Spartans (6-14 overall, 3-6 MW) on Saturday afternoon.
“Happy with the win. The defensive effort was there today. We left some things on the floor offensively,” head coach Joe Legerski said. “When you take a look at the numbers specifically after halftime we talked about having more energy. I will have to take a look at what we are doing and why we didn’t come out with the energy that we’ve had over the past games. Sometimes it starts with the emotional game that we had on Wednesday. Bailee (Cotton) gave us a big lift early. We were able to run a couple of sets, got her the basketball, she came through for us and got us off to a good start. It seemed like we got a little complacent and with San Jose State you can’t do that. Their ability to attack on the floor, puts you in difficult match-up situations. Then I thought Liv (Roberts) helped carry us today but in the fourth quarter she looked exhausted. I’m going to be honest our fans were awesome. I don’t think we win that game if we are on the road because they got in to it and gave us a lot of energy.”
Roberts finished her night with a game-high 20 points, three steals and three rebounds in 31 minutes of action. She needs just eight points to reach 1,000 for her career. Cotton followed with 16 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Juniors Clara Tapia and Marta Gomez each added six points. The Cowgirls were 21-of-54 (.389) from the field and 12-of-15 (.800) from the free throw line. UW out rebounded the Spartans 39-32 and had 34 points in the paint.
Sophomore Fieme’a Hafoka led the way for San Jose State with ten points in 27 minutes of action. Freshman Cydni Lewis followed with nine points and six boards, while senior Myzhanique Ladd chipped in eight points and six boards. The Spartans were 20of-56 (.357) from the field and 3-of-15 (.200) from beyond the arc.
Wyoming jumped out early in the game to an 8-0 advantage with baskets from three different players. Freshman Megan Anderson hit a shot for the Spartans to get them in the scoring column at 6:20 in the first quarter. The Cowgirls scored the next eight unanswered to make it 16-2 with under three minutes left in the quarter. Sophomore Analyss Benally hit a three to end a four minute scoreless stretch for San Jose State. After a couple of Cowgirl free throws, SJSU went on an 8-4 run to close the gap to seven, 20-13, early in the second quarter. Started by a Kepenc jumper, Wyoming scored nine of the next 13 points to extend the lead back to 12, 29-17. The two teams combined for 11 points in the final four minutes as the Cowgirls took a 36-24 lead in to the locker room.
Roberts led all scorers in the first half with 14 along with two rebounds. Cotton followed with 12 points and a team-high five rebounds. As a team, the Cowgirls were 13-of-30 (.433) from the field and 4-of-11 (.364) from beyond the arc. UW out rebounded the Spartans 21-12 and had 18 points in the paint. San Jose State was led by Hafoka with eight points while Benally added six points. SJSU was 10-of-26(.385) from the field and 2-of-8 (.250) from beyond the arc.
It was slow going for both teams out of the break as the Cowgirls scored five points while the Spartans scored eight to cut the lead to nine, 41-32. A basket by Gomez would end a five minute scoreless stretch for Wyoming. San Jose State scored the next seven points to pull within four, 43-39, early in the fourth period. Roberts hit a pair of free throws to stop the run and the Cowgirls scored the next six to increase the lead back to ten, 49-39. A three by freshman Danae Marquez hit a three to cut it to seven, 49-42, but that would be as close as it would get. The Cowgirls went on to the 12-point win, 58-46.
The Cowgirls will remain at home on Wednesday against the Colorado State Rams. The game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. MT in the Arena-Auditorium.