(Ft. Collins, Colorado) Â The Wyoming women’s basketball team (18-7 overall, 10-4 MW) suffered a disappointing loss, 61-54, against the league-leading Colorado State Ram (20-6 overall, 12-2 MW) on Wednesday night.
Junior Liv Roberts led the way for the Cowgirls with 20 points and six rebounds. Fellow junior Natalie Baker finished with 11 points and six rebounds followed by senior Hailey Ligocki with ten points. Wyoming shot 22-49 (.449) from the field and 5-11 (.455) from the charity stripe. The two teams each recorded 28 boards, but UW committed 12 turnovers.
Wyoming got off to a quick start shooting 3-3 from the field to pull ahead 7-2 in the early going. The Rams responded with a 9-0 run take its first lead, 11-7. Ligocki hit a basket to end a five-minute scoreless stretch for the Cowgirls but CSU scored six of the final eight to take a 17-11 advantage after one. UW shot 5-14 (.357) from the field. Roberts hit a three to begin the second frame, which was answered with eight unanswered to extend the CSU lead to double-figures, 25-14. A jumper by sophomore Marta Gomez ended the run and the Cowgirls would close the deficit to six, 27-21, with 4:11 on the clock. The Rams quickly got the score back to ten, 31-21. Wyoming battled back and closed the gap with an 8-2 run to go down by four, 33-29, headed in to the locker room.
Two straight baskets by Roberts out of the break would tie up the game at 33 all. The two teams would combined for 12 points over the next several minutes until a basket by freshman Taylor Rusk gave Wyoming its first lead since the first half, 41-39. With it all tied up at 43, Roberts hit a basket with time winding down to put the Cowgirls ahead 45-43 after three. The Rams scored the next eight points to regain a 51-45 advantage to begin the quarter. Four points by Baker closed the gap to four, 53-49, but Wyoming didn’t have enough down the stretch and came up short 61-54.
Wyoming will return home to close out the week welcoming the Boise State Broncos. The game is set for 2 p.m. MT at the Arena-Auditorium. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game.
