March 9, 2023 — The University of Wyoming women’s basketball team’s chase for a Mountain West Conference Tournament title slipped away in the fourth quarter as league champion UNLV came away with a 71-60 over UW. It was the third time this season that UW, 22-10, fell to the Rebels, 31-2.
“Congratulations to UNLV,” head coach Heather Ezell said. “That’s a really good team that’s going to represent the Mountain West really well in the NCAA Tournament.” Ezell added, “I’ve got a group here that I’m so proud of, and I’m lucky to be their coach. It didn’t fall their way, but I got a team that’s still ready to fight and still ready to come in every day and ready to go. That’s what I love about coaching this team.”
While the probability of getting an at-large invite to the NCAA Women’s Tournament is slim, Wyoming will now wait and see if it’s selected for the WNIT. That announcement is expected Sunday night.
Wyoming trailed 17-15 at the end of the first quarter. The Rebels would increase their lead to eight points in the second quarter, but the Cowgirls battled back to trail only 31-28 at the half.
UNLV controlled the first part of the third quarter, building their lead to 43-30. However, UW would again fight back, hitting four three-point shots to trail 50-49 with under a minute on the clock.
In the fourth quarter, UNLV again pushed its lead back to double figures. Wyoming made another run, cutting the deficit to six, 61-55, with just under six minutes remaining, but UW would get no closer.
Cowboys Basketball Season Come to an End
The Wyoming Cowboys saw their season end last night with an 87-76 loss to New Mexico in the first round of the Men’s Mountain West Tournament. Wyoming’s Hunter Maldonado closed out his Cowboy playing days by scoring a career-high 36 points in the loss. See more here.
