Cowgirls post big win/Cowboy wrestlers win four championships

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University of Wyoming photo

November 28, 2021 — Saturday was a rebound day for the Wyoming Cowgirls basketball team while the Wyoming Cowboy wrestlers started their team season hosting the Cowboy Open in Laramie.

Cowgirls vs. Denver

The Wyoming Cowgirl basketball team put together an impressive offensive display Saturday afternoon as they defeated Denver 81-51 in the closing game of the Pioneer Thanksgiving Classic in Denver. The 81 points by the Cowgirls set a season-best for them in scoring, as did the 30-point margin of victory.

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Wyoming, now 3-3 on the season, set numerous season-bests on the offensive end in the victory. UW had their best scoring quarter of the season, building a 28-11 end of the first quarter led. The Cowgirls would increase the lead to 43-23 by the half. The 43 points are tied for the Cowgirls’ best scoring half of the season.

The Cowgirls offense continued to shine in the third with 26 points building the lead to 69-33 by the end of the quarter.

“I’m really pleased with today, really proud of the way we played and the effort,” said Head Coach Gerald Mattinson. “I thought we came out today, and our defensive effort sparked our offensive effort. We got after it; we took them out of what they wanted to do.”

Wyoming opened both the game and the second half with hot-shooting as it shot 11-for-15 from the floor in the first quarter and hit its lone 3-pointer via McKinley Bradshaw. In the third, the Cowgirls shot 8-of-15 from the floor to help lengthen its lead out of the locker room.

Allyson Fetig and McKinley Bradshaw led Wyoming in scoring, each scoring 16 points. Quinn Weidermann and Grace Ellis also finished in double figures in the win, going for 13 and 11, respectively.

The Cowgirls will remain on the road as they travel to Gonzaga this coming Friday. Game time is 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on WyoRadio’s 1360/103.5 KRKK and 1360KRKK.com beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Cowboy Open Wrestling

University of Wyoming Photo

The Cowboy Wrestling squad officially got their season underway on Saturday as they hosted the Cowboy Open. The day was highlighted by four individual champions for the Cowboys and a top-ten upset win from Job Greenwood.

 
“It was our first competition, and we were knocking off some rust, and we saw that, but we still got some good wins today.” Head Wrestling Coach Mark Branch said. “It was good to see Job have such a good day and get a signature win early in the season. He really wrestled a complete match, and it was a hard-earned win.”

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Greenwood, wrestling at 133 pounds, displayed grit and toughness all day on his way to winning the Cowboy Open. In the semifinals, Greenwood was up against Julian Chlebove of Arizona State. Trailing early in the match, Greenwood busted things open with a takedown and four near-fall points to take a lead that he would never surrender in his 7-3 victory.
 
That set up a finals match against No. 8 ranked Michael McGee of Arizona State, who defeated Greenwood last season in a dual meet. After trading takedowns and escapes, the match was tied 6-6 late in the third period. With time running out, Greenwood scored a reversal and held on for an 8-7 victory avenging his loss from a year ago. 
 
Other Cowboys winning titles were Tate Samuelson (184 pounds), Stephen Buchanan (197 pounds), and Copper Voorhees (157 pounds).
 
Up next, the Cowboys will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, for the very competitive Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. The tournament is set to take place December 3 – December 4 and will feature multiple ranked teams and wrestlers.