January 15, 2023 — It was a busy Saturday for the University of Wyoming sports as the Cowboy and Cowgirl basketball teams and the wrestling team were all in conference match-ups. Unfortunately, only one team can out a winner. That would be the Cowgirl basketball team, who posted a 64-48 road win at San Jose State, their fifth win in a row.
Cowgirls Win
The Wyoming Cowgirls used a big fourth quarter to secure their eleventh win of the season, 64-48, over San Jose State. In the final period, the Cowgirls’ (11-5) offense outscored the home-standing Spartans 23-14. The win upped UW’s Mountain West record to 4-1, which keeps them in a second-place tie with San Diego State and Colorado State. UNLV leads the MW at 6-0 (16-2 overall).
“Contributions from pretty much everybody that saw minutes, which was awesome,” said Associate Head Coach Ryan Larsen postgame.
Emily Mellema led the Cowgirls with 12 points, all of which came in the final 2:34 of the contest as she hit a career-high ten free throws. Allyson Fertig, Tommi Olson, Ola Ustowska, and Quinn Weidemann all added nine points apiece in the win.
Wyoming led at the end of the first quarter 10-7, 27-20 at the end of the first half, and 41-34 entering the fourth quarter.
The Cowgirls will close out their three-game road trip Monday night at Nevada.
Cowboys Fall
The Wyoming Cowboys dropped their seventh straight contest Saturday night, 85-68, to Boise State in Laramie. The Pokes are now 0-5 in Mountain West play (5-12 overall), while Boise State improved to 4-1 in league play (14-4 overall).
“They are a good team, and that is a good program (Boise State),” UW head coach Jeff Linder stated. “I was there for the first six years, and now they’re 13 years in. I remember the first few years there; we had to go through some tough times to build a program. That is where we’re at right now. We’re battling, but sometimes you can only control what you can control. Between the injuries and the illnesses, it’s really hard, and it’s really hard on our guys.”
The Cowboys remained shorthanded, using their 12th different starting lineup this season, the second most in the NCAA. They did welcome back leading scorer Noah Reynolds who led the Pokes with 13 points in 32 minutes of play. Hunter Maldonado added 12 points.
Wyoming stayed close in the initial part of the first half, trailing just 10-9 with 13:34 to go. But the Broncos went on an 8-0 run, increasing the lead to 17-9 at the 11:20 mark on their way to a 41-33 first-half lead.
Boise State would jump to a 15-point lead, 50-35, just 90 seconds into the second half and increase the margin to 20 points, 61-41, with 13:22 to play. UW would cut the deficit to 17 points but could get no closer for the remainder of the game.
Wyoming travels to Air Force (2-3 MW, 11-7 overall) for a Tuesday night game. The Falcon defeated Fresno State 51-48 on Saturday.
Cowboy Wrestlers Lose Home Dual
UW hosted their first home dual of the season on Saturday night against nationally ranked Missouri. Unfortunately, the Cowboys fell to the No. 7 Tigers 28-10. Wyoming won three matches on the night.
“I’m proud of our fight tonight, and I think we were able to see that we have the potential to be a better team, and these guys have potential to be better individuals,” Wyoming Head Coach Mark Branch said afterward.
Results:
125 – Jore Volk (WYO) major dec. No. 12 Noah Surtin (MIZZ) 11-1
133 – Connor Brown (MIZZ) major dec. Garrett Ricks (WYO) 16-4
141 – Job Greenwood (WYO) dec. Kade Moore (MIZZ) 11-4
149 – Brock Mauller (MIZZ) dec. Chase Zolmann (WYO) 6-1
157 – Jarrett Jacques (MIZZ) dec. No. 14 Jacob Wright (WYO) 10-8
165 – Kegan O’Toole (MIZZ) fall (1:23) over Cole Moody (WYO)
174 – Peyton Mocco (MIZZ) major dec. Brett McIntosh (WYO) 15-5
184 – Colton Hawks (MIZZ) dec. Quayin Short (WYO) 6-3
197 – Rocky Elam (MIZZ) tech. fall over Tyce Raddon (WYO) 18-1
285 – Terren Swartz (WYO) dec. Ryan Boersma (MIZZ) 3-1
The Cowboys will travel to Fargo, North Dakota, to face North Dakota State on Saturday, January 21, and South Dakota State the following day.
