LARAMIE, WYOMING (Jan 8. 2020) — With the 2010s decade closing, the Wyoming athletics staff who have seen the last 10 years of Cowgirl basketball, not including basketball staff, were asked to vote on an all-decade starting five.
The five Cowgirls named to the team include Hillary Carlson, Aubrey Vandiver, Liv Roberts, Kayla Woodward, and Marquelle Dent.
The voting for the All-Decade team was points-based, with each first-choice selection earning six points, while a sixth-choice selection earned one point.
Carlson played from 2008-11 and spent two years dominating in the 2010s. She ended her career with a balanced stat line of 1,485 points (11th all-time at UW), 627 rebounds (15th all-time), 141 assists, 212 blocks (second all-time) and 13 double-doubles. Carlson was named to three All-Mountain West teams during her career was named the Mountain West Player of the Week five times.
The native of Cheyenne, Wyo., was the top vote-getter during the nomination process. Carlson’s 10 blocks against Nevada on March 9, 2010, are a single-game school record. Additionally, she blocked a school-record 98 shots during the 2010 seasons.
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Vandiver played for UW from 2007-11 and spent three years playing with Carlson. Vandiver finished an impressive career with 1,654 points (seventh all-time), 936 rebounds (fourth all-time), 280 assists (13th all-time), 156 steals (eighth all-time) and 38 double-doubles (third all-time). Vandiver was named the Mountain West Player of the Year in 2011 and is one of just three league Players of the Year in Cowgirl history.
The Laramie, Wyo., native was a three-time All-MW selection and a six-time MW Player of the Week. Vandiver’s 625 points in 2011 are a single-season school record. Of the four seasons a Cowgirl has pulled down at least 300 rebounds, Vandiver has two, including the school record of 323 in 2010.
One of Vandiver’s fellow Players of the Year, Roberts picked up the third-most votes in the poll. Roberts was named the Mountain West Player of the Year in 2018. During her senior season, Roberts led the team in scoring at 14.4 points per game and pulled down 5.8 rebounds per contest.
She was all-MW twice and earned one all-MW defensive team selection. The Missoula, Mont., native finished her career with 1,201 points (18th all-time), 597 rebounds (17th all-time), 161 assists and 10 double-doubles.
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Woodward is one of the most prolific shooters in Cowgirl history, as she sits third in career three-point field goal makes (242), third in three-point field goal attempts (642) and eighth in three-point field goal percentage (.380). Overall, Woodward scored 1,769 points (fourth all-time), 812 rebounds (eighth all-time), 247 assists (17th all-time), 49 blocks (19th all-time), 147 steals (12th all-time) and 21 double-doubles (10th all-time).
The Sheridan, Wyo., native was named a WBCA Honorable Mention All-American in 2014 and earned WBCA All-Region honors the same season. She was a four-time All-Mountain West selection and earned five MW Player of the Week honors.
Dent is one of the premier playmakers in Cowgirl history, finishing her career with 514 assists, second all-time at UW. She also scored 1,337 points (15th all-time), grabbed 323 rebounds and had 181 steals (sixth all-time). Dent earned WBCA Honorable Mention All-American honors in 2015 and was named to the WBCA All-Region team that same season. During her All-American campaign, she averaged a team-best 17.7 points, 6.0 assists and 2.2 steals per game.
The Denver, Colo., native earned all-Mountain West honors twice, All-MW Defensive Team honors twice and was named the league’s Player of the Week once.
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Other Cowgirls receiving votes in the poll were Chaundra Sewell, Marta Gomez, and Fallon Lewis.
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