Wyoming Cowgirl Basketball Looks To Keep It Rolling

The Wyoming Cowgirls go for their 10th straight win tonight, as they host the Fresno State Bulldogs at the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie.

Wyoming (18-5, 11-3) had surged into a tie for second place in the Mountain West Conference standings. They share that spot with New Mexico, and both are just one game behind league-leader Boise State.

The Cowgirls haven’t lost in the month of February. If they can pick up a victory tonight, it would not only mark a perfect month but also just the fourth time in school history they’ve had a double-figure win streak.

What’s been the key? Wyoming head coach Joe Legerski points to his team’s improvement on defense.

“What’s really come around is our team defense. It just seems our rotations are better. We have two freshmen that have really figured out how to play defensively, with Karla (Erjavec) and Quinn (Weidemann), and that’s really helped us. Then, everyone else on the floor has so much experience, that they just seem to be figuring out how they want to rotate, who they want to help with, and we have active hands. When you get that combination going, I think the defensive numbers speak for themselves.”

The Cowgirls are allowing opponents to shoot only 39 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from 3-point range in conference games. They’ve also forced 180 turnovers in league play and are out-scoring foes by nearly 13 points per game.

UW won the first meeting last month in Fresno, CA, 63-56. That was game three during the current nine-game win streak.

Fresno State (17-9, 10-5) is coming off a loss to Nevada in their last game. The Bulldogs are led by senior Candice White, who leads the MW in scoring at 18.5 points per game. Two other double-figure scorers for Fresno State are Maddi Utti and Aly Gamez.

The Cowgirls have won two straight in the series. The game starts at 6:30 p.m. in Laramie. KOWB (AM 1290) will air live coverage at 6 p.m.

Wyoming Cowboys

If the women are at home that means the Wyoming Cowboys are on the road. The Pokes take on the Bulldogs from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, CA tonight at 8 p.m.

Wyoming (6-21, 2-12) is coming off their worst road loss of the season, a 35-point defeat at the hands of rival Colorado State. The 48 points scored in the loss to the Rams was also a season-low for UW.

Fresno State (19-8, 10-5) enters off of back-to-back losses to Air Force at home last Wednesday and to Nevada last Saturday.

The Bulldogs did win the first meeting last month in Laramie. Fresno State got hot from 3-point range and pulled away for a 75-62 victory. Senior guards Braxton Huggins (18.6 points per game) and Deshon Taylor (17.4) lead the way for the Bulldogs.

Wyoming won last year in Fresno, 78-68. The game begins at 8 p.m. KCGY (FM 95.1) will air the broadcast starting at 7:30 p.m.