Cowgirls Win Thriller on Senior Night
- University of Wyoming Athletics Press Release
- 40 minutes ago
- 3 min read
LARAMIE, Wyo. – It was a back-and-forth, hard-fought affair all night, but in the end, the Wyoming Cowgirls got the defensive stops they needed in the final minute to escape with a 59-57 Senior Night victory Tuesday in a gritty win over Grand Canyon. Wyoming got two stops in the final 44 seconds to hang on for the thrilling win.
Wyoming came out cold to start the game, missing its first four shots before driving layups from Jane Rumpf and Payton Muma got the first points of the game. The Cowgirls scored the first six points Tuesday and led 8-8 at the first media timeout as the cold shooting then returned for UW. Following the timeout, GCU took its first lead of the game and continued its run to take a 12-8 lead. Wyoming closed the quarter with the last three points and trailed 12-11 going to the second.
The Cowgirls got the first two buckets of the second quarter, forcing a quick Grand Canyon timeout a minute into the frame. After the timeout, the Wyoming lead was nine thanks in large part to Malene Pedersen and Henna Sandvik. From there, the Lopes clawed their way back before the end of the half and cut the UW lead down to 24-19 going into halftime as the Cowgirls offense remained stagnant for the first half.
After Wyoming got the first hoop of the third quarter, the Lopes went on a 13-2 run to go up by four as they started getting hot offensively. The Cowgirl offense continued its struggles as they trailed 37-30 at the media timeout as GCU couldn't miss from the outside. Out of the timeout, the Cowgirls would get to within two a couple times as a Pedersen 3-pointer, Wyoming's first of the game, made it 44-42. Grand Canyon held onto a 46-44 lead going into the fourth.
A Sandvik jumper tied things to begin the fourth quarter before the two teams started trading baskets. A Pedersen layup after a lengthy defensive possession by the Cowgirls gave Wyoming the lead with 7:23 to play. UW built the lead up to 54-48 before a quick response from Grand Canyon. The Lopes would tie the game at 55-55 before three straight points from the Brown & Gold with under two minutes left.
From there, GCU would respond once again, this time getting to within one on the next possession. From there, the Cowgirls clamped down defensively on one trip and then after a made free-throw were able to force a miss with under four seconds left and secured the rebound and the win, the next time down the floor. UW was also able to win an out-of-bounds challenge with 14 seconds left to be able to get to the line to go up by two.
"I think this was the epitome of the 'Cowgirl Toughness' that we talk about," said Head Coach Heather Ezell.
"Where you have to just grind out the win and to do it for the seniors tonight, we were going to leave everything out on the court. A handful of players, that's exactly what they did."
Pedersen recorded a game- and team-high 20 points as she recorded her 17th-career 20-point game in her final home contest as a Cowgirl. Pedersen also made Wyoming's lone 3-pointer on the night. Pedersen had a masterful all-around game, grabbing five rebounds, recording five assists and tallying a steal in the win.
Sandvik closed with 16 points, four assists and a block while Rumpf finished with eight points. Off the bench, Madi Symons was dynamite, scoring eight points and grabbing eight rebounds to go along with a pair of assists. Logann Alvar had a block and five rebounds on her Senior Night while Aurore Eyango had three assists and played strong defense in her final home game in the Brown & Gold.
As a team, the Cowgirls shot 23-for-53 (43.4-percent) from the floor but went just 1-of-11 from beyond-the-arc. The Lopes shot 21-of-62 (33.9-percent) and made just 6-of-24 from 3-point range. Four of those 3-pointers came in GCU's 27-point third quarter. UW made three more free throws and was plus-one on the boards.
Grand Canyon had a 12-11 edge in points off turnovers as both teams committed 11 miscues. Wyoming held a 32-28 margin in points in the paint while the Lopes had a 9-5 advantage in second-chance points. The Cowgirls got 11 points from their bench while GCU had 13.
Up next is the Mountain West Basketball Championships beginning Saturday, March 7. The Cowgirls will be the No. 8 seed at the tournament and will face ninth-seeded Air Force at 1 p.m., Mountain Time Saturday to open the tournament.
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