Cowgirls Shoot to 81-66 Win Over Denver

Kayla Woodward led five Cowgirls in double figures with 20 points in a 81-66 Wyoming victory over the Denver Pioneers Friday night at the Arena-Auditorium. UW scorched the nets for 59.2 percent shooting from the field.

The Cowgirls (2-0) led the entire game while hitting just 51.7 percent (15-29) of their free throws and with two starters, Chaundra Sewell and Kaitlyn Mileto, in foul trouble.

Head Coach Joe Legerski said, "Talk about a team effort tonight. It was a hard fought, physical game, and we responded very well."

UW started the game on a 17-4 run, but a 9-0 spurt by the Pioneers eventually pulled them within five points, at 23-18. Wyoming answered with their own 9-0 run and were up 42-32 at halftime. Denver made another push midway through the second half and got within 61-50, but another 9-0 run by the Cowgirls put them up 70-50, and they finished it out with a 15-point victory.

Sophomore Guard Allison Guard said the physicality and emotion of the game made it more intense, "It makes it a lot harder. You never feel like we were up by that much. The entire time we were kind of on edge, but it makes the end result that much better."

Woodward was 7-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Gorrell had 15 points and 5 assists, Ashley Sickles and Mileto added 14 points each, and Sewell had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Wyoming hit 29-of-49 of their shots and hit 57.1 percent (8-14) from three. UW grabbed 30 rebounds and forced 14 turnovers from DU.

Denver (0-3) was led by Morgan Van Riper-Rose with 16 points. The Pioneers shot 45.8 percent (27-59) from the field and 27.3 percent (3-11) from beyond the arc.

UW will hit the road for the first time this season for the Pepperdine Tournament in Malibu, Calif. Their first game will be against Seton Hall on Friday, Nov. 23rd at 2 p.m. with coverage starting on KOWB at 1:30 p.m.