Wyoming Cowgirls lose season opener 62-56 to Utah State

The more veteran Utah State Aggies made the key plays in the final three minutes Friday night, as they defeated the Wyoming Cowgirls 62-56 at the Arena-Auditorium.  Ashlee Brown scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, but a huge three-pointer and a basket inside by Maddy Plunkett snapped a 46-all tie.  It was a lead the Cowgirls couldn't overcome.

Plunkett finished with 12 points off the bench, while Jennifer Schlott also scored 12 points for the Aggies.

Three Cowgirls scored in double figures, led by Freshman Kayla Woodward who put forth a double-double in her first game as a Cowgirl.  She scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.  Ashley Sickles and Kaitlyn Mileto each added 10 points apiece.

Cowgirl Coach Joe Legerski said Utah State's very talented,

I thought in the last four minutes, may have been the difference in the basketball game.  Their experience to be able to get the ball where they wanted to get the basketball, take some shots that they needed.  Plunkett hit a big three and came right back, and they got her inside.  At five points with three minutes to go is a little difficult to overcome.

The first half was a slow crawl.  Both teams shot less than 23 percent from the field and couldn't get on track.

After trailing 4-0 early, Wyoming finally scored their first points 4:14 into the game.  They slowly built a 13-7 advantage with 3:58 left in the first half.  The Cowgirls held an 18-16 lead at the break, as they shot 21.4 percent from the field, which included 1-13 from three-point range.  Utah State wasn't much better at 22.2 percent.

A 9-1 run by Utah State at the start of the second half gave the Aggies a 25-19 lead, but the Cowgirls responded thanks to Woodward, Mileto and Sickles.  A Sickles three with 9:38 remaining gave UW a 35-33 edge.  Four lead changes followed before the Cowgirls took a 44-40 lead on a Kaylee Hoffman free throw with 4:47 to play.

Two baskets by Brown and a jumper by Plunkett put Utah State back in front, but Wyoming tied it at 46 on Chaundra Sewell's basket in the paint with 3:21 left.  That's when Plunkett hit the big three and followed with a field goal on the low right block for a 51-46 lead that the Aggies would not relinquish.  Wyoming wouldn't get closer than three points the rest of the way, as Utah State went 9-of-10 at the free throw line in the final minute of play.

The Cowgirls shot 33.3 percent from the field and committed 15 turnovers.  They did out-rebound the bigger Aggies 42-39.  Meanwhile, Utah State shot 33.9 percent and went 19-23 (82.6 percent) from the free throw line.

Wyoming returns to action Monday night with their first road game of the season, as they head to the Mile High City for a match-up against the Denver Pioneers.  Game time is at 7 pm.  You can listen to Wyoming Cowgirl basketball on am 1290, KOWB, with coverage starting at 6:30 pm.