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Life > Athletics > Basketball > 12/15/07
#24 WYOMING DOWNS TWU 75-60
Box Score
CASPER, Wyoming (December 15) - An 18-4 run in the final 9:04 of the first half sparked the Wyoming Cowgirls to a 75-60 win over the Texas Woman’s University Pioneers on Saturday afternoon in Casper, Wyoming.
TWU started the contest strong against the Cowgirls, the 24th ranked team in this week’s Associated Press NCAA Division I Women’s Top 25 poll. The Pioneers scored on their first three possessions of the game to jump out to a quick 6-5 lead. Wyoming responded to the early TWU push by scoring the next nine points in a row to surge in front by a 14-6 score. Consecutive three point baskets from senior forward Savannah Thompson helped the Pioneers claw back to tie the game at 14. For the next three minutes the two teams would battle back and forth, and, consequently, the score was deadlocked again at 23 just past the midway point of the first half when TWU junior post Renee Renz converted a layup in the paint. Unfortunately for the Pioneers, that was the last time the game would be tied.
Following the easy basket by Renz, the Cowgirls went on their decisive run. Two layups and a pair of free throws put Wyoming in front 29-23. A jump shot by Renz would only briefly stall the Cowgirls’ momentum. Wyoming scored the next twelve points in a row (three from Bolerjack, four from guard Dominique Sisk, and five from guard Aubrey Vandiver) to extend their advantage to 41-23 with 27 seconds left in the half. The Pioneers contributed mightily to the Wyoming rally with three turnovers in a four-possession span.
“That was the turning point right there,” said TWU head coach Beth Jillson. “We were playing so well to start the game, executing on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court. But, when they picked it up a little bit, we didn’t respond. We made some critical turnovers, gave up a few easy baskets, and consequently, they pulled away from us.”
Sophomore guard Jessica Durr and senior guard Brandi Crouch scored 14 and nine points respectively in the second half to keep TWU within striking distance of the Cowgirls. The Pioneers, however, could not get any closer than 11 points (44-33) in the final twenty minutes of play.
Bolerjack and senior forward Hannah Zavecz led the Cowgirls with 16 points apiece in the win. Vandiver and junior forward Rebecca Vanderjagt contributed 12 points each for Wyoming.
Renz tallied a game-high 19 points in the loss for TWU. Durr chipped in 18 for the Pioneers while Crouch finished with nine points.
Perhaps the most telling stat of the game was the rebound totals. The Cowgirls dominated the glass, outrebounding the Pioneers 49-28. 25 of Wyoming’s rebounds came on the offensive end of the court.
“That really hurt,” Jillson said of the rebound differential. “We would play good defense, force a bad a shot, and then give up the offensive rebound. They definitely took advantage of the size advantage they had on us.”
With the win, Wyoming improved to 9-1 on the year. The loss drops the Pioneers’ record to 3-5. TWU will play one more game before the Christmas holiday, hosting East Central University at Kitty Magee Arena on Thursday, December 20, at 2:00 p.m.
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