STOCKTON, Calif. — The Wyoming Cowgirls basketball team started strong and only got stronger as Saturday’s game progressed in a 67-48 win over UC Davis.
Cowgirl veterans Grace Ellis and Quinn Weidemann took over in the final four minutes of the game, combining to score Wyoming’s final 15 points, ultimately extending an eight-point lead in the eventual 19-point victory.
After a pair of missed free throws from Weidemann, Ellis was able to get the offensive rebound and send it back to Weidemann for a 3-pointer to push the Cowgirls lead to 55-44 with just over four minutes remaining. Then Weidemann would get a driving layup and hit a pair at the free throw line to make it 59-44. After that, a pair of 3-point Ellis made it 65-48 with about a minute and a half left. Weidemann would then seal the victory with another lay-up with 46 seconds left for the final bucket of the game.
Unlike Friday’s loss to the Pacific, the Cowgirls came out strong, hitting 50% of their shots and leading up to nine in just 10 minutes of the game.
UW led 19-14 after the first. In the second quarter, the Aggies would cut the deficit to 25-21 with four minutes left in the half, but a 7-0 run in Wyoming gave the Cowgirls what would be their biggest lead of the game until the final thrust in fourth. quarter, at 32-21.
In the third, the Aggies continued to cut Wyoming’s lead but could never tie it or take the lead, as the Cowgirls led from start to finish Saturday. The Aggies would cut the deficit to just 40-37 going into the fourth quarter. UW responded to start the fourth, scoring the first two baskets, then never looked back.
“I have to give the girls a lot of credit for getting off to a quick start today and the way we came out to start,” said head coach Heather Ezell.
“I was proud of the effort they played with to open the game. We talked about it yesterday, we knew we would have a quick turnaround and we talked about reacting. We worked very well as a team in defense it was total teamwork. The big thing today was that we had that tenacity in our eyes.
Weidemann and Ellis paved the way for what was a balanced offensive attack. Weidemann scored a game-high 18 on 6-for-11 shooting and 3-on-6 from 3-point range. Ellis, meanwhile, was 17 and hit 6 of 10 from the field and had a career-high three 3-pointers, perfect from beyond the arc.
Off the bench, Marta Savic gave the Cowgirls a boost by finishing in double figures with 11 points and grabbing five rebounds.
Allyson Fertig had nine rebounds and had nine points, while Ellis added seven rebounds.
For the game, the Cowgirls shot a season-high 46.2 percent and went 6 of 17 from behind the 3-point arc. UC Davis was held to just 31% for the game. The Cowgirls also held one of the top scorers in the nation in UC Davis’ Evanne Turner. Turner entered the contest averaging 22 points per game this season and was limited to just 11 against the Cowgirls.
The Cowgirls now head home for their second three-game home game of the season. Wyoming hosts Montana State for a contest on Friday, Dec. 2 in Laramie.
