December 18, 2023 |
Photo – Wyoming vs Montana State – Courtesy gowyo.com
Sloppy play dogged the Wyoming Cowgirls in Bozeman Sunday were Montana State pulled away for a 64-55 win.
The Bobcats jumped out early, cashing in on Wyoming’s poor offensive start. In the first ten minutes, the Cowgirls committed more turnovers than shot attempts. The Cowgirls shot 2-of-9 while turning the ball over ten times. Montana State was up 13-5 at the end of the first quarter. Wyoming cut into the lead with a couple of extended runs in the 2nd quarter to trail by one point at the half.
The Cowgirls appeared to settle down in the third quarter, taking the lead briefly. Turnovers plagued Wyoming. The Cowgirls turned it over 20 times. Montana State scored 18 points off Wyoming’s miscues.
After shooting just 5-of-16 in the fourth, the Cowgirls finished the game with a shooting percentage of 38.5-percent (20-52) overall. From beyond the arc, the Cowgirls went 7-for-22.
Head coach Heather Ezell said her team could not overcome the turnover bug.
Another big factor in the loss was the lack of bench production. The Bobcat bench outscored UW’s, 26-9.
Wyoming now closes the non-conference slate with a pair of neutral-site contests next week. The Cowgirls play Wright State and Eastern Washington December 21 and 22, respectively at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic.
