DENVER, Colo. (Nov. 16, 2017) – The Wyoming basketball team (3-0 overall) went out on the road for the first time and earned a ten-point win, 61-51, over the Denver Pioneers (1-2 overall) on Thursday night.
 
Senior Liv Roberts all Cowgirl scorers with a team-high 17 points and nine rebounds. Senior Natalie Baker had 12 points and nine rebounds, while junior Bailee Cotton chipped in nine points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Taylor Rusk tied her career-high five assists plus seven points and six rebounds. Wyoming shot 20-of-51 (.392) from the field and 16-of-18 (.889) from the free throw line. UW out rebounded Denver 44-31.   
 
 "We played well again on the defensive end tonight," head coach Joe Legerski said. "We always know it's difficult to play on the road and in the last five minutes during the media timeout is here we are again. This is who we are, we have to win the last five minutes to win the basketball game. Denver made a run at us, got it down to three. We came back Taylor (Rusk) hit a big three, she has an assist to Bailee (Cotton) and get it back to nine. You could just see the confidence in this team and this team is getting deeper on the bench. Selale (Kepenc) stepped up and played well, Marta (Gomez) came in and gave us some important minutes."      
 
The Pioneers were led by freshman Clair Gritt with a game-high 18 points, including 13 in the third quarter. Junior Samantha Romanowski finished with eight points, while senior Jordyn Alt had a team-high nine rebounds and five points. DU was 20-of-62 (.323) from the field and 7-of-17 (.412) from three, while causing 22 turnovers.
 
In the third quarter, the Pioneers gained some early momentum with an 8-3 run to cut the deficit to five, 30-25. Wyoming scored nine of the next 11 to regain a double-digit lead, 39-27, with 5:08 left in the quarter. Six unanswered by Denver made it a six point contest, but the Cowgirls closed out the final three minutes with a 7-3 run to make it 46-36 headed in to the final ten minutes. DU continued its solid shooting in the second half with another three straight baskets to pull them to within three, 46-43, the closest they'd been since the first quarter. A three by Rusk ended a three minute scoring drought for the Cowgirls which started an 8-0 run to make it 54-43 with 4:41 remaining. Wyoming clamped down defensively and held the Pioneers to just eight points the rest of the way to come up with a 61-51 victory.
 
It was tough going early for both teams, but five points from Roberts got the Cowgirls on the board. Free throws by Osborn with 5:58 on the clock put Denver on the scoreboard. The teams combined for a 2-of-13 shooting effort as Wyoming took a 5-2 lead through the first media timeout. Roberts and sophomore Madison Nelson hit free throws to end respective scoring droughts to make it 7-3. Sophomore Selale Kepenc hit back to back three's to put UW up by double-figures 13-3 early in the second quarter. Gritt hit a layup at the 8:06 mark to start a small run by the Pioneers to pull them to within six, 13-7. The Cowgirls increased the lead back up to 13, 27-14, with a three-point play by Roberts. A late basket with a minute to go make it a 27-17 lead for Wyoming at halftime.
 
Roberts led all scorers and rebounders with 10 points and six rebounds at the break. Baker had six points and five boards while Kepenc also chipped in six points. The Cowgirls shot 9-of-26 (.346) from the field and 6-of-6 (1.00) from the free throw line. They out rebounded Denver 24-15, but turned the ball over 14 times. The Pioneers were led by Romanowski with four points followed by sophomores Briana Johnson and Lauren Loven with three points. DU was 6-of-27 (.222) from the field and 1-of-4 (.250) from beyond the arc. They had ten turnovers which Wyoming converted to 12 points.
 
Wyoming returns to action on Tuesday, Nov. 21 as it host the Drake Bulldogs. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. MT in the Arena-Auditorium.