DURHAM, N.C. (December 21, 2017) – The Wyoming basketball team (7-4 overall) closed out its non-conference schedule with a double-digit loss, 63-40, against the 14^th ranked Duke Blue Devils (10-2 overall) on Thursday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
 
Junior Marta Gomez led the Cowgirls off the bench with a team-high nine points along with three rebounds in 26 minutes of action. Senior Liv Roberts and sophomore Taylor Rusk followed with seven points each, while Roberts added seven rebounds. Junior Bailee Cotton finished the night with a team-high eight rebounds plus six points and career-high four steals. Wyoming shot a season-low 14-of-49 (.286) from the field and 6-of-11 (.545) from the free throw line, while committing a season-high 22 turnovers.
 
"We were 4-of-9 from the free throw line in the first half. We always talk that may be a result of where the focus is at and it's always about not being ready to play," head coach Joe Legerski said. "When you talk about playing at Duke, Cameron Indoor Stadium, you could see the nervousness which results in the numbers from the free throw line. To begin the third quarter, we discussed relaxing, being a little more aggressive and getting in to a rhythm, but Duke really stepped up its level of play, came at us and pushed to score. You can see why they are 14^th in the country. I told the team I was proud that we kept competing until the end. Taylor (Rusk) hit some shots in the second half, we ended getting people open on cuts and Bailee (Cotton) played well all night long. There are some real positives to take away individually. As a group, their length and athleticism created some issues for us."
 
Redshirt senior Lexie Brown recorded a game-high 23 points while adding four rebounds, three assists and steals. Redshirt sophomore Hailey Gorecki followed with 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds. The Blue Devils shot 25-of-55 (.455) from the field and out rebounded the Cowgirls, 36-33.
 
It was tough going early for the Cowgirls as they turned the ball over three of the first four possessions, while Duke built a 7-0 lead. Cotton got UW in the scoring column with a layup at the 7:38 mark. Each team scored a basket with the Blue Devils taking a 9-4 lead through the first media timeout. Wyoming went three minutes until a three by Gomez closed the gap to two, 9-7. Duke scored the final four of five points to take a 13-8 lead after one. The Cowgirls shot 3-of-12 (.250) from the field and had six turnovers. Rakovic hit a bucket quickly into the second period, which was answered with an 8-0 run by Duke to extend the lead to double-figures, 21-10. A basket by Roberts and a free throw by Rusk ended another lengthy scoreless stretch by Wyoming. Gorecki increased the Blue Devil lead back to ten, 23-13, but the Cowgirls closed out the half on a 6-2 run to head in to the locker room down six, 25-19.
 
In the first half, junior Sladjana Rakovic led the way with six points and two rebounds. Cotton followed with four points and four boards, while Gomez and Roberts each added three points. UW was 7-of-23 (.304) from the field and struggled from the line shooting just 4-of-9 (.444), plus turned the ball over nine times. Duke was led by Gorecki and senior Erin Mathias with six points each, while sophomore Leaonna Odom brought down six rebounds. The Blue Devils were 12-of-32 (.375) from the field, while out rebounding UW 22-16. They also scored 20 points in the paint compared to ten by the Cowgirls.  
 
Duke opened up the third quarter with a 14-3 run to increase the lead to 17, 39-22, capped off by a three-point play by Brown. Free throws by Roberts got the Cowgirls back in the scoring column, but the Blue Devils scored six unanswered to make it a 21-point game, 45-24, with 2:01 on the clock. Back to back three's by Rusk helped Wyoming make it a 16-point contest, 46-30. Over the next three minutes, Duke went on an 11-0 run to push the lead back to 27, 57-30, with 8:20 left in the fourth. Despite out scoring its opponent 10-6 in the final 7:53, the Cowgirls would fall by 23, 63-40.
 
Wyoming returns to action next week with the start of the Mountain West season. The team opens up against the San Diego State Aztecs, on Thursday, Dec. 28, in San Diego. The game is set for 7:30 p.m. MT.