LARAMIE, Wyo. (Jan. 20, 2018) – Behind a career night from sophomore Taylor Rusk, the Wyoming basketball team (12-5 overall, 5-1 MW) earned a double-digit win, 61-44, over the Utah State Aggies (4-15 overall, 2-6 MW) on Saturday afternoon.
 
"That was a really good win for us today," head coach Joe Legerski said. "A difficult team to play, they have a number of line-ups that forced us to make constant changes match-up wise. To be pressed for 40 minutes also requires you to make a lot of decisions. For the most part, we became the aggressor on the offensive end in the second half. We stood around a great deal in the first couple of quarters and another concern is turning the ball over 18 times. To get a win any night is really important. I thought Taylor (Rusk) played extremely well. I challenged her at the first media timeout, because our decision making wasn't as quick as we wanted it to be. She really answered the call going 6-7 from the field, 19 total points and really helped us out. Also, Liv (Roberts) played really big on the defensive boards. Coming off the week we had, I was worried about us emotionally and we weren't as sharp, but give Utah State credit."     
 
Rusk led all scorers in the game behind a career-high 19 point effort while shooting 6-7 (.857) from the field and beyond the arc. She also added three assists, one block and one steal in 33 minutes of action. Senior Liv Roberts followed with 17 points and a game-high eight rebounds, while junior Bailee Cotton chipped in 11 points and eight boards. Wyoming shot 21-of-43 (.488) from the field and 10-of-18 (.556) from beyond the arc. They out rebounded the Aggies 34-23, had 20 assists on 21 made baskets and 18 points off turnovers.
 
Utah State was led by junior Rachel Brewster and redshirt sophomore Victoria Price with 11 points each. Price and sophomore Shannon Dufficy each recorded three assists. The Aggies were 19-of-52 (365) from the field and 4-of-12 (.333) from three.  
 
Utah State got on the board first with two quick baskets to go up 4-0. A three by Rusk followed by a three-point play by Cotton gave the Cowgirls its first lead, 6-4. Price hit a shot to tie it up at six, but a field goal from Roberts made it 8-6 through the first media timeout. Wyoming scored the next five of seven to pull ahead by five 13-8. A three by the Aggies closed the gap to two, but a late three by junior Marta Gomez gave UW a 16-11 lead after one. Utah State made it a two point contest, 18-16, with 7:20 left on the clock. Five unanswered by Wyoming increased the lead to seven, 23-16. Utah State outscored the Cowgirls 6-3 down the stretch, but Wyoming still took a 26-22 lead in to the locker room.
 
Roberts led all scorers in the first half with nine plus three rebounds and two assists. Rusk followed with six points while Cotton had five points and five rebounds. The Cowgirls were 9-of-23 (.391) from the field and 5-of-11 (.455) from beyond the arc, while out rebounding the Aggies 18-8. Utah State was led by Brewster with eight points followed by Price with seven. The Aggies were 9-of-20 (.450) from the field.
 
After the two traded early baskets, Wyoming ran off six straight to increase the lead to double-figures, 34-24. Out of a Utah State timeout, the Aggies scored seven of the next ten to close the gap to six, 37-31 with 3:41 in the third. The Cowgirls would push the lead back to double-digits, 44-33, capped off by a Rusk three. A late basket by Eliza West to close out period made it 44-35 in favor of UW. Seven straight by Wyoming to begin the fourth increased the lead back to 16, 51-35. Utah State made a small run to pull within 12, 52-40, mid fourth quarter and that would be as close as it would get. The Cowgirls scored the final nine of 13 points to come away with a 61-44 victory.  
 
The Cowgirls will head out on the road Wednesday for a match-up against the Nevada Wolf Pack. Wyoming defeated them earlier in the season 66-60, in Laramie. The game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. MT at Lawlor Events Center in Reno.