LARAMIE, Wyo. (Feb. 10, 2018) – Behind a hot shooting night from beyond the arc, the Wyoming basketball team (16-7 overall, 9-3 MW) held on for a 69-56 victory over the UNLV Lady Rebels (14-9 overall, 9-3 MW) on Saturday afternoon.
 
"I always think about with a 40 minute game, you go through stretches and scoring runs. I thought in the first half we shoot the ball exceptional from three," head coach Joe Legerski said. "With that, we were able to defend, hold them to one and out then we were able to get in to our transition game. With the transition and motion, we got some good looks at the basket which was important. We still had to come through with making our shots and going 12-of-15 from beyond the arc in the first two quarters was tremendous. In the fourth quarter, we put them to the foul line a great deal which took away our transition game and we had to go to a half-court game. UNLV is very good defensively when they force you in to a half-court game. They make it difficult to move and enter the ball, plus we got out of our rhythm. I also look at the numbers from the free throw line and I really thought we lost our focus. I knew we couldn't maintain the intensity level we had in the first half, you just have to manage the second half and find a way to win. We did that for the most part."       
 
Senior Liv Roberts led the way with a game-high 21 points along with three rebounds and three assists. Fellow seniors Natalie Baker and Marleah Campbell each chipped in 11 points, while Baker and junior Bailee Cotton had a team-high six rebounds. Wyoming finished 23-of-46 (.500) from the field and 14-of-24 (.583) from beyond the arc. The Cowgirls had 21 assists on 23 baskets and 27 points off the bench. The 14 three-point field goals ties for the most this season when they also knocked down 14 against Drake on Nov. 21.
 
UNLV was led by redshirt junior Nikki Wheatley who finished with 18 points and four steals. Fellow juniors Katie Powell and Paris Strawther each added 13 and 12 points respectively, while Powell brought down a game-high nine rebounds. The Lady Rebels shot 17-of-51 (.333) from the field and 19-of-24 (.792) from the free throw line.  
 
Both teams traded baskets early, but the Cowgirls responded with a 16-2 run to extend the lead to double-figures, 18-4. A basket by Powell ended an almost four minute scoring drought which started a 6-0 run by the Lady Rebels to cut the lead to eight, 18-10. Back to back field goals by juniors Marta Gomez and Sladjana Rakovic extended the lead back to 13, 23-10. Free throws and a basket by UNLV made it a single-digit game, 23-14, but three point field goals by Roberts and Gomez made it 32-16, early in the second quarter. The Lady Rebels scored six of the next nine to pull within 13, 35-22. Wyoming closed out the half on a 9-2 run to take a 20-point lead, 44-24, in to the locker room.
 
Roberts led all scorers in the first half with 15 plus two assists. She was followed by Gomez off the bench with nine and two others with six. Baker led the way with four rebounds. Wyoming shot 15-of-24 (.625) from the field and 12-of-15 (.800) from beyond the arc. UNLV was led by Wheatley with ten points followed by Strawther and Powell with six. Powell had three rebounds. The Lady Rebels were 9-of-26 (.346) from the field and had five steals.
 
After a three-point play by the Lady Rebels to begin the third, UW scored the next ten unanswered to increase the lead to 27, 54-27. Free throws would end the UNLV scoreless stretch and started a run to cut the lead to 20, 56-36, with two minutes in the third. A three by Campbell and three-point by Roberts built the lead back to 25, 62-37. Six straight points by the Lady Rebels knocked it down to 19, 62-43, but a jumper by junior Tijana Raca and free throw by Rusk stopped the run to make it 65-43 with 7:52 on the clock in the fourth. Over the next several minutes, UNLV went on a 9-0 run to make it 65-52. One of two free throws by Rusk ended a five minute drought by the Cowgirls, but a quick three by Johnson cut it to 11, 66-55. Despite not scoring a field goal in the final 8:20 of the game, UW still held on for the double-digit win, 69-56.  
 
The Cowgirls continue play at home on Wednesday against the San Diego State Aztecs. The game is set for 6:30 p.m. in the Arena-Auditorium.