Bailee Cotton found out a lot about herself.

That's what athletics does.

One of six seniors, Cotton takes her final year as a Cowgirl into the postseason tomorrow night, when Wyoming hosts Northern Colorado in the first round of the WNIT. Tip is set for 6:30 p.m. in the Double A.

Cotton came to UW from Denver School of Science and Technology. She was a three-time All-State performer there. Her maturity has continued to grow, and she is definitely a major factor as the Cowgirls posted 22 wins, played for the conference tournament championship a week ago, and are in the postseason.

It hasn't been the easiest of rides for Bailee. She has excelled for the Cowgirls despite undergoing two knee surgeries, both on the same knee.

"Did I think about giving it up after needing the second surgery? No way," says Cotton. "I was going to keep going. I wanted to play, I wanted to be part of this program. I had come too far to consider that.

"You get knocked down in athletics," she continues. "There are times when it's rough. But you have to keep fighting, for yourself and for your teammates."

If you haven't seen Cotton play the game, battling is exactly her game. She may not be able to jump quite as high as she could before the surgeries. Only the knee brace reveals what she went through. You would never know otherwise by watching her play. It's pedal-to-the metal while she's on the floor.

"Bailee Cotton is what collegiate athletics is all about," says her head coach, Joe Legerski. "Adversity has certainly come her way. But shes's faced it, found a way to overcome it, and succeeded at it. She has had a tremendous career, and will leave here with a great education, great friends and great memories of being a Cowgirl."

Speaking of education, Bailee is what the Cowgirl program is all about in the classroom. As a team, the Cowgirls posted a 3.61 team GPA. Bailee, an architectural engineering major, is well over a 3.0!    

"I'm in structures, which I enjoy, but I'm thinking about looking into interior design. I may go to grad school with that in mind. I had an internship with an interior design firm and really enjoyed it.

"We have a great deal of pride in our academics, and that starts with our coaches. We don't change majors just so we can always make practice. Our coaches have created an academic culture that is very special. They realize it is our reason for being here."

While her accomplishments in the classroom are impressive, her work on the hardwood is a window to what she is all about.

Cotton is the 2019 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year, and she was selected to the all-conference team and the all-defensive team.

Tomorrow's WNIT game will be her 114^thas a Cowgirl, which has her comfortably ensconced on the all-time games-played list. She has reached the 700-career-rebound milestone this season. That's on the all-time list too. She scored a career-high 20 points against UNLV in early January and was a Mountain West Player of the Week earlier in the season.

Maybe the most revealing stat about Cotton is that she leads the team with 19 charges-taken this season.

Defense, rebounding, taking charges, that's who she is, and those aspects of the game are what she's most proud of.

When I ask her what it means to be on Wyoming career record lists, she's very humble. "Believe me, I'm surprised to have my name listed among all those great players. But I'm proud, too, because it validates the work I've put into this."

Cotton's hoop career would have ended a year ago, but due to her knee issues she received a medical redshirt. As it turned out, she's happy things worked the way they did.

"This is the closest I've been to teammates since I've been here. We genuinely like each other, and enjoy hanging out. All of us feel that way whether freshmen or seniors. Teammates are so special because they understand what you are going through. More than likely they've gone through the same thing. They genuinely feel what you feel. You bond through a shared experience.

"Teammates help you with your self-confidence. You have to gain that self-confidence or you're not going to make it. Teammates help with that. I'm not the greatest shooter in the world, that's not my game. So when I don't want to shoot, they tell me to shoot, they make me shoot."

Of all her Cowgirl experiences, Cotton is most proud of getting to the championship game last week in Las Vegas. "All of us fought through a lot of adversity to get to that game," she says. "It certainly didn't go like we had hoped. They (Boise State) had a lot of championship experience, and we didn't and it showed. But getting there laid the ground work for future championship games.

"I'm proud of that, and I'm proud that we have built a culture here of winning. Everyone has bought into that culture. We seniors are moving on, but I think we are leaving a strong culture of winning, as last year's seniors did for us."

Cotton admits that her last game--whenever that may be--is going to be very difficult. "I think about my last time, and I'm sad. I would love to keep it going, but I understand it doesn't work that way. So I want to enjoy every moment."

What will she remember most about her time at Wyoming?

"I will remember the hometown quality of this place, how close-knit everyone is--us, our coaches, and especially our fans. Before deciding to come here, I had some doubt. But my Dad (Chris) told me, 'you know Wyoming is the place for you'. He was right."

All of Wyoming would agree. Here's to Bailee and the Cowgirls playing a few more games!