SPOKANE, Wash. (Dec. 3, 2021) – The Wyoming Cowgirls gave Gonzaga all it could handle on its home floor Friday night, pushing the Bulldogs all night, but it was not enough as the Cowgirls fell, 54-47. Gonzaga entered the week receiving votes to be ranked in each top-25 poll.
After a slow-starting and turnover-riddled first quarter, the Cowgirls (3-4) trailed 14-6 after one quarter. However UW, thanks to Ola Ustowska's personal 9-0 run, took a 17-16 lead, which led to a Gonzaga (7-1) timeout with just under six minutes to play in the first half. Ustowska hit a trio of 3-pointers over a span of 1:06 to push the Cowgirls out front in the second quarter.
However Gonzaga was able to regain its footing later on in the period, ending the second on a 9-3 run to close out the first half as the Bulldogs took a 25-20 lead into halftime. Wyoming committed 11 turnovers in the game's first 20 minutes of action.
The third quarter began much like the first for the Cowgirls as Gonzaga lengthened its lead back up to 33-22, thanks to a quick 8-2 run to begin the second half, leading to a UW timeout with 5:31 to play in the quarter.
Wyoming would whittle into the lead later on in the third, going on a nice little run of its own, cutting the deficit to 35-31 with just over two minutes to go in the frame. The run was sparked by back-to-back hoops from Quinn Weidemann. The Bulldogs would get a jumper to fall with 55 seconds remaining in the third and took a 37-31 lead into the game's final 10 minutes.
The fourth began with four consecutive Emily Mellema points for the Cowgirls, cutting the Gonzaga lead down to 40-35 with 8:59 to play. Following that, the Bulldogs went on a 9-4 mini-run to extend the lead to double digits at 49-39 with just 5:04 left to play.
After that, Wyoming would fight its way back to make it 49-45 thanks to six-straight points from Ustowska, including a rare four-point play with 1:34 remaining. Gonzaga would make three consecutive free throws to push the lead back up to 52-45 before Alba Sanchez Ramos' layup with just six seconds left made it 52-47. GU would hit two more freebies with two seconds left to close out the game.
"I thought it was a great environment up here tonight," said Head Coach Gerald Mattinson postgame.
"Great game, I thought both teams played well. Both teams hit big shots when they needed to and I thought both teams played outstanding defensively. I think everybody enjoyed it here."
Ustowska led the way as she was the only Cowgirl in double figures, scoring a game- and career-high 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting overall from the floor and 4-for-6 from 3-point range. The four 3-pointers also sets a new career-best for Ustowska.
"Ola shot the ball fantastically tonight. She shot the ball well, but what she really did is, she defended well, defended the way that she did toward the end of last year. Her defensive effort was tremendous on really good guards. I thought as a team we defended their guards really well. I can't give our kids enough credit. I thought it was an outstanding effort, outside of a win, there's not much else we could ask for," continued Mattinson.
Allyson Fertig added eight points and seven rebounds while Sanchez Ramos and Weidemann chipped in with seven points each. McKinley Bradshaw, whose five-game streak of scoring in double-figures, was snapped Friday night, but got it done in other facets as she grabbed a game-best eight boards and also added career-highs with four steals and two blocks on the defensive end.
Wyoming shot 19-of-46 from the field for a 41.3-pecent clip and hit 6-of-18 from the free-throw line. The Cowgirls struggled from the free-throw line, going just 3-for-7 at the charity stripe. GU shot 42 percent from the floor (21-of-50) and 3-of-9 from beyond-the-arc, but went 9-for-11 at the free-throw line.
Gonzaga had a 24-16 advantage in points off turnovers and a 30-24 edge in points in the paint. The Bulldogs also scored nine fast-break points to UW's 0. The Cowgirls did outscore the Bulldogs 12-6 in second-chance points as they won the rebounding margin, 31-29.
Wyoming is off now until December 12 as they return home after a three-game stint away from Laramie. The Cowgirls host North Dakota State at 1 p.m.
-WYO-