Cowgirl Basketball Wins Big Over TCU

It took them a while, but the Cowgirls eventually started knocking their shots down. Wyoming overcame a cold first half to put up 39 second-half points en route to another conference victory on Saturday…

Laramie, Wyo. — The nationally-ranked Wyoming Cowgirl basketball team moved to 14-1 overall and 2-0 in the Mountain West Conference with a 62-45 victory over the TCU Lady Frogs (8-8 overall, 1-1 in MWC) on Saturday afternoon in Laramie.

The Cowgirls shot just 31 percent from the field in the first half but bounced back to shoot better than 50 percent in the second. Justyna Podziemska led all scorers with 19 points, including 14 in the second half. Elizabeth Dissen added 10 points off the bench on 5-of-5 shooting, and Hanna Zavecz finished with eight points and a game-high five blocks.

“This was a very difficult victory,” said head coach Joe Legerski. “TCU is very talented and they put tremendous pressure on the ball. In the first half, I thought we had some good looks at the basket, but we were looking around to the defenders, instead of getting their focus on shooting the ball. We stressed at halftime that we needed to work on that and I think it showed in our numbers in the second half. I also felt like we did a good job on them defensively as well.”

The Cowgirls went on a 6-0 run to take an early 14-7 lead. TCU scored nine of the next eleven to even it up at 16 before the Cowgirls closed out the half on a 7-2 run to take a 23-18 lead in to the locker room.

A 4-1 scoring run out of the break pulled the Lady Frogs to within three, 24-21, but the Cowgirls went on an 11-4 run to take a 35-25 lead. TCU hit two straight baskets to make it a six point game, 35-29, and then a 6-2 run by the Cowgirls put them back up 41-31. The Lady Frogs continued to battle back by scoring six of eight to make it 43-37, but another five unanswered extended the lead back to double-figures, 48-37. It was never close after that as Wyoming held TCU to just eight points the remainder of the way to seal the win.

The Lady Frogs (8-8 overall, 1-1 in MWC) were led in scoring by Adrianne Ross and Lorie Butler-Rayford with nine points apiece, while Helena Sverrisdottir added seven points.

Wyoming will head back out on the road for a matchup against the Air Force Academy Falcons on Wednesday, Jan. 16. The game is set for a 7:00 p.m. tip off in Colorado Springs.