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By BOB HAMMOND
Boomerang Sports Editor
Never say never.
The University of Wyoming women’s basketball team came from 21 points down in the final 13 minutes to defeat Weber State, 78-75, Thursday night in the Dees Events Center in Ogden, Utah.
There were a lot of heroes in this one for the Cowgirls, but none bigger than sophomore reserve center Hillary Carlson and freshman forward Emma Langford.
The 6-foot-3 Carlson converted a three-point play with 6.6 seconds remaining to give Wyoming a 76-75 lead before Langford sealed the deal with a pair of free throws with 5.0 seconds left for the improbable victory.
After Weber State guards Tonya Schnibbe and Ali Thorderson had knocked down 3-of-4 free throws at the 26- and 14.4-second marks, respectively, to give the Wildcats a 75-73 lead, Carlson came through with the biggest play of the game.
After Langford missed a short jumper that would have tied the game, Carlson was there for the rebound and put back to tie the game. She was fouled on the play and calmly dropped in the free throw to give the Cowgirls the one-point lead.
Following a Wyoming timeout, Weber State attempted to throw the ball over Wyoming’s defense, and the long pass sailed out of bounds, giving the Cowgirls the ball back. Langford was immediately fouled on the in-bounds pass, and she converted both free throws.
That left the Wildcats one last chance to tie the game with 5.5 seconds left. They managed to get the ball to leading scorer Caitlin Anderson, but she went to the floor and Langford came away with the ball.
“The biggest thing for us was to just stay calm. That’s what is needed with this group,” veteran Wyoming coach Joe Legerski said on his postgame show on the Cowboy Sports Network.
The young Cowgirls appeared to be dead in the water after the home-standing Wildcats shot a blistering 61.3 percent (19-of-31) from the field in taking a 47-24 lead at the halftime break.
In the first 20 minutes of play, Weber State had six players scored between five and 12 points in building the big lead. Schnibbe had 12 points, Abby Thorderson 10 and Anderson eight as the Wildcats hit almost everything they put up.
The only Cowgirls denting the scoring column were Langford (11) and Carlson (6), who combined for 17 of UW’s 24 first half points.
“When we went in at halftime I pulled up a chair and sat down and we talked about Weber State playing with great energy and making about every shot they put up,” Legerski said. “One of the changes we made at half was went to switching everything.
“We had a game plan where we were only going to switch on on-ball screens, and I thought we had too many problems with that … maybe too much thinking. We said, ‘Switch everything they do and make some plays. And more importantly, rebound the backside defensively.’ That’s what we did.”
The changes effectively shut down Weber State’s offense. Still, Wyoming wasn’t making many inroads in the first seven minutes of the second half, trailing 59-37 with just under 13 minutes remaining.
And then the Cowgirls got on a roll.
Over the next five minutes, Wyoming went on a 21-1 run to close within a two points, 60-58, on a layup by senior center Elisabeth Dissen. During the big run, Dissen and sophomore reserve wing Jade Kennedy scored six points apiece, while senior Megan McGuffey had four, freshman guard Kristen Scheffler three and Langford two.
Ali Thorderson ended the dry run for Weber State with a 3-point jumper to put the Wildcats up, 63-58.
Wyoming finally took its first lead since the first two minutes of the contest when Kennedy knocked down a 3-point jumper to put the Cowgirls up, 68-67, with 2:50 remaining in the game.
The lead changed hands seven times in the next 2½ minutes before Carlson’s big three-point play in the closing seconds.
“We had nothing to lose because we were down 23 points,” Legerski said. “It’s easier to shoot because for all intensive purposes the game may have been over. But we hit some shots, got on a roll and our confidence changed completely. We also simplified things, which probably helped.
“We got a big lift out of Jade Kennedy and Hillary Carlson off the bench tonight,” Legerski continued. “Jade his some big shots and had some big rebounds. Hillary had 15 points, and none bigger than at the end when she put us up.
“It was about defense at the end and we did a great job. We were able to defend and not even give up a shot,” Legerski added.
After hitting 19-of-31 shots in the first half, Weber State managed to make just 5-of-27 tries in the second half. Wyoming, which was 10-of-36 in the first half, made 14-of-28 attempts in the final 20 minutes.
The Cowgirls made seven 3-pointers in the second half — two each by McGuffey, Kennedy and Scheffler and one by Langford
Langford took game-scoring honors with 20 points, while Carlson added 15 points and six rebounds and Kennedy nine points and nine rebounds off the bench.
McGuffey added 13 points and eight rebounds, while Dissen had 12 points. Scheffler finished with nine points.
Weber State had five players end in double figures — Schnibbe, Abby Thorderson and freshman center Joey O’Neill all had 14 points, while Anderson finished with 13 and Ali Thorderson with 11.
With the victory, Wyoming improved to 4-3 on the season, while Weber State dropped to 3-3 with the loss.
Wyoming will continue its current road trip when it takes on Idaho State at 2:05 p.m. Saturday in Pocatello, Idaho.
Bob Hammond’s e-mail address is bobh@
laramieboomerang.com
The University of Wyoming women’s basketball team came from 21 points down in the final 13 minutes to defeat Weber State, 78-75, Thursday night in the Dees Events Center in Ogden, Utah.
There were a lot of heroes in this one for the Cowgirls, but none bigger than sophomore reserve center Hillary Carlson and freshman forward Emma Langford.
The 6-foot-3 Carlson converted a three-point play with 6.6 seconds remaining to give Wyoming a 76-75 lead before Langford sealed the deal with a pair of free throws with 5.0 seconds left for the improbable victory.
After Weber State guards Tonya Schnibbe and Ali Thorderson had knocked down 3-of-4 free throws at the 26- and 14.4-second marks, respectively, to give the Wildcats a 75-73 lead, Carlson came through with the biggest play of the game.
After Langford missed a short jumper that would have tied the game, Carlson was there for the rebound and put back to tie the game. She was fouled on the play and calmly dropped in the free throw to give the Cowgirls the one-point lead.
Following a Wyoming timeout, Weber State attempted to throw the ball over Wyoming’s defense, and the long pass sailed out of bounds, giving the Cowgirls the ball back. Langford was immediately fouled on the in-bounds pass, and she converted both free throws.
That left the Wildcats one last chance to tie the game with 5.5 seconds left. They managed to get the ball to leading scorer Caitlin Anderson, but she went to the floor and Langford came away with the ball.
“The biggest thing for us was to just stay calm. That’s what is needed with this group,” veteran Wyoming coach Joe Legerski said on his postgame show on the Cowboy Sports Network.
The young Cowgirls appeared to be dead in the water after the home-standing Wildcats shot a blistering 61.3 percent (19-of-31) from the field in taking a 47-24 lead at the halftime break.
In the first 20 minutes of play, Weber State had six players scored between five and 12 points in building the big lead. Schnibbe had 12 points, Abby Thorderson 10 and Anderson eight as the Wildcats hit almost everything they put up.
The only Cowgirls denting the scoring column were Langford (11) and Carlson (6), who combined for 17 of UW’s 24 first half points.
“When we went in at halftime I pulled up a chair and sat down and we talked about Weber State playing with great energy and making about every shot they put up,” Legerski said. “One of the changes we made at half was went to switching everything.
“We had a game plan where we were only going to switch on on-ball screens, and I thought we had too many problems with that … maybe too much thinking. We said, ‘Switch everything they do and make some plays. And more importantly, rebound the backside defensively.’ That’s what we did.”
The changes effectively shut down Weber State’s offense. Still, Wyoming wasn’t making many inroads in the first seven minutes of the second half, trailing 59-37 with just under 13 minutes remaining.
And then the Cowgirls got on a roll.
Over the next five minutes, Wyoming went on a 21-1 run to close within a two points, 60-58, on a layup by senior center Elisabeth Dissen. During the big run, Dissen and sophomore reserve wing Jade Kennedy scored six points apiece, while senior Megan McGuffey had four, freshman guard Kristen Scheffler three and Langford two.
Ali Thorderson ended the dry run for Weber State with a 3-point jumper to put the Wildcats up, 63-58.
Wyoming finally took its first lead since the first two minutes of the contest when Kennedy knocked down a 3-point jumper to put the Cowgirls up, 68-67, with 2:50 remaining in the game.
The lead changed hands seven times in the next 2½ minutes before Carlson’s big three-point play in the closing seconds.
“We had nothing to lose because we were down 23 points,” Legerski said. “It’s easier to shoot because for all intensive purposes the game may have been over. But we hit some shots, got on a roll and our confidence changed completely. We also simplified things, which probably helped.
“We got a big lift out of Jade Kennedy and Hillary Carlson off the bench tonight,” Legerski continued. “Jade his some big shots and had some big rebounds. Hillary had 15 points, and none bigger than at the end when she put us up.
“It was about defense at the end and we did a great job. We were able to defend and not even give up a shot,” Legerski added.
After hitting 19-of-31 shots in the first half, Weber State managed to make just 5-of-27 tries in the second half. Wyoming, which was 10-of-36 in the first half, made 14-of-28 attempts in the final 20 minutes.
The Cowgirls made seven 3-pointers in the second half — two each by McGuffey, Kennedy and Scheffler and one by Langford
Langford took game-scoring honors with 20 points, while Carlson added 15 points and six rebounds and Kennedy nine points and nine rebounds off the bench.
McGuffey added 13 points and eight rebounds, while Dissen had 12 points. Scheffler finished with nine points.
Weber State had five players end in double figures — Schnibbe, Abby Thorderson and freshman center Joey O’Neill all had 14 points, while Anderson finished with 13 and Ali Thorderson with 11.
With the victory, Wyoming improved to 4-3 on the season, while Weber State dropped to 3-3 with the loss.
Wyoming will continue its current road trip when it takes on Idaho State at 2:05 p.m. Saturday in Pocatello, Idaho.
Bob Hammond’s e-mail address is bobh@
laramieboomerang.com
