Cowgirls Down Montana

      Kayla Woodward finished the night with 23 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Cowgirl basketball team (8-2 overall) to a 79-65 win over the Montana Lady Griz (6-3 overall) on Tuesday night in Laramie.

Besides Woodward, Fallon Lewis finished with 18 points and six rebounds in 40 minutes of play. She was followed by Marquelle Dent with 14 points and Kaylie Rader with 12 points and three assists. The Cowgirls were 29-62 (.468) from the field and 18-28 (.643) from the free throw line. They also out rebounded the Lady Griz, 46-40, and had 21 assists on 29 field goals.

Montana was led by Kellie Cole with 13 points including 2-3 from beyond the arc. Forward Jordan Sullivan finished with 12 points and a team high nine rebounds, while Torry Hill recorded 11 points. The Lady Griz shot 24-69 (.348) from the field and 9-30 (.300) from beyond the arc.

It took both teams a couple of minutes to get into the scoring column as a three by Hill followed by a field goal by Dent made the score 3-2. A layup by Lewis gave the Cowgirls a one point lead, 4-3, but a 10-2 run by the Lady Griz gave them a seven-point advantage, 13-6. Out of the media timeout, Wyoming went on an 11-0 run to go ahead by four, 17-13. A three-point play by Kellie Cole for Montana ended a five minute scoreless drought for the Montana.  A layup and free throws put UW back ahead by five, 21-16, but the Lady Griz scored the next five to tie it up at 21 all. Over the next four minutes, the two teams traded baskets as the score continued to be tied at 27 all with 2:32 left in the half. With it all even at 30, Dent went the length of the floor with five seconds left to give Wyoming a 32-30 going into the locker room.

Lewis led the way with nine points for the Cowgirls followed by Dent with eight and two others with six. Woodward finished with nine rebounds. They shot 14-36 (.389) from the field and 1-6 (.167) from beyond the arc. Montana was led by Torry Hill with nine while Kellie Cole added eight points. The Lady Griz shot 11-37 (.297) from the field and out rebounded UW, 26-25.

Montana gained the momentum to begin the second half by going on an 8-2 run regaining the 38-34 lead. Started by a Kaylie Rader basket, Wyoming would score the next six straight to go back ahead by two, 40-38. A basket by Alycia Sims tied it up at 40 and then Woodward scored the next 12 straight to put the Cowgirls up 12, 52-40, with 11:51 left in the game. Two free throws by Hill would stop a five minute scoring drought by the Lady Griz to make, 52-42. The two teams would play point for point as Wyoming continued to lead, 60-49. Montana would score the next 8 of 11 to close the gap to six, 63-57. The Cowgirls responded with a 7-3 run to give them the ten-point lead, 70-60. Sullivan hit a basket to make it an eight point contest, 70-62, with 3:58 remaining in the game. Wyoming closed out the game on a 9-3 run which included seven free throws to win by double-figures, 79-65.

The Cowgirls will play their final game before the holiday break, on Saturday, Dec. 21. They will face the Idaho Vandals beginning at 1:00 p.m. Mountain Time in Moscow, Idaho.