Cowgirls Drop Season Opener to Colorado, 56-50
Story by Paityn Hulstrom
LARAMIE -- Lior Garzon netted 20 points and visiting Colorado outscored Wyoming 38-26 over the final 15 minutes, running away with a 56-50 victory Monday night inside the Arena-Auditorium.
The Israel native was 7-of-14 from the field and scored eight points in the opening frame.
Heather Ezell has likely seen enough of the 6-foot-1 senior. Garzon, who suited up for Oklahoma State last season, scored a game-high 24 points against the Cowgirls in early December. She drained four triples and went 7-of-13 from the floor.
“We knew what Garzon was capable of, we played her last year, and I think she made about six or seven threes. So we knew we had to limit those,” Wyoming's head coach explained in the postgame press conference. “Credit to her she found other ways to score. The part we shot ourselves in the foot on is the offensive rebounds. We gave them too many second chances.”
Forward Allyson Fertig led Wyoming with 18 points and Tess Barnes chipped in with 13 in the loss. Emily Mellema also helped out, netting eight points. Ola Ustowska added seven.
Wyoming hit just three triples on the night -- two from Barnes -- and was 9-of-15 from the free-throw line. The Buffs, who have made consecutive appearances in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, won the rebounding battle, 45-34, and pulled down 18 on the offensive glass.
“I think the biggest thing is, we're two possessions away from a different ball game,” Ezell added. “Somebody’s gotta step up and knock down some tough shots in some tough situations and, unfortunately, I think we were just a couple of those short.”
Foul trouble also plagued the Cowgirls in this one. Mellema and Fertig each finished with four fouls, having to sit out for most of the third quarter when their team needed them most.
The Buffs were able to go on a seven-point run, with two of Wyoming's most important players on the bench, taking the lead for the rest of the game.
"First of all, me and Allyson need to be aware that we can’t get ourselves into foul trouble ... Even if we didn’t think they were fouls, we put ourselves in that position," Mellema said. "It just kind of sucks sitting there and watching something happen and I can’t do anything about it when I’m sitting on the bench."
The Cowgirls came out strong in the first half, holding the Buffs to just 18 points while netting 24 themselves. But once CU turned on their full-court press and defensive pressure in the third, Wyoming struggled to maintain their offensive edge.
They finished with 11 giveaways in the second half and allowed CU to have eight second-chance points. Ezell recognized this shift in power, explaining how mistakes like live turnovers can’t happen so easily.
“I thought the third quarter was when their pressure really started to amp up,” she said. “We had a hard time making some entry passes, and right when we started to get rolling then a turnover would happen.”
Wyoming will look to bounce back against another Big 12 opponent, rival BYU. The Cowgirls outlasted the visiting Cougars 86-74 last November in Laramie. Revenge, Ezell said, will play a factor this time around in Provo.
Tipoff is set for Saturday at 2 p.m. inside the Marriott Center. The game will be televised on ESPN-Plus.
POKES: The Seven Best Games In The History Of The Wyoming-CSU Border War Rivalry (Naturally, they were all Wyoming wins)
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