The tournament will be played March 12-16 at the Thomas and Mack Center located in Las Vegas. The 16-game tournament will tip off Tuesday, March 12, with the men’s and women’s first-round contests featuring the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds.

The men’s quarterfinals will begin Wednesday, March 13, followed by the women’s quarterfinals held on Thursday, March 14. The semifinals will then take place Friday, March 15, while the men’s and women’s championship games are both set for Saturday.

For the first time in Mountain West Conference history, the men’s final will be televised on CBS. The game will tip off at 3:05 p.m. PT on Saturday, followed by the women’s final aired on CBS Sports Network beginning at 7:05 p.m. PT.

VIP all-session tickets are now on sale. The tickets are good for all 16 games in the 2013 Mountain West Basketball Championships. Reserved all-session tickets are now available as well.

All-session tickets are now on sale at the Mountain West member institution box offices. Single-session tickets will be available Friday, March 1, 2013, at the Thomas and Mack Center box office. You also can purchase tickets through UNLVTickets.com.

The complete bracket can be found at www.themwc.com.

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“Coming in I said that I needed someone other than (Chaundra) Sewell to score,” head coach Joe Legerski said. “I feel like our freshmen really stepped up today.”

The first half belonged to the Cowgirls who came out firing from three. Both teams swapped buckets for most of the first half. TCU was leading 18–17 with five minutes left when the Cowgirls erupted for a 15–0 run to close out the last five minutes of the half to take a 14-point lead into the locker room.

Wyoming came out in the second half and continued where they left off and pushed the lead to 46–25 in the first seven minutes of play. Wyoming would score six of the next eight points of the game to extend the lead to 52–27. TCU would score eight straight points before a Cowgirl bucket by junior Chaundra Sewell would end the run and make the score 54–35 with just over four minutes to play. After a pair of swapped buckets, TCU reeled off seven straight points to pull within 12 points before Allison Gorrell put in a pair of free throws for the Cowgirls. Wyoming would add free throws to close out the game and defeat TCU by 17.

Wyoming finished the game shooting 42.6 percent (20 for 47) from the field and 47.4 percent (9 for 19) from beyond the three point line. Freshman Kayla Woodward led the team with 17 points and seven rebounds while fellow freshman Kaitlyn Mileto had 12 points. Ashley Sickles and Gorrell both finished in double figures, scoring 11 points and 10 points respectively.

The Cowgirls held TCU to just 30.2 percent (19–63) shooting from the field.

Wyoming will now take on San Diego State at 1 p.m. on Friday. SDSU swept Wyoming on the season, but narrowly escaped Laramie with a victory two weeks ago.

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The Aztecs came to town as the first-ranked team in the Mountain West Conference with a record of 10–1 in the MW and 20–5 overall.

SDSU spoiled the Cowgirls’ final home game of the season, defeating UW by a score of 68–55. With the win, SDSU clinched the Mountain West Conference regular season championship by pushing their conference record to 11–1. Wyoming meanwhile falls to 7–6 in the conference.

University of Wyoming forward Ashley Sickles jumps for the shot during the game against San Diego State University Tuesday night. The Cowgirls lost the game 55–68. (Photo: Brian Schueler)

“I don’t think we came out as strong as we could have,” junior Ashley Sickles said. “But I think throughout the game we played a lot better than last time.”

San Diego struck first in this contest with two baskets to make the score 0–4. The Cowgirls responded with a 7–0 run, led by Sickles who had five of the seven points, to make the score 7–4 in favor of the Cowgirls with 17 minutes left to play. The Aztecs and Cowgirls traded hoops for the next nine minutes, until the Cowgirls established a 17–12 lead with eight minutes to go.

The Aztecs began to chip away at the lead, finally taking it back just shy of the six minute mark. The teams scored evenly for the remainder of the first half, ending with a score of 29–30 in favor of SDSU.

The first twenty minutes of play ended with 14 lead changes. Freshman Alison Gorrell led scoring eight first-half points. Three other players finished the half with four rebounds. The Cowgirls shot 44.8 percent (13/29) from the field and 60.0 percent (3/5) from the free throw line and made one of two three-point attempts.

San Diego scored the first four points of the second half to push their lead to 34–29. The Cowgirls stopped the mini-run of the Aztecs with a basket from Gorrell, who scored six of the next eight for UW. SDSU held their lead until the ten-minute mark, when the Cowgirls brought the game to 42–43.

SDSU’s Courtney Clements sank a three-pointer to up the lead to four points. The Cowgirls were not able to take over the lead during the second half, and the game ended with a score of 55–68, the Aztecs coming out on top.

Gorrell led in scoring with her career-high 16 point effort, shooting 6/7 from the field and a perfect 100 percent (4/4) from the free-throw line. Junior Chaundra Sewell led in rebounds with a total of seven.

UW shot 38.5 percent (20/52) from the field, 18.2 percent (2/11) from three-point land, and 81.3 percent (13/16) from the free-throw line for the game.

SDSU’s Clements, who is the front-runner for MWC Player of the Year, scored a game-high 25 points and shot 75 percent (3/4) from the three-point line.

“She puts a lot of pressure on a defense,” head coach Joe Legerski said. “We didn’t have an answer for her.”

He expressed his gratitude for the support this season, and congratulated San Diego State on their clinch of the MWC championship.

The Cowgirls will now hit the road for their final two games of the season. They will play at Boise State on Saturday and wrap up the regular season with a game at Texas Christian University on Tuesday.

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The Cowgirls got their revenge victory after their last loss to the CSU. The final score was 66-62. The Cowgirls pushed their conference record to 7-4.

Starting off taking the lead, the Lady Rams had no idea that the Cowgirls were ready to play such a competitive game. The Cowgirls were not going to go down without a fight, especially on their home turf. Keeping a close score throughout most of the game, the teams tied a total of 15 times, 13 of which happened during the second half. By halftime the Lady Rams were leading 26-24.

Coach Joe Legerski and Cowgirls Brenna Freeze, Kaylee Hoffman, Chaundra Sewell and Jordan Sibrel (left to right) celebrate their win Saturday night. (Photo: Edward Timmons)

Even though the Cowgirls were not quite in the lead, they were not going to let the score affect how they played. During the game’s first stanza, the Cowgirls had rebounded the ball a total of 14 times. Though they only shot 37 percent during the first half, they made up for it by providing great teamwork and a strong defense.

During the second stanza, the Cowgirls brought all they had to the court. Fighting off late CSU runs to force overtime with a last second three-point bucket for Chaundra Sewell, her first three point bucket of the season.

During overtime, the Cowgirls shot 80 percent compared to the Ram’s 25 percent. In the last minute of the game, Cowgirls Alison Gorrell and Kaitlyn Mileto sealed the victory with the final points of the game from the free throw line.

“There’s something about us going into overtime that makes us take it to a whole new level. Just getting that extra five minutes gave us all the confidence we needed to take this win,” junior forward Sewell said.

Sewell led the team with 20 points. Ashley Sickles and Kayla Woodward scored 14 and 17, respectively. With 10 of the Cowgirls getting the chance to play, nine scored before the game was sent into overtime with a score of 53-53.

The Cowgirls will be playing their last home game on Tuesday against San Diego State University.

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Behind his desk, resting on his display case, there is a basketball from the 2007 Women’s National Invitational Championship, a pair of shoes signed by the ladies of the first team he coached at the University of Wyoming and a photo of Emma, a girl who was an honorary player for a game. She was granted that position as part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation coordination with the team. Her photo is only a step away from his seat. All these objects, all these memories remind head coach Joe Legerski that basketball is more than just a game.

The night before, the Cowgirls beat Air Force 71–58. During that game, player Ashley Sickles made a career high of 24 points. Legerski and his team made it back to Laramie around 1:30 a.m. But that was last night, and this morning, the coach has already begun preparation for the next game. By 8 a.m. he met with the other coaches about the next game, the upcoming Colorado State University border war on Saturday.

Legerski said coaching basketball at UW is a perfect job for him. The alum graduated from UW with bachelor of science degree in business education from 1979. When he was a student at UW, he found his passion.

“In the summertime I coached baseball,” he said. “I knew then I wanted to be a coach.”

He said he was a teacher and thought coaching was no different.

He said he uses the skills he learned as a teacher and applies them to the team whenever he can. In addition, he draws on philosophies from different coaches he has worked with.

As a teacher one must find various different methods and approaches the students can process for developing their skills, he said.

The girls, they are all willing to learn, but their skills are at different levels, he added.

Legerski, the teacher, is always looking for a way to reach each of the girls. Every game starts out with a core group, but his job is to emphasize ability for the girls to play into their strengths and instincts.

“That’s what coaching is. It’s teaching” Legerski said. The girls themselves, they learn individually, but he pushes them so even the freshman and sophomores can play competitively.

“Kayla Woodward has played exceptional in conference play, and she is starting to understand, Kayla,” he said. “The same thing can be said of Kaitlyn Mileto.” They have both taken their game to a different level, he added.

Some girls can fall into the routines, and adapt right away, but others need more guidance. But that’s just the game.

For Legerski, he said he stresses education first.

Legerski said it was extremely important to have his “kids” graduate. Although students can get wrapped up in their passions, Legerski said he has a simple method to keep them grounded.

“It is something that is a priority to me; and because it is a priority to me, it becomes a priority to my players,” Legerski said.

Legerski said his support for education first comes from his teaching background and also his family.

Legerski said his wife, Jaime, is a student at the University of Wyoming seeking her second degree. He said he attempts to support her in the same ways she is able to support him. This includes encouragement and assistance with the usual domestic activities to make the days easier.

Legerski said she is a tremendous support for him. She understands the time commitment, demands, and the highs and lows of the job, which makes him a stronger coach.

Legerski returned to Laramie nine years ago, which is good because of the value he sees in the city.

Legerski said he thought Laramie is a tremendous place in regards of the size of the community, and the education opportunities for his children as well as the opportunities the college offers the community.

In his office, there are the objects, the memories that allow him to remember that basketball is more than just a game. The objects, he said, have nothing to do with winning or losing, it is about making an impact and to do so without fear.

In fact, Legerski said in basketball coaching there is nothing he fears.

“You just have to do it,” he said.

“Just be better today than yesterday,” he said. “With that single concept there are no fears. We may not always succeed, but there will always be another day.”

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Seneca Riggins is the Editor-in-Chief for the 2011/2012 Branding Iron.

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Photo : Edward Timmons

She exhibits a true passion for the sport and has reached milestones during her sports career. It is her devotion and strong work ethic that has made her a model student as well as a model athlete.

Coming from Sheridan, a town of 17,444, Woodward was always locally known for her academics as well as her athletics. She was a 4.0 National Honor Society student who graduated top 10 in her class. During her years of playing high school basketball, she received many titles and awards.

She was given the chance to play for various All-Star teams throughout high school, including the Wyoming All-Star game and the Wyoming-Montana All-Star Game. In 2011, she was named Co-Conference Player of the Year as well as Sheridan County Player of the Year. Woodward has also earned the Milward L. Simpson award, which is given to the top female athlete in the state of Wyoming. She was also awarded with a two-time All-Conference selection and was chosen for All-State as a senior.

For Woodward, playing basketball is all she has ever really known. She says she started shooting hoops at the age of three. Although other colleges approached her, Woodward’s choice of coming to the University of Wyoming was a natural one for her. Aside from her brother being a current student here at the university, she always had a strong admiration for the Cowgirls throughout her childhood. Being given the opportunity to play as one was an offer she could not pass up.

In a press conference earlier this season, women’s basketball head coach Joe Legerski said “(Woodward) is as big a reason as any on the success we are having. I like what she is doing.”

Being a freshman in college as well as being a freshman playing on a new team is not an easy feat.

“I was a little nervous at the beginning,” Woodward said, “but now that we have everything together it just feels normal. I was a little homesick at the beginning, but now I see my parents almost every weekend when they come to my games.”

Basketball is something that Woodward feels very strongly about. “My parents have really helped me out a lot along the way as well as my oldest brother,” Kayla said. “He always had a strong work-ethic which was something I looked up to.”

One reason Woodward says she playing as a Cowgirl is the fans.

“I really enjoy the fans here. It’s always good to know that they stand behind us and support us from all around the state,” Woodward said.

Woodward said she thought the Cowgirls were showing well against their competition.

“I hope we win the conference tournament. I really think we can run with anyone right now and I think we’ve shown that.”

As part of being a great athlete, it’s taken years of practice and sweat. She offers this advice for young athletes: “Keep working hard and just always do the best you can. Eventually it will pay off, obviously it did for me.”

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Kaitlyn Mileto shoots the ball against the University of New Mexico Lobos Saturday in the Arena Auditorium. . The Cowgirls lost 57–60. They are now 5–4 in conference play. The Cowgirls will battle the Falcons of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs Wednesday at 7 p.m. (Photo: Brian Schueler)

“I knew going into this one it was going to be a difficult game,” head coach Joe Legerski said. “This is one of the gmaes where we kept the score where we needed to but we just didn’t make a play when we needed to.”

The first half of the game saw the lead swapped three times and have five separate tied scores. New Mexico began the game with a three point bucket that was answered immediate by a three point bucket by Wyoming’s Ashley Sickles. The teams essentially swapped buckets until 16:17 left in the half when Wyoming was able to go on a 10-2 run to push their lead to 18-12. The game then turned into a defensive battle. Wyoming was only able to score three points in the next 9:42 of the game, going scoreless for over four minutes of the stretch. New Mexico scored eight points in the stretch to make the score 21-20 with four minutes remaining in the half. Each team would score six points in the final minutes to make the score 27-26 in Wyoming’s favor at halftime.

Wyoming finished shooting 52.6 percent (10-19) in the half, lead by Mileto and Sickes with eight points apiece. The Cowgirls were able to outrebound the Lobos 14-12, but were plagued by nine turnovers.

It took over two minutes until Mileto was able to score the first basket of the half. New Mexico then reeled off an 11-1 run over the next two and a half minutes of the game to take a 37-30 advantage. New Mexico was able to extend their lead to 12 but the Cowgirls would not go away. The Cowgirls were able to chip away at the advantage with help from a 11-0 run that lasted four minutes and brought UW within one point at a score of 55-56. With just an eighth of a second  left on the clock, New Mexico turned the ball over to give the Cowgirls one final hail marry attempt which was stolen by the Lobos.

The Cowgirls finished the game shooting 46.3 percent (19-41) but shot just 40.9 percent in the second half. UW made went just 10-16 from the free throw line in the second half. Wyoming was lead by Mileto and Chaundra Sewell who both had 15 points. Sewell also lead the team in rebounds with eight. Wyoming was plagued struggled with 17 turnovers and got just four points of contribution from the bench.“I think in the second half we mentally broke down,” Mileto said. “We gave (Durbin) too many open looks because of mental mistakes.”

New Mexico was lead by Caronline Durbin who erupted for 19 points in the second half. As a team the Lobos shot 45.3 percent and shot 12 more field goal attempts than Wyoming (53-41).

The Cowgirls will now hit the road to take on the Air Force Academy on Wednesday in Colorado Springs, CO. The game is scheduled for 7 pm.

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“So many players stepped up tonight, from Kayla and Chaundra to Brenna and Alison, giving us a big lift off the bench,” said Head Coach Joe Legerski. “At times, we need to be a little crisper on offensive but I can never fault the effort. Tremendous effort by a young team that is learning every day.”

Wyoming is currently tied for third in the conference with UNLV. Colorado State University is second and San Diego State University is in first place.

Woodward was named Mountain West Conference Player of the Week for the second time on Monday after her performances over the last week. She averaged 18.5 points a game as she led Wyoming to victory over Texas Christian University and UNLV.

The Cowgirls’ next game will be Saturday in the Arena Auditorium as they take on The University of New Mexico.

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Junior forward Ashley Sickles pulls down a rebound during the University of Wyoming Cowgirls' conference game against the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs Wednesday night. (Photo: Edward Timmons)

“It was a very hard fought game,” head coach Joe Legerski said. “We ask every person to step up and find their role on this team, and I am happy about tonight.”

The first half of the game was a see-saw half, seeing seven different lead changes and each team having separate six point leads. UW opened up the game with an Ashley Sickles bucket on the opening possession of the game but were quickly answered by a three point bucket from TCU. Chaundra Sewell was able to add her first bucket of the game but TCU responded once again, this time with a 7–0 run to push their lead to 10–4. Wyoming then took the next 3:08 of the game to put together a 12–2 run to take the lead, 16–12. TCU would end the run with a two point bucket which was answered by UW’s Kaitlyn Mileto, who got the basket and the foul. Mileto was the last of the Cowgirl starters to score with just nine minutes into the game.

TCU was able to outscore the UW by six points in the last 11 minutes of the first half thanks to a pair of 7–2 runs. The Horned Frogs led the Cowgirls 30–29 at intermission.

TCU was able to get up 11 more shots than UW in the first half (34–23) but were only able to connect on more field goal attempt (11–10). Wyoming was lead by freshman Kayla Woodward with eight points and four rebounds in the first half.

Wyoming showed unselfish play by having seven of their 10 made field goals assisted and were able to outrebound their opponent 21–17. However, the Cowgirls were plagued by 10 turnovers which resulted in six points for the Horned Frogs.

In the opening eight minutes of the second half, Woodward and Sewell combined for 14 points while the Cowgirl defense held TCU to just two points. TCU ended the run with back to back triples but did not slow the Cowgirls down for long as they erupted for another 8–2 run in the next 2:40 to extend their lead to double digits at 11. The Horned Frogs were only able to cut their deficit to seven points for a brief period. The Cowgirls extended their lead to comfortable double digits and coasted to the end of the game to win by 10.

The Cowgirls shot just 38 percent from the floor and were led by Woodward who finished the half with 13 points to give her a game high 21. Sewell added another double–double with 20 points and 11 rebounds. The Cowgirl starters scored 60 of the team’s 64 points.

TCU had no answer for the stingy Cowgirl defense as they shot just 19–67 from the field for 28.4 percent, including just seven for 26 from behind the arc.

“I think our confidence is really boosted lately,” Woodward said. “I think we are on a role right now. We just got to keep playing like this and keep going.”

The Cowgirls will hit the road to face UNLV in Las Vegas on Saturday. The Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV went into Wednesday night’s play ranked second in the MWC. The game is scheduled to tip off at 5 p.m. and will be televised on the MTN Sports Network.

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                “The energy that we had (Saturday) was a very high level,” head coach Joe Legerski said. “We have really grown as a team to be able to implement both our offensive and defensive game plans.”

                Boise State was able to strike first, scoring the first four points. Wyoming’s slow start allowed Boise State to increase their lead to five points with a score of 12-7. In the following three minutes, the Cowgirls went on a 13-3 run, taking a 20-14 lead with 10:58 yet to play in the first half. UW added another 9-0 run in a span of 90 seconds to extend their lead to 18 with 4:39 remaining. The two teams swapped buckets to end the half with the Cowgirls up 45-27.

                Wyoming’s offense was once again red hot as they shot 64.3 percent (18-28) from the field, including 5-11 from beyond the arc. The Cowgirls showed unselfish play as 12 out of the 18 made field goals were assisted. Junior Ashley Sickles and Freshman Kaitlyn Mileto both finished the first half in double figures with 14 points and 11 points respectively.

                The Cowgirls held BSU to just 34.4 percent shooting (11-32). Wyoming led the battle of the boards, outrebounding the Broncos 20-11.

                Wyoming picked up right where they left at to begin the second half as Mileto knocked down a deep three just 20 seconds into the half. Boise State had no answer for Wyoming’s offense as they continued to extend their lead.

                The game saw all 10 Cowgirls score, four of which had double figure. UW was led by Chaundra Sewell who finished with a double-double 19 points and 10 rebounds. Mileto finished with 16 points that included four baskets from behind the arc. Sickles finished with 15 points while Woodward chipped in with 14.

                “It’s a good feeling that we are all succeeding,” Mileto said. “We are always striving to get better.”

                The Cowgirls finished with a 58.4 shooting percentage. Eighteen of the Cowgirls 31 made baskets were assisted.

                “When we can shoot the basketball,” Legerski said, “we are going to a tough team to beat.”

                The Cowgirls will look to keep their hot shooting going on Wednesday as they welcome TCU into the double-A. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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