Just keep digging.

The Cowgirls found themselves down 13 points at halftime against Gonzaga, but were unable to rally back in a  68-58 loss to the Bulldogs on Sunday in the Arena-Auditorium.

“I thought we played as freshmen tonight,” coach Joe Legerski said. “But, positively there was no give up in this team. To fight back and get close within five, showed tremendous determination.”

The Cowgirls were stuck in a similar situation against North Dakota State last Thursday evening, but were able to rally in a 28-4 scoring streak to end the first half and kick start their way to a win.

“We are the team that we are, and I think we are a good team,” senior Elizabeth Dissen said. “We have young players and some players who have experience as well. We are doing pretty well with what we have, the freshmen are doing great.”

Cowgirl freshman Kristen Scheffler made her debut in the Wyoming starting line-up in place of Randi Richardson who is nursing her tweaked knee following an injury against North Dakota.

“I am getting more comfortable,” Scheffler said. “At the beginning of the season I wasn’t comfortable handling the ball at all. Coach gave me the green light. I have learned not to hesitate and shoot when I’m open.”

Scheffler wasted no time putting her skills on display knocking down six 3-pointers of eight shots, a layup and a free throw.

“I thought Kristen Scheffler kept us in any sort of game early,” Legerski said. “She is definitely a gamer. I tell Kristen that she has the green light. Anytime she wants, she can shoot the basketball.”

The Cowgirls turned it on in the second half closing their deficit to five points, but they never got any closer.

“We just got behind in the first half,” Dissen said. “We picked it up a lot in the second half and played really hard. We need to be tougher and not be afraid to take the same shots we always take even if they are a good defensive team.”

For the Wyoming Cowgirls basketball team, American English is slowly becoming a second language.

Why? Recruiting players from overseas is becoming more and more common for the Cowgirl coaches and a big part of how they have built their recent resume.

In the last two years, the Wyoming Cowgirl basketball program has accumulated a 51-16 record, won the Women’s National Invitational Tournament championship, been ranked in the AP and ESPN national polls and competed in the NCAA tournament.

This list of accomplishments from what was just a few years ago an unnoticed program can only be credited to talented players and coaches. But just how does the University of Wyoming attract so many players and what gives it an edge over other NCAA Division-I Colleges? And how does the recruiting process work?

According to UW Assistant Women’s Basketball/Recruiting Coach Kristin Becker, tradition is a major selling point to incoming athletes.

“First thing, I think coach [Joe] Legerski, and what he has done here, and the support of the athletic department is a big selling point,” Becker said. “The small town college atmosphere is big. If there is a Wyoming game, it’s the game in town; there are not a lot of other things to distract people. The support of the community, the fans, and the University is just great.”

While the small town feeling may seem appealing to student-athletes from small towns, athletes from large cities and foreign countries may have a different opinion. But the coaching staff leading the Cowgirls to the WNIT championship and playing in the NCAA has appealed to all athletes.