Wyoming (13-4, 3-1) stepped on the gas early against Seattle. Just two minutes into the game, the Cowgirls were already up 7-0. At the 7:05 mark, redshirt sophomore forward Ashley Sickles connected on her first two points of the game, making the score 31-18 and giving Wyoming what would be their largest lead of the first half. The score at halftime was 35-25.

Senior center Hillary Carlson finished the first half with 13 points and six rebounds, leading the team. Sophomore forward Chaundra Sewell added 10 points, going 5 for 7 from the field, and four assists. 

As a team, the Cowgirls shot 45.5 percent from the field in the first half and only committed one personal foul.

The Redhawks, a Division II team, ended their first half shooting 10 of 32 from the field. They were led by senior forward Julee Christianson and freshman forward Ashley Ward. Both scored six apiece for Seattle.

The first few minutes of the second half belonged to an aggressive Seattle team that connected on their first four shots to cut the Cowgirls’ lead to 41-35 at the 17:41 mark. “I thought in the second half that we came out really strong and executed our game; we got some good defensive stops,” Seattle coach Joan Bonvicini said. Wyoming head coach Joe Legerski agreed. “Their zone defense really slowed us down. Their zone was as good as we’ve played all year.”

Senior guard Randi Richardson got the crowd back into it by drilling a three-pointer with the shot clock winding down to give Wyoming a 49-40 advantage with just under 14 minutes to play.

Wyoming buckled down on defense, holding the Redhawks scoreless for almost five minutes. They led 54-40 with nine minutes left in the game. Consistent shooting and solid defense eventually gave the Cowgirls their 13th win of the season. Every time the Cowgirls score  more than 60 points, they win the game.

Carlson continued her impressive senior campaign with 20 points, eight rebounds, six blocks, and two steals. Senior guard Aubrey Vandiver contributed 15 points and eight rebounds.

Junior guard Elle Kerfoot was the only Redhawk in double figures with 11 points and also led the team with five assists.

“It was a game that played its purpose. I think it really showed us to play against a team that we would categorize as undersized but that just keeps coming at you and makes it difficult and that’s going to be Air Force on Saturday,” Legerski said in his post-game conference.

Air Force comes to town on Saturday when the Cowgirls commence the last stretch of their conference schedule. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. in the Arena-Auditorium.