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Despite hitting only three shots from the field in the second half, the Cowgirls managed to collect their

Senior Aubrey Vandiver fends off a San Diego State player in Saturday's 59-51 win at the Arena Auditorium. - Zach Spadt

Aubrey Vandiver led the way for the Cowgirls with 20 points, 10 rebounds and two steals. Vandiver also had a rebound on a missed Randi Richardson free throw with 1:07 left to put the game out of reach for San Diego State. 

The Cowgirls started the game on a 6-0 run, but the Aztecs pulled within six at the half. In the first half, the Cowgirls shot 53 percent from the field but neither team could find their rhythm in the second half. 

The Cowgirls only hit 15 percent of their shots from the field, and the Aztecs only found the bottom of the net on 20 percent of their shots from the field. 

“One of the things we talked about was that we had to focus on winning four minutes at time. It looked like we were tired. We had very little energy, and so we wanted to just win four minutes at a time,” Wyoming head coach, Joe Legerski, said. 

The Cowgirls defense pulled through in the second half, and they got to the line twenty-five times. 

Despite making only 60 percent of their free throws, the Cowgirls were able to find enough late points to win. 

“It was a really physical game, I mean, they’re a big team and, in the second half, we were able to box out and get to the free throw line, and I think that’s why we were able to survive the second half,” Vandiver said. 

“We had to keep moving. We had a tough time getting to the basket, so we had to remember to keep our offense moving,” Legerski said. 

The Cowgirls bench was not productive against SDSU. 

Bec Campigli and Ashley Sickles contributed only nine total minutes and only had one rebound and two turnovers between them. 

Vandiver and Jade Kennedy both played the entire game. Chaundra Sewell, Carlson and Richardson played 34, 39 and 38 minutes respectively. 

The Cowgirls next game will be Wednesday when they head to Provo to take on BYU. 

The Cougars are tied with the Cowgirls for the top spot in the conference, each with a 6-1 conference record. 

BYU is led in scoring by senior guard Mindy Bonham who averages 12.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, according to byucougars.com. Senior forward Coriann Fraughton follows averaging 10.6 points and a team high 6.9 rebounds per contest.

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