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LAS VEGAS — Whether it be a tournament team, a Cinderella story or just underdogs, you can call the University of Wyoming women’s basketball team whatever you want. For at least the next year you will also have to call them the Mountain West tournament champions.
The most dominant aspect of Wyoming’s gameplay this entire season has been their defense. So the fact that they secured the Mountain West title with a defensive play showcases a team that stayed true to its identity and got rewarded for it.
The Cowgirls ruined California State University, Fresno’s revenge tour with a 59-56 win in the final game of the Air Force Reserve Mountain West Women’s Basketball Championship. It is only right that after four dominant performances, Wyoming took home their first championship in program history.
Last season, Fresno State was the number one seed in the Mountain West Conference in the women’s division. They had 2019-20 conference player of the year Maddi Utti, and freshman studs Haley and Hanna Cavinder, but ultimately lost in this year’s final to Boise State University.
This season, the Bulldog’s attempt at redemption was against the team that knocked out Boise State in the previous round. Fresno State was far and away the favorites against the seventh-seeded Cowgirls.
No one saw a Wyoming tournament run coming. Going into this tournament they had not played since Feb. 13, due to five straight games getting canceled. However, Wyoming got hot, and stayed hot all throughout the tournament.
They dominated Utah State University in the first round before breaking the 3-point record against number two seed, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The Pokes then took care of business against a Boise State team that is known for playoff success.
The championship game was their biggest challenge yet and the first quarter of the game had the Cowgirls desperately trying to stay in the game. Starting the second quarter, Wyoming was down 22-16.
Wyoming’s head coach, Gerald Mattinson, believed their first-quarter woes were largely due to his attempts to out-coach the Bulldogs. As the game progressed, Mattinson took a back seat and let his team just play and it more than worked. The Cowgirls outscored the Bulldogs 16-2 in the second quarter and would take a 32-24 lead at halftime.
Wyoming even forced Fresno State out of their beloved 2-3 zone defense. Their ball movement was too quick and they were hitting too many three-pointers, forcing Fresno State into a man-to-man scheme that they hadn’t run a lot of in the tournament.
The second half saw Wyoming’s Quinn Weidemann take over. The guard would finish with a total of four 3-pointers en route to being named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. She was a direct reason why Fresno State was never able to climb out of their second-quarter hole completely, although they did come close.
The championship came down to the final possession in what can only be described as an ode to the chaos of college basketball.
Mountain West player of the year, Haley Cavinder, had the opportunity to send the game to overtime with a desperation heave from the 3-point line as time expired, but her step back was blocked by Wyoming’s Alba Sanchez Ramos.
The most dominant aspect of Wyoming’s gameplay this entire season has been their defense. So the fact that they secured the Mountain West title with a defensive play showcases a team that stayed true to its identity and got rewarded for it.
Bailey Bassett can be reached at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @baileybassett_.
