Seniors help grab fourth straight
For the two seniors on the CSU women’s basketball squad, Jasai
Ferrucho and Joy Jenkins, there was no better way to end their
four-year tenure with Moby Arena as their home court than with a
60-49 Border War victory over Wyoming in front of 2,352 screaming
fans.
“It was a great win. Obviously Wyoming is a big rivalry and
having it on senior night made it even bigger,” said CSU head coach
Chris Denker. “Ultimately, in a very fitting way, it was our
seniors that took over.
Jenkins was CSU’s top scorer with 18 points including two
3-pointers, while Ferrucho had eight assists and hit her first
3-pointer in Mountain West Conference play. With the Cowgirls’
5-foot-8 freshmen guard Tarah Lapar guarding Jenkins, the 6-foot-3
senior put up numbers unseen since breaking her nose earlier in the
season.
“It felt good,” Jenkins said. “I’ve been struggling playing with
the mask since I broke my nose, but what a night to go out on. I
was just having fun and I knew we were going to win.”
As Ferrucho fed her last assist to Jenkins at Moby, giving the
Rams a 51-48 lead with five minutes remaining in the game, CSU took
control of a game that was previously run by the Cowgirls and
gained momentum and a lead they never lost.
“What a comeback,” Denker said. “The kids played so hard, so
tough and with so much heart. Defensively, we played solid all
night long.”
CSU overcame a 17-point first-half deficit, when it appeared
there was a lid over the Rams’ basket as they went 0-12 in the
first eight minutes, and improved their record to 16-9 overall and
7-5 in the MWC.
CSU remains in fourth place in conference behind Utah (10-1),
New Mexico (9-2) and UNLV at 8-4. Wyoming dropped to 9-16 overall
and 5-7 in the MWC.
Junior Ashley Elliot led the Cowgirls with 18 points and
Michelle Lieber added 15 points and 11 rebounds in a double-double
performance. Wyoming only used six different players on the court
and went from a field goal percentage of 44.8 in the first half to
27 percent in the second half.
“I think fatigue started to be a problem at the end,” said
Wyoming head coach Joe Legerski. “The first thing that effects is
your shooting.”
Jenkins hit her 100th career 3-pointer in the game and scored
her 800th career point. After four years at Moby, Jenkins was happy
to go out on top.
“I’ve had some great memories here,” Jenkins said. “It was fun
and it was a great win. I think in a few days it will hit us, but
right now we are just enjoying the win.”
The Good: Melissa Dennett tied a career-high by grabbing 11
rebounds.
The Bad: CSU was held to only eight points in the paint, as
Dennett managed only four points and Lindsay Thomas scored only
eight.
The Ugly: The Cowboys seemed to have trouble telling time as
they suffered four shot-clock violations and one out-of-bounds
violation.
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