A step up in competition
Cowgirls host one of the top West Coast teams tonight
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Blaine McCartney/Wyosports
University of Wyoming's Marquelle Dent drives to the basket in the first half against Chadron State on Sunday at the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie.
LARAMIE – University of Wyoming women's basketball coach Joe Legerski remembers last Thanksgiving, sitting in the St. Mary's gym, watching the Gaels beat Iowa State.
He also remembers looking at the St. Mary's roster and seeing that just about every one of the Gaels' starters were underclassmen. And he knew St. Mary's would be coming to Laramie next winter in a return trip for the Cowgirls playing in the Gaels' Thanksgiving Classic.
That return trip is tonight, when the Cowgirls host the Gaels at 7 p.m. at the Arena-Auditorium.
Legerski is no less impressed with St. Mary's now than he was a year ago.
"They get your attention in a hurry," Legerski said. "They can score from every position on the court. This will be a big challenge for our young team."
St. Mary's (2-0) has started the season with wins over Cal State Northridge and San Jose State. The Gaels beat the Spartans 91-81 on Nov. 15 at home.
Picked to finish third in the West Coast Conference behind only perennial national power Gonzaga and BYU, St. Mary's is averaging 92 points in its first two wins despite not having the services of 6 foot senior guard Lauren Nicholson due to injury. Nicholson led St. Mary's in scoring a year ago.
Nicholson is projected as the starter tonight in the St. Mary's media notes.
St. Mary's' leading scorer through two games is 6-1 freshman forward Sydney Raggio at 20.5 points a game to go with a team-high 9.5 rebounds a game. Junior forward Devon Brookshire averages 18.0 ppg.
"They have great size, they can shoot the basketball, they have four of their five starters averaging in double figures, and their leading scorer from a year ago has not played in a game yet," Legerski said. "They play very physical, and they can shoot the basketball. They're what you always strive to be as a team."
The Cowgirls (1-0) beat Division II Chadron State 81-53 to start the season on Sunday and will not make any lineup changes from the opener.
Senior guard Jordan Kelley and freshman forward Marta Gomez led the Cowgirls, with 14 points each, while sophomore guard Skyler Snodgrass had 12 points off the bench (all on 3-pointers), sophomore guard Liv Roberts had 11 and senior point guard Marquelle Dent 10. Kelley finished the opener with 12 rebounds for the team's first double-double of the season.
"We just need to continue getting better each day and continue to learn more about us as a team," Legerski said. "With such a young team, it will be a learning experience for us each night out."
Free throws
After tonight, the Cowgirls hit the road for the first time this season on Tuesday at Cal State Fullerton. St. Mary's remains in the Front Range to play at Northern Colorado on Sunday. ... Dent is 14 assists shy of cracking the top five all-time at UW. She currently has 360 assists, 14 behind Jenny Przekwas for fifth place. The top four are Lisa Daniels (573), Hanna Zavecz (432), Anna Knight (396) and Brenda Pickup (391). Dent also is currently 102 points short of 1,000 for her career.
