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LARAMIE – There must be a little brown and gold running in the water at ThunderRidge High in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

That might explain why the University of Wyoming's basketball programs have been able to build a recruiting pipeline to the Douglas County school.

In mid-June, ThunderRidge's 6-foot-6 senior forward Austin Mueller verbally committed to coach Larry Shyatt and the Cowboys to enter UW in the fall of 2016.

Then, just last weekend, the Grizzlies' 5-11 senior guard Taylor Rusk followed in Mueller's footsteps. She gave her verbal commitment to Cowgirls head coach Joe Legerski and will join the women's program in 2016.

"I don't know about the water, but that is kind of funny," Rusk said with a laugh. "I was actually talking to Wyoming before (Mueller), and we had been talking some about it.

"Then he visited Wyoming and committed in June. We're friends and he's excited and I'm excited."

Rusk will enter her senior season this fall as one of the top returning players in Colorado.

Last year as a junior, she led ThunderRidge to the 2015 Colorado Class 5A state title game.

Despite her 15 points and 11 rebounds, the Grizzlies dropped a 47-41 decision to Broomfield.

She was named co-player of the year in arguably the toughest girls high school basketball conference in Colorado, the Continental League. She averaged 14 points, 7 rebounds and 2.5 steals for the season.

Rusk was also named to the Denver Post's All-Colorado Team and Colorado Community Media's All-South Metro Team.

"(She) can flat-out shoot the basketball," said former ThunderRidge coach Paula Krueger.

She recently accepted an assistant coaching position at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

"(Rusk) plays with a scorer's mentality," Krueger added. "She just does a lot of things well.

"Her speed is deceptive. A lot of people don't realize how quick her first step is and how athletic she is until they play with her or against her."

Krueger, who coached Rusk as a sophomore and junior, says Rusk does have a weakness – of sorts.

"Sometimes she is too unselfish," Krueger said. "I know she has been working on that. I don't mean she needs to be a selfish player. But sometimes she passes up open looks when she needs to be shooting the ball."

Rusk wanted to get her college decision out of the way so she could enjoy her final high school season without distractions. And UW turned out to good match.

"They were one of the first schools I started talking to, and they have been with me for about a year and a half," Rusk said. "I just really like the program, the coaches and the girls.

"I want to go into nursing, and Wyoming has a good nursing program. So it's the best fit for me."

Added Krueger: "I know (UW) started recruiting Taylor early on. They did a fantastic job of showing her and her family how she would fit in at Wyoming and grow as a young lady and a basketball player.

"Making a decision on college when you are 17 years old isn't always easy, and I know Wyoming made that decision for her as easy as possible.

"The education piece is very important to Taylor, and Wyoming offers the opportunity to have success as both a basketball player and as a student."

Krueger said she has no doubts that Rusk will end up being an outstanding player for the Cowgirls.

"She is a Division I player," Krueger said. "She had all kinds of Division I looks. I had tons of calls on her – too many to list – and almost every one of them were from Division I schools."