The Wyoming Cowgirls basketball team is a women's college basketball team at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming. Competing in the Mountain West Conference, the organization has a tradition dating back to 1973.

History The program began in 1973, with Bonnie Hulstrand as head coach. Following Hulstrand's leaving for the Idaho Vandals, Margie Hunt McDonald led the team for 9 seasons, finishing her coaching career with over 100 wins and a winning record at Wyoming. When McDonald left coaching to become the executive director of the High Country Athletic Conference, Dan Richards coached the team for three seasons. Chad Lavin was hired as head coach in 1986 and coached the Cowgirls for 12 seasons, including the 1989–90 season, in which the Cowgirls won their only conference regular season title. In 1998, Cheyenne, Wyoming native Cindy Fisher was hired as the head coach of the Cowgirls, and coached the team for five seasons, including the 2003 season, in which the Cowgirls appeared in the WNIT for the first time. In 2003, Fisher resigned her position, citing personal reasons.

On May 1, 2003, Wyoming announced the hiring of Utah assistant Joe Legerski as head coach. At the end of his first season, Legerski won the Mountain West Conference coach of the year award after leading a team with 7 freshman and 10 underclassman to a 5th place finish in the conference. In 2006, the Cowgirls achieved both the second 20–win season in the program's history and the program's second appearance in the WNIT. The next season, the team continued to improve, again winning over 20 games and making the WNIT tournament for 2007. The Cowgirls made it to the championship game and defeated Wisconsin 72–56 to win the tournament in front of a record crowd of 15,462 in the Arena-Auditorium. The 27 wins recorded by the 2006–07 team remain a program record. The Cowgirls continued to see improving results, finishing 24–7 and earning the program's first berth into the NCAA tournament, although the team lost in the first round to Pittsburgh. Over the next 11 seasons, the Cowgirls recorded 7 more 20–win seasons and 6 more appearances in the WNIT. At the conclusion of the 2018–19 season, Joe Legerski announced he was retiring as head coach after 16 years. Legerski won Mountain West conference coach of the year three times (2003–04, 2016–17, 2017–18) and retired as the program's winningest coach with a record of 314–186 ().

On May 7, 2019, longtime Cowgirl assistant Gerald Mattinson was named the seventh head coach in program history. In Mattinson's first season as the head coach, the Cowgirls went 17–12, and reached the semifinals of the Mountain West tournament. In Mattinson's second season, the Cowgirls went 14–10, but won the Mountain West tournament, the first in program history. The Cowgirls lost to UCLA in the Round of 64 of the NCAA tournament.

Coaching records 1973–1974 Bonnie Hulstrand 1 11–4 1974–1983 Margie McDonald 9 123–114 1983–1986 Dan Richards 3 23–60 1986–1998 Chad Lavin 12 175–161 1998–2003 Cindy Fisher 5 59–81 2003–2019 Joe Legerski 16 314–186 2019–2022 Gerald Mattinson 3 48–35 2022–present Heather Ezell 3 63-38 Totals 8 coaches 52 seasons 816-679

Postseason

NCAA tournament The Cowgirls have appeared in the NCAA tournament two times. Their record is 0–2.

Year SeedRoundOpponentResult/Score 2008 11 First round (6) Pittsburgh L 58–63 2021 14 First round (3) #9 UCLA L 48–69

WNIT The Cowgirls have appeared in the WNIT 12 times. Their combined record is 22–11. They won the tournament in 2007.

Year RoundOpponentResult/Score 2003 First roundSecond round MontanaColorado State W 76–74 OTL 64–73 2006 Second roundThird round Oregon StateNebraska W 67–49L 67–72 2007 First roundSecond roundThird roundQuarterfinalSemifinalChampionship NevadaMissouriOregonSouth Dakota StateKansas StateWisconsin W 84–56W 73–67W 64–62W 70–59W 89–79 3OTW 72–56 2010 First roundSecond roundThird round NevadaTexas TechBYU W 74–53W 68–57 OTL 63–67 2011 First roundSecond roundThird round Portland StateOklahoma StateColorado W 79–44W 75–71L 58–70 2013 First round Northern Colorado L 63–71 2017 First roundSecond round SeattleWashington State W 68–52L 68–67 OT 2018 First roundSecond round New Mexico StateU.C. Davis W 67–59L 72–64 2019 First roundSecond roundThird roundQuarterfinal Northern ColoradoSouth AlabamaPepperdineArizona W 68–60W 78–71W 61–60L 47–67 2022 First roundSecond roundThird round Idaho StateTulsaUCLA W 76–73OTW 97–903OTL 81–823OT 2023 First roundSecond round Texas A&M–Corpus ChristiKansas State W 75–41L 55-71 2024 Second roundSuper 16Great 8 UTSASouth DakotaMinnesota W 80–64W 84–52L 54–65

NWIT The Cowgirls appeared in the NWIT 1 time. Their record is 0–3.

Year OpponentResult/Score 1990 ToledoFresno StateMaine L 58–75L 63–67L 48–68

Team records

Career leaders Career Scoring Leaders Seasons Player Points 1985–89 Christine Fairless 1933 1984–87 Michele Hoppes 1842 1992–95 Amy Burnett 1782 2012–15 Kayla Woodward 1769 2005–08 Hanna Zavecz 1746 1999–2003 Carrie Bacon 1692 2007–11 Aubrey Vandiver 1654 1980–83 Rita Makovicka 1578 1989–92 Marie Kauffman 1526 1979–82 Lori Kline 1521 Career Rebounding Leaders Seasons Player Rebounds 1984–87 Michele Hoppes 1104 1980–83 Rita Makovicka 1006 1979–82 Lori Kline 947 2007–11 Aubrey Vandiver 936 1976–79 Linda Gilpin 890 1989–92 Marie Kauffman 872 1992–95 Amy Burnett 829 2012–15 Kayla Woodward 812 2010–13 Chaundra Sewell 785 1977–79 Dale Ann Meeker 770 Career Assists Leaders Seasons Player Assists 1985–88 Lisa Daniels 573 2013–16 Marquelle Dent 514 2005–08 Hanna Zavecz 432 1991–94 Anna Knight 396 2017–19 Clara Tapia 394 2001–04 Brenda Pickup 391 2018–23 Tommi Olson 375 1983–86 Jenny Przekwas 374 1988–90 Mickey Alexander 352 2002–05 Ashley Elliott 330 Career Blocks Leaders Seasons Player Blocks 1979–82 Lori Kline 322 2008–11 Hillary Carlson 212 2005–08 Hanna Zavecz 162 1984–87 Michele Hoppes 134 1994–97 Jessica Thompson 117 2021-present Allyson Fertig 97 2006–09 Rebecca Vanderjagt 94 2010–13 Chaundra Sewell 81 1987–91 Yvette Plumlee 79 2009–13 Ashley Sickles 77 Career Steals Leaders Seasons Player Steals 1985–88 Lisa Daniels 279 2005–08 Hanna Zavecz 226 2001–04 Brenda Pickup 209 2002–05 Ashley Elliott 187 1987–91 Yvette Plumlee 187 2013–16 Marquelle Dent 181 2018–23 Tommi Olson 172 1999–2003 Carrie Bacon 169 2007–11 Aubrey Vandiver 156 1983–86 Jenny Przkewas 155 Career Games played Leaders Seasons Player Games 2018–23 Quinn Weidemann 149 2007–11 Aubrey Vandiver 133 2018–23 Tommi Olson 128 2017–20 Taylor Rusk 128 2016–19 Marta Gomez 128 2005–08 Dominique Sisk 125 2006–09 Megan McGuffey 125 2005–08 Hanna Zavecz 124 2005–08 Jodi Bolerjack 124 2010–13 Chaundra Sewell 124

Single-season leaders

Single–Season Scoring Leaders Season Player Points 2010–11 Aubrey Vandiver 625 1994–95 Amy Burnett 614 2010–11 Hillary Carlson 572 1993–94 Amy Burnett 568 1986–87 Michele Hoppes 566 1988–89 Christine Fairless 551 2014–15 Marquelle Dent 531 2018–19 Marta Gomez 530 1987–88 Christine Fairless 523 2013–14 Kayla Woodward 519 Single–Season Rebounding Leaders Season Player Rebounds 2009–10 Aubrey Vandiver 323 2012–13 Chaundra Sewell 310 2013–14 Fallon Lewis 305 2010–11 Aubrey Vandiver 303 1984–85 Michele Hoppes 298 2022–23 Allyson Fertig 296 2018–19 Bailee Cotton 293 1993–94 Amy Burnett 286 1981–82 Rita Makovicka 285 1979–80 Sue Owens 281 Single–Season Assists Leaders Season Player Assists 1986–87 Lisa Daniels 249 1991–92 Valerie Harrison 195 1989–90 Mickey Alexander 190 2014–15 Marquelle Dent 180 1985–86 Jenny Przekwas 163 1988–89 Mickey Alexander 162 2015–16 Marquelle Dent 161 1984–85 Jenny Przekwas 157 1987–88 Lisa Daniels 156 2016–17 Clara Tapia 145 Single–Season Blocks Leaders Season Player Blocks 2009–10 Hillary Carlson 98 1981–82 Lori Kline 93 1980–81 Lori Kline 85 1982–83 Lori Kline 80 2010–11 Hillary Carlson 73 2022–23 Allyson Fertig 69 1979–80 Lori Kline 64 2007–08 Hanna Zavecz 51 2006–07 Hanna Zavecz 49 1994–95 Jessica Thompson 45 Single–Season Steals Leaders Season Player Steals 2000–01 Jessica Gibbs 78 2003–04 Brenda Pickup 75 1984–85 Jenny Przekwas 75 2004–05 Ashley Elliott 74 2005–06 Hanna Zavecz 69 1989–90 Yvette Plumlee 68 1982–83 Kristy Bennett 68 1979–80 Sara St. Clair 68 1979–80 Kellie Cardona 67 1981–82 Kristy Bennett 66 2014–15 Marquelle Dent 66

References

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