While the top three Mountain West Conference women’s basketball teams — No. 1 TCU, No. 2 BYU and No. 3 San Diego State — sat comfortably in their Las Vegas hotel rooms, the bottom six teams fought each other for a chance at another game.
And when the first round of the unpredictable MWC Tournament was over, the outcomes were far too predictable, lining up perfectly with seeding predictions.
*No. 4 Utah 63
No. 9 Air Force 40*
The day started with the most skewed matchup of the day. No. 4 Utah (20-10, 11-6 MWC) against No. 9 Air Force (3-26, 0-17 MWC). Air Force, which lost to the Utes twice in the regular season by a combined 55 points, didn’t play spoiler. The Falcons shot 26 percent compared to the Utes’ 55.3 percent.
Utah took advantage of the lane, scoring 48 of its 63 points in the paint and coasting to a 23-point win.
*No. 5 New Mexico 67
No. 8 Colorado State 54*
In a game of streaks, one which saw the Lobos pull ahead numerous times — just to see Colorado State claw back — UNM finally pulled ahead of the Rams, solidifying a rematch with the Utes. The winner will get a shot at No. 1 TCU in the semifinals on Friday.
Still, the road to championship for the Lobos is rigorous, but Lobo head coach Don Flanagan said he isn’t worried that Tuesday’s game drained the Lobos energy level.
If anything, Flanagan said, UNM will be more energized to face a team its lost to seven straight times.
“I think right now everybody is in pretty good physical condition,” Flanagan said. “Two of my players bumped heads in the game, and we have a few bumps and bruises, but, other than that, I think physically we are ready. At this point in the year, you have to go for it. You have to be in great shape, and you have to play hard all the time.”
The real rub will be the lack of preparation UNM faces, playing Utah less than 24 hours after a win, Flanagan said.
“We had our last game (of the regular season) last Tuesday, and we had the advantage of being prepared,” Flanagan said, citing the Lobos’ seven-day break between the regular season and the tournament. “This next game — no one has the advantage of being prepared, because we don’t have any preparation time, or very little.”
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Even so, Utah coach Elaine Elliott said the teams are familiar with each other, this being the third time the two teams will play this season.
“There’s not the prep you normally would put in,” Elliott said. “There isn’t physical prep. There is just remembering, if you know what I mean. There is reviewing what we already had decided a particular matchup leaves us with from the two prior times.”
The previous two times the Utes sneaked by the Lobos, winning by six on Jan. 12, then by three points on Feb. 13.
*No. 6 Wyoming 60
No. 7 UNLV 55*
Judging by the blotches of brown and yellow, which spotted the stands of the Thomas & Mack Center, Wyoming had a home-away-from-home game. It helped, as the Cowgirls held off UNLV 60-55 on Tuesday.
Leading by seven going into the break, Wyoming looked like it would make quick work of the Rebels in the second half. Wyoming’s Aubrey Vandiver, who scored a game-high 24 points, hit two 3s out of the break to increase the lead to 11.
But the Rebels hung around, hitting five field goals inside the paint and going on an 11-3 run to cut the lead to 37-34 with 14:20 left.
Then, after pulling within three points, UNLV went cold, hitting just one free throw in the next six minutes and digging themselves a 44-34 deficit with 10 minutes left in the game.
During that span, however, Wyoming never put UNLV away.
With 4:18 left, UNLV’s Markiell Styles, who scored 11 points, tied the game at 47. Three times UNLV tied the game in the last four minutes. Over and again, the Cowgirls went on runs. UNLV sauntered back but could never cash in on a decisive bucket.
“I think we wouldn’t have been completely defeated if they would have taken the lead, but it was important for us to regain the lead and regain momentum,” Vandiver said.
With the win, Wyoming will face No. 3 San Diego State today.
Wyoming head coach Joe Legerski said the Aztecs will be troublesome on the boards.
“They have been to postseason play. They have been to NCAA play. They have won at the NCAA level,” Legerski said. “… They are big on the inside, so offensive rebounds are going to be an issue that we will have to address. But those are things our players will worry about (later).”
