Cowgirls Slip Past Falcons on the Road, 65-63

Tereza Vitulova had 16 points and a career-high 11 rebounds that led the Wyoming Cowgirls past Air Force, 65-63, Wednesday night in Colorado Springs.

Wyoming (4-3, 1-0) led by 14 points early in the second half but had to hold off the Falcons comeback.

The Cowgirls had a hot start in the first half. They shot 63 percent from the field and scored a season-high 39 points. UW took the lead for good on an Alba Sanchez Ramos jumper in the first quarter at 7-6. The lead grew to 18-11 before it was 24-18 after the first period. A Taylor Rusk lay-up gave Wyoming a 33-22 lead in the second quarter. It was 39-31 at halftime.

A three-point play by Karla Erjavec made it 47-33 with 5:27 left in the third. The Cowgirls kept their advantage at double figures entering the final period at 54-40.

Air Force (1-8, 0-1) surged in the fourth quarter. They shot 42 percent, took advantage of six offensive rebounds, and held Wyoming to 29 percent from the field in the frame.

A jumper by Rusk made it 60-50 with 5:50 remaining, but the Cowgirls scored only five points the rest of the game. The Falcons knocked down a pair of triples and another jumper that pulled them within 63-58. Erjavec’s lay-in with just over a minute left put UW up 65-58. Air Force scored on a jumper followed by a three-point play off an offensive rebound with 31 seconds left.

Rusk missed two free throws, but the Falcons missed a chance to tie on a jump shot with three seconds left.

Wyoming shot 51 percent in the game. They had a 37-29 edge on the glass. Erjavec added a season-best 15 points, grabbed six rebounds, and had two steals.

Air Force was led by Riley Snyder with 20 points and Kaelin Immel scored 14.

The Cowgirls stay on the road Saturday for their second Mountain West Conference game at New Mexico. The game starts at 2 p.m.