Bailee Cotton scored 16 points and grabbed 9 rebounds to lead the Wyoming Cowgirls to a 68-52 win over Seattle in the WNIT first round Thursday night in Laramie.

This marked the Cowgirls first post-season victory in six years. UW reached the third round of the WNIT that season.

Wyoming (22-9) had three other players score in double figures. Natalie Baker scored 14 points and snagged 9 rebounds, as well, while Taylor Rusk scored 11 off the bench and Hailey Ligocki added 10 points.

The Cowgirls shot 52 percent from the field. They out-rebounded the Redhawks 38-27.

Seattle (15-18) was held to 33 percent shooting in the game. They were led by Kamira Sanders with 17 points.

Each team made a pair of scoring runs in the first half. UW began the game 10-0 before Seattle answered with an 11-0 run. With Redhawks ahead 15-14 early in the second quarter, the Cowgirls took the lead for good. Wyoming went on their own 11-0 spurt keyed by a Rusk basket, a pair of three’s by Marta Gomez and Skyler Snodgrass and capped by a Baker three-point play. Seattle cut it to 28-24 at halftime with a 9-3 run.

A 10-1 surge by UW at the start of the second half put them in control. They built the lead to 15 points in the third. By midway through the fourth, the Cowgirls were in front by 21 points.

Wyoming returns to action in the second round of the WNIT Saturday at 2 p.m. The Cowgirls will take on Washington State, who was a 72-64 winner over BYU Thursday night.

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