In Northern Colorado coach Ron Vlasin’s world, one day you’re at Fairleigh Dickinson, a couple of days later you’re at No. 4 Maryland.
That’s the way Vlasin and the Bears (13-13) will be finishing their season this weekend, marking the second year in a row they’ve traveled to College Park, Md., to see how they measure up against an Atlantic Coast Conference powerhouse.
“Last year, we played them pretty tough, right down to the wire,” said Vlasin of a game the Bears led 72-68 with 5:43 left before falling 87-79. “I’m not sure we can do that this year. They’re probably a Final Four team. We’ll just have to go in there and get after it and see what happens.”
Whatever happens Sunday, it’s the trip the Bears have been most looking forward to all season. “It’s really a neat trip,” Vlasin said. “It’s an incredible atmosphere back there, even for the women.”
What made last year’s trip more special was that Bears guard Jena Fosdick, then a sophomore, had the best game of her career, scoring 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting with six 3-pointers. It was a family friend of the Fosdicks, Maryland assistant Jeff Walz, who invited the Bears to come to Maryland when the game was scheduled last year.
“I said we’ll probably be in over our heads, but OK, we’ll take you on,” Vlasin said. “I’m glad we did it. They treated us great. I don’t think they’ll be treating us quite so good this time.”
Maryland (25-3), the team that knocked off then-top- ranked and previously unbeaten North Carolina a couple of weeks ago, will be the highest-ranked team the classification-climbing Bears have faced. The Terrapins were ranked 25th when the teams met last year.
Cowgirls riding high
After a couple of wins against top-25 teams last week and three winnable games left in the regular season, Wyoming (18-6, 8-5 Mountain West Conference) might just find itself in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history next month. But coach Joe Legerski isn’t counting on it.
“You know, I’ve been in this business long enough to have seen a lot of teams that were qualified not make it,” Legerski said. “What we’re really focusing on as a team is just worrying about what you can control. Whether there’s postseason play or not, you can’t control unless you win your (league) tournament.”
The Cowgirls (42) are one of five MWC teams with RPIs of 50 or better. BYU (16), New Mexico (24) and Utah (25) are ranked in the top 25. TCU’s RPI is 40.
“I’ll tell you what, the ball’s bouncing our way right now,” Legerski said. “I think the players have found the roles they fit. They understand who needs to take the big shots, who needs to get the rebounds. We have great chemistry right now and (in sophomore forward Hanna Zavecz), we have a great leader.”
Joseph Sanchez can be reached at 303-820-5458 or jsanchez@denverpost.com.
