AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.—Joe Legerski knew Hanna Zavecz was in for a good night when she buried her first shot and scored her team’s first 11 points. The Wyoming coach wasn’t about to discourage her from shooting as No. 20 Wyoming rolled to a 75-59 win over Air Force Wednesday.
“She started out with great confidence shooting the basketball,” Legerski said. “And when she gets on a roll, we just have to get her the basketball as much as possible.”
Zavecz scored a season-high 27 points to lead Wyoming.
“I had been struggling the last few games and I’ve worked hard to get myself focused leading up to this game,” Zavecz said. “So tonight, I felt confident and the way I want to feel on the court.”
Zavecz was 11-for-13 from the field for Wyoming (15-1, 3-0 Mountain West). The senior did it despite taking some body shots that left her hurting at times.
“I got hit in the stomach and I kept getting hit,” Zavecz said. “I was feeling it, but didn’t let it slow me down.”
Jodi Bolerjack added 16 points for the Cowgirls who extended their winning streak to eight games.
Alecia Steele led Air Force (6-9, 0-3) with 22 points. Jamie Davis had 15 for the Falcons, who have lost four straight.
“Defensively we had some breakdowns,” Air Force coach Ardie McInelly said. “I know that people are going to hit tough shots and hit shots with hands in their face and they did that.”
“I’m not angry at that,” McInelly said. “I’m angry about when we had defensive lapses and they are unguarded and wide open underneath the basket.”
Leading by 10 at the half, Dominique Sisk made two 3-pointers in the opening four minutes as the Cowgirls extended their lead to 44-29. But Air Force closed to within 48-41 on three free throws by Kim Kreke at 11:11 before Wyoming began finding its range.
The Cowgirls hit four 3-pointers, two by Bolerjack over the next two minutes to get the lead back to 58-47. Zavecz hit a 3-pointer with 4:22 remaining after sinking a short jumper as Wyoming pulled away to a 67-49 lead.
The Air Force defense played Zavecz tighter in the second half. Bolerjack made them pay with three, 3-pointers.
“The whole team settled down and they really focused on her in the second half,” Bolerjack said. “That allowed the rest of us to get open.”
Zavecz had 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting by halftime as Wyoming built a 35-25 lead. Steele, who had eight points in the first half, had tied the game at 19 for Air Force before Wyoming outscored the Falcons 16-7 over the final 6:12 of the half.
Wyoming leads the all-time series 30-2.
