Joe Legerski couldn't have asked for a better start.

Now, he wants to see his team do it again before the start of the regular season.

Legerski's Wyoming Cowgirls opened their exhibition slate by trouncing Adams State on Monday, and they get one more chance to do that again today against Colorado State-Pueblo before the games start counting.

"We played well, probably as good a first outing as I've been associated with in my seven years here," Legerski said. "[But] they have to come back out and realize the reason we played well is we work hard every day in practice. [Wednesday's practice] was an average practice, and I had to remind them of all the work that goes in to playing well."

The Cowgirls have zero seniors and one of their four juniors missed all of last season, so Legerski certainly expects a few bumps in the road.

And while UW doubled the Grizzlies' scoring total, forced 23 turnovers and shot nearly 38 percent from beyond the arc, he's still looking for daily improvement leading to the Cowgirls' regular season opener on Nov. 13.

"We told them that to be a quality team you have step up and play and compete every day," Legerski said. "The whole premise is to get better daily, and I think we're doing that. There's going to be some tough times because we're so young. But those are the things that we continue to strive to perfect. Perfection never comes, but you have to continue to work towards it."

The Cowgirls were nearly perfect over the first eight minutes of the second half on Monday.

They opened the half with a 15-0 run that gave them a 31-point lead. Every player except for one had at least two points in the rout.

"We made open shots, and whenever you're able to do that, you have to be happy," said Legerski, whose team probably took too many 3-pointers (29) but still made them at an impressive clip. "The film came out and we have some things to clean up -- our defensive transition we have to work on, but we competed and defensively we played well.

"There were quite a few things we liked about the effort."

Now, the Cowgirls must make those efforts a pattern.

"I think what you have to do is get a mindset that every time you step on the floor, it's about the level of play that you bring," Legerski said. "It's always a challenge to stay motivated through 30 games. Whether it's exhibition or not, it's a long season and young people's minds wander from time to time.

"The biggest thing is to try and get them to stay focused on the task at hand."

Contact Laramie-based UW sports reporter Eric Schmoldt at eric.schmoldt@trib.com. Check out his blog at tribtown.trib.com/ESchmoldt/blog

COWGIRLS TRACKER

TONIGHT: The Wyoming Cowgirls close out their exhibition slate with a 7 p.m. game against CSU-Pueblo at the Arena-Auditorium.

FOLLOW THROUGH: UW dominated Adams State on Monday, but UW coach Joe Legerski wants to see another similar performance before the start of the regular season.

HE SAID IT: "Perfection never comes, but you have to continue to work towards it." -- Legerski.

OPENER INFO: The Cowgirls open their regular season on Nov. 13 at Denver. Their first home game is two days later against Montana.