Barnes and the Cowgirls Triumph at Fresno State

The senior scores a career-high 24 points 

FRESNO, Calif. (Jan. 4, 2025) – Tess Barnes scored a career-high 24 points, and the Wyoming Cowgirls hit timely 3-pointers in the fourth quarter on the way to a 68-59 win at Fresno State. Allyson Fertig also went for 21 in the win as it marks the second time this season that a pair of Cowgirls have scored 20-or-more in the same game.

Wyoming got out to an early 10-2 lead thanks to five layups in six possessions, forcing a Fresno State timeout four minutes into the contest. Following the timeout, the Bulldogs cut into the Cowgirl lead to make it 14-11. The rest of the quarter was controlled by Fertig as she had 12 first quarter points for the Cowgirls as UW led 22-13 after one.

A Barnes 3-pointer gave UW a 12-point advantage early in the second quarter at 27-15. From there, Fresno would respond and whittle the lead down to just 27-21 before another Barnes three ended the run. Wyoming led 30-24 at the media timeout as the Bulldog offense and defensive pressure picked up. After the timeout, the Fresno run continued the rest of the half as UW led 37-33 at halftime. Both teams shot the ball well in the first 20 minutes as the Cowgirls shot 65.4-percent from the floor with Fresno State hitting 53.6-percent of its attempts. Barnes had 15 first half points.

Barnes opened the scoring in the second half with back-to-back layups as she surpassed her season best for scoring early in the third. After a Fertig layup made it 43-35, Fresno called a timeout with 8:26 to go in the quarter. Out of the timeout, a pair at the line from Fertig brought the advantage back to double digits for UW. The Bulldogs would again answer, however, to make it 45-39 at the media timeout. The rest of the third saw Wyoming do most of its damage at the free-throw line but a turnover with under 15 seconds left in the frame led to a Fresno layup, making it 50-46 Cowgirls going to the fourth.

The fourth began with the two teams trading buckets before a Barnes 3-pointer made it 61-53 with under six to play. The basket gave Barnes her career high. After a stop on defense, Emily Mellema’s three made it 64-53 as the Bulldogs called a timeout with 5:23 remaining. Following the timeout, Fresno State immediately went to work to cut it down to nine points, but Mellema would hit a corner 3-pointer with 3:37 left to make the advantage 12. The last couple of minutes of the contest saw Wyoming milk the clock away. The Bulldogs would get to within eight, but no closer the rest of the way.

Wyoming shot 51-percent from the field and made six 3-pointers. Fresno made 43-percent of its shots but went just 3-of-16 from beyond-the-arc. The Cowgirls also made 8-of-10 at the free-throw line while the Bulldogs shot just two at the charity stripe. UW enjoyed a plus-nine rebounding advantage while also outscoring Fresno 17-10 in second-chance points.

The Cowgirls finished with a 40-38 edge in points in the paint. Fresno State, meanwhile, had an 18-8 advantage in points off turnovers. The Bulldogs forced Wyoming to commit 15 turnovers. Barnes, in addition to her offensive performance, held Fresno’s Mia Jacobs to just seven points on 3-of-12 shooting and no made 3-pointers. Jacobs entered the game second in the league averaging nearly 18 points per game.

Up next, UW continues on the road with a trip to New Mexico for a Wednesday, January 8 contest against the Lobos from “The Pit” beginning at 7 p.m.