Cowgirls Fall in WBIT to Texas Tech
Courtesy photo
Lady Raiders use big second quarter to end Cowgirls’ season
LARAMIE, Wyo. (March 20, 2025) – A big second quarter from Texas Tech proved to be the difference Thursday night in the opening round of the WBIT as the Wyoming Cowgirls came up short, 65-48 in their first-ever contest in the tournament. The Lady Raiders outscored the Cowgirls 17-6 in the second stanza and held on from there.
Wyoming hit a pair of 3-pointers to open its scoring, taking an early 6-2 lead Thursday. The Cowgirl lead was 9-6 at the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, the two teams started trading scores back-and-forth the rest of the frame. However, the Lady Raiders would close the quarter strongly, cutting the UW lead down to just 18-17 after one. Emily Mellema scored the final five points of the frame for the Cowgirls.
Texas Tech got the first hoop of the second, taking its first lead of the game early in the quarter. The TTU lead was built up to seven later in the quarter as its length and defensive pressure started to pester the Cowgirls. Wyoming trailed 29-22 at the media after it was snake-bit by a couple of shots that went halfway-down and out. After the timeout, the Lady Raider backdoor cuts continued to give UW fits as the lead ballooned up to 34-24 going into the break.
The Lady Raiders opened the second half the same way they ended the first half, as they continued to lengthen the lead, scoring the first five points of the third quarter. Four consecutive points from Malene Pedersen helped spark Wyoming, as it cut the deficit down to 40-30. TTU would lead 43-30 at the media timeout. Following the timeout, the Lady Raiders would maintain their lead, taking a 45-32 lead into the fourth. The Cowgirls played strong defense the final few minutes of the frame and had some good looks to cut the deficit down but couldn’t get the shots to fall.
An Allyson Fertig and-one layup started the fourth, as Fertig recorded her sixth consecutive double-double thanks to the score. With the double-double, Fertig tied the program record for career double-doubles with her 48th. After a Pedersen 3-pointer, TTU called a timeout with 8:44 remaining, as the Cowgirl deficit was whittled down to 45-38. Out of the timeout, Texas Tech would hit a three immediately to go back up double digits. Wyoming would not get any closer than nine points the final seven-plus minutes of the contest. Each time UW would get the score within single digits, the Lady Raiders would answer with a big bucket. Tech would lengthen the lead in the final minutes as the Cowgirls would play the foul game late.
“A lot of credit to Texas Tech,” said Head Coach Heather Ezell postgame.
“I thought they came in and played hard and executed their gameplan really well. Thank you to the WBIT, I thought this was an awesome tournament and setup. It was a pleasure to be a part of it. You always hate to have your season end. We can sit here and think about our last two games and how the season ended, but what we did this year was special.”
Fertig finished the game with a team-best 17 points and 15 rebounds. She closes her illustrious Cowgirl career as the program’s and Mountain West’s all-time leader in rebounds with 1,216. Her 1,860 points are second-most in program history, as are her 766 career made field goals. Fertig’s 210 career blocks are the third-most in program history.
Pedersen also finished in double figures with 13 points while Mellema scored eight and, along with Tess Barnes, led Wyoming with four assists on the night. Defensively, Mellema had two steals in the loss, and closes her career ninth with 157 steals. Mellema’s 305 career assists are 15th in program history. Fertig had a pair of blocks and three steals in the game.
Wyoming was held to under 35-percent shooting from the floor and made just 4-of-15 from 3-point range. TTU shot 48-percent overall and made 6-of-17 from beyond-the-arc. The Lady Raiders had a plus-two edge on the boards and outscored the Cowgirls 36-26 in points in the paint. Tech also had an 8-2 margin in second-chance points.
The Cowgirls close the season 22-12.