Cowgirls Hang on to Beat Wolf Pack
Courtesy photo
Fertig grabs career rebound 1,000
LARAMIE, Wyo. (Jan. 15, 2025) – On a night where Allyson Fertig became just the third member of the 1,000-Rebound Club in program history, the Wyoming Cowgirls were able to hang on for a 66-61 win at home over Nevada. Despite never trailing, and leading for over 39 minutes of Wednesday's contest, the Cowgirls had to get multiple stops in the final couple of minutes of the contest to survive the win.
“The press got us sped up in the second half and started to turn us over,” said Heather Ezell after the game.
“Our seniors and our leaders know they’ve only got one more chance at this. They’re leaving it all out on the court every night and you’re seeing that grit and that toughness come through, especially at the end of games like this.”
The Cowgirls got out to a quick start, thanks to three layups and then back-to-back 3-pointers, which led to a 12-4 lead. The Wyoming lead was down to 18-12 at the first media timeout as the Wolf Pack hit a pair of deep shot clock 3-pointers and both teams started trading baskets. Out of the timeout, Nevada hit a pair at the free-throw line before UW got a layup to close the scoring in the frame. The Cowgirls led 20-14 after one quarter.
Wyoming got the lead up quickly in the second quarter to 24-15, thanks to a pair of Malene Pedersen layups, forcing a Nevada timeout with 8:18 left in the half. Following the timeout, the two teams started trading baskets back-and-forth. A Tess Barnes 3-pointer with just over five minutes left in the half gave Wyoming a 12-point lead. The Wolf Pack would respond back to get it to within single digits a couple of times before the end of the half before back-to-back 3-pointers from Kati Ollilainen and McKinley Dickerson brought the lead right back to a 14-point advantage. The Cowgirls led 41-30 at the half after Nevada hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
Nevada opened the second half cutting the lead down to single digits before a couple Wyoming layups got the lead extended out again to 47-34. The Wolf Pack wouldn’t go away, continuing to knock down tough shots as the Cowgirls led just 47-41 at the media timeout. After the media, the Nevada run continued as it was just 47-43 before an Emily Mellema three-point play stopped the bleeding. Nevada closed the third strong, however, hitting another 3-pointer to beat the buzzer as UW held onto a 52-47 lead going to the fourth.
The lead was trimmed to just three to open the quarter before the Cowgirls responded with back-to-back layups to make it 56-49 with 7:58 remaining, leading to a Nevada timeout. Following the timeout, the two teams traded hoops before trading turnovers. The lead was just 58-54 at the final media timeout as Nevada had possession coming out of the break. After UW got the lead back to seven, the Wolf Pack punched right back with a three-point play to make it 61-57 with 3:04 to play.
Nevada called a timeout with 2:30 remaining after an Allyson Fertig layup made it a six-point game. Following the timeout, the Wolf Pack again beat the shot clock with a 3-pointer to make it just a one possession game. After multiple defensive stops, Pedersen drained a couple at the free-throw line with 23.6 left to make it 65-60. Following a Cowgirl timeout, both teams split a pair at the free-throw line. On Wyoming’s next defensive possession, Mellema clinched the victory with her sixth steal of the game with under 10 seconds to play. It’s the second consecutive game with six steals for Mellema, tying a career high. Fertig was able to grab her 12th rebound of the night and career rebound 1,000 on Nevad’s missed free throw with 18 seconds left.
Fertig finished the night with 21 points, her eighth 20-plus-point outing of the season and the 22nd of her career. Those 12 rebounds she tallied gave her the fifth double-double of the season and the 37th of her career. It is the sixth time this season that Fertig has had 10-or-more rebounds. Fertig also had three blocks in the win.
Barnes and Pedersen also closed in double figures with 13 and 12, respectively. Off the bench, McKinley Dickerson and Ollilainen had five points each. Mellema led the Cowgirls with five assists on the night.
Overall, Wyoming shot 47.4-percent (27-57) from the field and went 5-of-15 from 3-point range. The Cowgirls went 0-for-5 in the second half from beyond-the-arc. The Wolf Pack shot 41.8-percent (23-55) and made 6-of-15 from deep. Nevada went 9-of-12 at the free-throw line while the Cowgirls hit 7-of-9.
Wyoming had a plus-two rebounding edge and a 9-7 margin in second-chance points. The Cowgirls also had a huge advantage inside, outscoring the Wolf Pack 44-26 in the pain. UW also claimed nine fast break points while Nevada had 0. The Nevada bench outpaced the Wyoming reserves, 19-10.
The Cowgirls now shift their focus to a marquee road contest on national television. Wyoming travels to face three-time defending Mountain West Champion UNLV at 2 p.m., Mountain Time Sunday on CBS Sports Network. Both of this season’s contests between the Cowgirls and Lady Rebels are nationally televised.