Cowgirls Host Fighting Hawks Saturday
First game in a month for UW tips at 1 p.m.
LARAMIE, Wyo. (Dec. 19, 2024) – After a month away from home, the Wyoming Cowgirls will play their first home game since November 22 when they welcome North Dakota to the Arena-Auditorium for a 1 p.m., tip-off Saturday, December 21. The Cowgirls have played their last six games away from Laramie.
Saturday’s game will be broadcast live on the Mountain West Network and can be heard across the Cowgirl Radio Network with David Settle on the call.
ABOUT THE COWGIRLS
Wyoming (5-6) is coming off a 76-60 loss at Creighton Tuesday in Omaha. The Bluejays were able to pull away from UW late in the contest, outscoring the Cowgirls by 13 in the fourth. Wyoming had a two-point lead with under minutes to play in the third of the contest. Allyson Fertig led the way with a season-high 23 points in the loss, her fifth 20-point performance this season. Tess Barnes and Malene Pedersen scored 16 points each in the game. Barnes, Emily Mellema and Ola Ustowska each recorded five assists against Creighton. Ustowska also tied a career-high with nine rebounds in the loss.
Fertig ranks in the top two in the Mountain West in 12 different statistical categories this season. Fertig is averaging 18.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game through the first 11 games of 2024-25. Barnes’ 1.89 3-pointers made per contest ranks seventh in the league while Mellema’s 1.40 assist-to-turnover ratio is fifth in the MW.
Barnes leads the Cowgirls with 17 made 3-pointers this season, despite missing two games and is fourth on the team averaging 10.8 points per game. Mellema is second on the Cowgirls scoring at an 11.6-point per game clip and leads Wyoming with 35 assists and 17 steals. Pedersen also scores in double figures with 11.2 a contest. As a team, the Cowgirls are averaging just under 63 points per game and are shooting 43-percent from the field. UW opponents are scoring 60.6 a game and shooting just under 40-percent from the floor. Wyoming also has a plus-1.7 rebounding margin during non-conference action.
SCOUTING NORTH DAKOTA
UND is led by forward Kiera Pemberton’s 15.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Pemberton is shooting an impressive 58-percent from the field and is the only Fighting Hawk scoring in double figures this season. Jocelyn Schiller (9.9), Mikayla Aumer (9.8) and Walker Demers (8.8) are second through fourth on the team in scoring. Schiller leads the team with 37 assists and 19 steals and along with Aumer, has 16 made 3-pointers to lead North Dakota. Fatima Ibrahim leads the Fighting Hawks with 11 blocks while coming off the bench.
The Fighting Hawks are averaging nearly 64 points per contest and are shooting 40.3-percent from the field and nearly 30-percent from beyond-the-arc. UND opponents score at a 65.6-point per game clip while shooting just under 40-percent from the floor and 33-percent from 3-point range. North Dakota has a near-plus-four rebound margin this season. The Fighting Hawks have 21 fewer assists this season than their opponents and are committing more than three turnovers per game than their opponents.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST NORTH DAKOTA
Wyoming leads the all-time series, 3-1. This will mark the third season in a row the two teams will meet with each winning on their home court, previously. UND won in the 2022-23 season opener while the Cowgirls won in Laramie last season to begin the 2023-24 campaign. Wyoming is 2-0 in the series in Laramie.