Cowgirls Host Fort Lewis in Friday Exhibition
Courtesy photo
Malene Pedersen Named Preseason All-MW – Wyoming picked sixth in poll
LARAMIE, Wyo. (Oct. 22, 2025) – The Wyoming Cowgirls open season four under Head Coach Heather Ezell Friday evening with the first of two exhibition contests. Wyoming hosts Fort Lewis at 6:30 as fans get their first chance to see the 2025-26 Cowgirls.
Friday’s game can be heard across the Cowgirl Radio Network with David Settle on the call.
ABOUT THE COWGIRLS
Wyoming, who was picked sixth in the Preseason Mountain West Poll that was released Wednesday by the league office, received 194 points in the poll. UNLV was tabbed to repeat as Mountain West favorite and received 19 of the 27 first-place votes. San Diego State was picked second (three first-place votes), Colorado State is third (one), Boise State is fourth (one) while New Mexico (2) rounds-out the top five. Grand Canyon (one), who is in its first season in the league, was picked just behind the Cowgirls in seventh.
Malene Pedersen, who was a 2024-25 All-Mountain West Team member, was picked to the Preseason All-Mountain West squad. Pedersen ranked eighth in Mountain West play in scoring last season averaging 15.6 points per game. Her 53-percent shooting overall from the floor was second-best in the MW. In conference-only contests, Pedersen was sixth in the league with 3.1 assists per game while her 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio was tied for third in the conference. Pedersen, who was also named to last season’s Mountain West Championship All-Tournament Team, for the second time in her career, was 11th in the league in scoring for all games, averaging 14 points per game and was ninth with 2.9 assists a contest. Pedersen shot 49-percent from the floor overall, made 38.3-percent of her shots from 3-point range and was second on the team with 51 made 3-pointers. Pedersen scored in double figures in 29 contests in 2024-25 and had six games with 20-plus points.
The Cowgirls need to replace four starters off last season’s squad, including the Mountain West Player of the Year (Allyson Fertig) and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year (Emily Mellema). Tess Barnes and Ola Ustowska, who also started in 2024-25, signed professional contracts to play in Europe over the summer, as did Fertig.
In addition to Pedersen, UW returns eight letterwinners from last season in Logann Alvar, Lana Beslic, Mikyn Hamlin, Heidur Karlsdottir, Karoline Lundin, Payton Muma, Kati Ollilainen and Madi Symons. The Cowgirls welcome six newcomers to the 2025-26 squad. Wyoming has four new freshmen in Liv Blomkvist (Stockholm, Sweden), Katie Harrington (Victoria, Australia), Jane Rumpf (Denver, Colo.) and Peyton Wohlford (Smithville, Mo.). The Cowgirls also have a pair of transfers this season in Aurore Eyango (Lille, France – St. Bonaventure) and Henna Sandvik (Helsinki, Finland – Indiana).
SCOUTING FORT LEWIS
Fort Lewis went 6-22 overall in 2024-25 and posted a 3-17 mark in RMAC play. The Skyhawks return their second-leading scorer last season in Deniece Ryan, who was an Honorable Mention All-RMAC selection. Ryan averaged 11 points per game and was second on the team with 50 assists last season. Ryan shot 45-percent from the field in 2024-25 and was second on the squad with 41 made free throws. The Skyhawks also return Katie Lamb, who played in all 28 games last season. Lamb averaged 9.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while leading Fort Lewis with 44 steals. Lamb’s six blocks were second-most on the team.
As a team, Fort Lewis averaged 63.6 points per game and allowed nearly 69 points per contest. The Skyhawks shot 39.5-percent from the floor as a team and hit nearly 30-percent of their shots from 3-point range. Opponents shot 42.3-percent overall and 33.5-percent from beyond-the-arc in 2024-25. Fort Lewis had a minus-four rebounding margin and committed fewer turnovers than its opponents last season.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST FORT LEWIS
Wyoming is 2-1 all-time in regular season contests against the Skyhawks. The Cowgirls are 1-1 in Laramie all time against Fort Lewis. Friday’s game is an exhibition.