Cowgirls Open Practice
Day one in the books as UW begins year three under Ezell
LARAMIE, Wyo. (Sept. 23, 2024) – The Wyoming Cowgirls officially opened practice Monday afternoon to begin season three under Head Coach Heather Ezell. Wyoming opens the season with a November 1 exhibition against Chadron State before hosting Colorado Nov. 4 in the regular season opener.
The Cowgirls return all five starters from last season’s third-place Mountain West team that made it to the Great 8 Round of the WNIT. Wyoming returns two-time All-Mountain West Team honoree Allyson Fertig for her senior campaign. The Glendo native ranked sixth in the league in scoring with 14.3 points per game. Fertig was second in the conference averaging 8.4 rebounds per game while shooting a league-leading 60.8-percent from the floor, a mark that ranked 10th in the nation from the field. Defensively, Fertig also ranked second in blocks with 54.
Emily Mellema also returns for her final season after being named to the Mountain West All-Defense Team a season ago. Mellema led the team with 103 assists (3.1 per game) and ranked fifth in the league with a 1.75 assist-to-turnover ratio. Mellema led the Cowgirls with 43 steals and also tallied 13 blocks. Her 8.8 points per contest was fourth on the squad.
Joining the duo are Tess Barnes, Malene Pedersen and Ola Ustowska, who all started at least 32 games last season. Barnes led the Cowgirls with 60 made 3-pointers and shot 35-percent from beyond-the-arc. Pedersen was second on the squad averaging 11 points per game and shot 90-percent from the free-throw line. Ustowska, meanwhile, was second on the squad with 97 assists and led UW during Mountain West play in assists.
Wyoming also returns McKinley Dickerson, Mikyn Hamlin, Joslin Igo, Kati Ollilainen and Madi Symons from 2023-24. The Cowgirls welcome in six newcomers, including four freshmen and a pair of transfers. Freshmen Lana Beslic (Split, Croatia), Heidur Karlsdottir (Laugavellir, Iceland) Karoline Lundin (Copenhagen, Denmark) and Fia Proctor (Bothell, Wash.) come to Laramie for their first season with the Brown & Gold. The two Cowgirl transfers are Logann Alvar (Casper, Casper CC) and Payton Muma (Highlands Ranch, Colo., Gonzaga).
-WYO-
Kevin DeVries
Athletic Communications Coordinator - Tennis, Volleyball and Women’s Basketball
University of Wyoming Athletics