Cowgirls Open Week at Home Wednesday Against Air Force
Courtesy photo
UW and AFA tip at 6:30 p.m.
LARAMIE, Wyo. (Feb. 10, 2025) – The Wyoming Cowgirls return home for the first of two games in Laramie this week. Wyoming welcomes Air Force to the Arena-Auditorium for a 6:30 contest Wednesday night.
Wednesday’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 (14-9, 8-3 MW) is coming off a wire-to-wire victory Saturday at San Diego State. Allyson Fertig led the Cowgirls with her 12th 20-point game of the season as she scored 20 on 10-of-14 shooting. Tess Barnes and Emily Mellema had 11 points each while Malene Pedersen scored 10 and had a game-high six assists. Ola Ustowska recorded five assists while Fertig also had five dimes, setting a career high. Mellema, meanwhile, was once again a menace defensively as she had three steals. Barnes grabbed six rebounds and had three made 3-pointers in the victory.
Entering this week, Fertig is the only player in Division I in the nation who, in conference play, is scoring at least 20 points per game while shooting at leas 60-percent from the floor. Fertig currently leads the league in Mountain West play averaging 20.3 points per game while her 61.1-percent shooting, is far-and-away the best in the league. Defensively, Fertig continues to lead the league averaging 2.2 blocks per contest while Mellema’s 2.6 steals a contest, also leads the MW. Ustowska, is fourth in the league (4.1 APG) in assists per game and is third with a 3.4 assist-to-turnover ratio. Pedersen ranks 10th in the league in scoring this season at 14.2 points per game while her 54-percent shooting from the field, trails just Fertig in conference play.
In league-only play, the Cowgirls are second in the Mountain West defensively, allowing just 60 points per game. Wyoming leads the MW with a 50.5-percent team field goal percentage and leads the league shooting 38.6-percent as a team from beyond-the-arc. UW continues to lead the league in assists, averaging 17.9 a contest, almost 3.5-per game better than second place (UNLV – 14.5). Wyoming also ranks second in the conference with a plus-5.3 rebounding margin.
SCOUTING AIR FORCE
Air Force has a dynamic scoring duo in Milahnie Perry (16.3 PPG) and Madison Smith (13.7 PPG). Smith and Perry are second and third, respectively on the squad in assists this season. Smith also leads the Mountain West with 55 steals this season. Jo Huntimer is one of the league’s leaders with 99 assists on the year while Jayda McNabb leads the Falcons in rebounding at 7.3 per game. McNabb’s 3.9 offensive rebounds per contest leads the Mountain West. Keelie O’Hollaren leads Air Force with 41 made 3-pointers.
As a team, the Falcons far-and-away lead the MW averaging 11.5 steals per game. Air Force forces their opponents into committing nearly seven more turnovers per contest. AFA is averaging 66.2 points per game and is allowing just 61.5 a contest. The Falcons shoot the ball at 39.7-percent from the floor and 30.4-percent from 3-point range. Opponents are shooting 44-percent overall and 30.5-percent from beyond-the-arc. Air Force has a minus-4.4 rebounding margin but averages nearly two more offensive boards per contest.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST AIR FORCE
Wyoming is 61-4 all-time in the series with the Falcons. The Cowgirls won this season’s first meeting at the USAFA, 62-50 in January. UW has won five consecutive in the series and is undefeated in Laramie against the Falcons. In five career games against Air Force, Malene Pedersen is averaging 12.4 points per game on 22-for-37 (59.5-percent) shooting from the floor. Allyson Fertig is averaging 14.3 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game in her career against the Falcons while shooting 81-percent.