Cowgirls Ready for Discover Puerto Rico San Juan Shootout
UW faces Drake, Norfolk State and Virginia
LARAMIE, Wyo. (Nov. 25, 2024) – The Wyoming Cowgirls travel down to San Juan, Puerto Rico for three games in three days over Thanksgiving Week for the Discover Puerto Rico San Juan Shootout. The Cowgirls play Drake on Thanksgiving Day at 11:30 a.m., Mountain Time and Norfolk State Friday, also at 11:30. Wyoming closes the tournament with a 10:30 a.m., Mountain tip against Virginia Saturday.
All three games will be broadcast live on FloSports College and can be heard across the Cowgirl Radio Network with David Settle on the call.
ABOUT THE COWGIRLS
Wyoming (2-3) is coming off an 80-54 win over Colorado Christian last Friday in Laramie for Education Day. The Cowgirls scored a season-high 40 bench points in the victory with all available Cowgirls making an appearance. Wyoming had 12 players score in the contest and was led by Allyson Fertig’s third 20-point outing of the season as she led the way with 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting in just 19 minutes of action. Fertig also added a game-high 12 rebounds to record her second double-double of the year. Emily Mellema and Payton Muma each added 11 points to score in double figures against the Cougars. Mellema also tallied five assists and three steals.
On the year Fertig’s 17.8 points per game ranks third in the Mountain West. Fertig leads the league with 10.4 rebounds a contest with five of those boards coming offensively. Fertig’s five offensive rebounds per game ranks seventh in the nation. Fertig is also 18th in the country and second in the conference, averaging 2.6 blocks per game. Mellema’s 2.8 steals per contest ranks third in the MW while Ola Ustowska’s 1.78 assist-to-turnover ratio is fifth-best in the league. Ustowska leads the Cowgirls with 3.2 assists a contest.
SCOUTING DRAKE
Drake comes to Puerto Rico on a three-game losing streak, but has faced a tough slate during that stretch in Creighton, Iowa and Iowa State. Katie Dinnebier is one of the nation’s top scorers averaging 23.6 points per game. Dinnebier is shooting 52.3-percent overall from the field and nearly 48-percent from 3-point range on 19 makes. Dinnebier also leads the Bulldogs with 25 assists and 10 steals. Anna Miller is averaging a double-double thus far as she comes in averaging 17.6 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. Courtney Becker also scores in double figures at 11 points a contest.
The Bulldogs are a potent offensive club, averaging 80.4 points per contest while shooting over 42-percent from the floor and 33-percent from 3-point range. Drake’s opponents are scoring nearly 79 points per game, are shooting 43.4-percent from the field and 34-percent from 3-point range. The Bulldogs have a near-plus-eight rebounding margin and have committed six more turnovers per contest. Drake was picked as the preseason favorite in the Missouri Valley Conference.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST DRAKE
The series is tied 1-1 all-time with each team winning at home. The two schools played back-to-back seasons in 2016 and ‘17.
SCOUTING NORFOLK STATE
Norfolk State is led by a pair of dynamic players in Diamond Johnson and Kierra Wheeler. Johnson leads the team scoring 18.7 points per game and averaging better than four assists per game. Johnson has a team-best 21 steals this season. Wheeler is scoring 15 points a game and has a teambest 8.4 rebounds per contest and 18 blocks. Niya Fields is tied for the team lead along with Johnson with 14 made 3-pointers. Fields is second on the squad with 22 assists and 11 steals.
The Spartans are scoring 65.7 points per game and allowing just 57.6 a contest. Norfolk State is shooting 40.5-percent from the field and making over 33-percent from beyond-the-arc. The Spartans are holding opponents to just 37.2-percent overall and under 32-percent from 3-point range. NSU has forced 24 more turnovers than its opponents and have a plus-2.3 rebounding margin.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST NORFOLK STATE
This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
SCOUTING VIRGINIA
Virginia is riding a four-game winning streak into the Discover Puerto Rico San Juan Shootout. The Cavaliers have a balanced offensive attack with four players scoring 10-or-more points per game and two more with 7.8 points per game or better. Kymora Johnson leads the team averaging 17.3 points and 5.2 assists per game. Johnson has a team-leading 15 made 3-pointers and is shooting 48.4-percent from beyond-the-arc. Breona Hurd is second on the team averaging 13.7 points a game and has a team-best seven rebounds per contest. Latasha Lattimore has 15 blocks on the season to lead Virginia.
The Cavaliers have a plus-22 scoring margin this season and are averaging 80.2 points per game and allowing just 58.2 a contest. UVA is shooting 43-percent from the floor and 32-percent from 3-point range. Cavalier opponents are shooting just 32.3-percent overall from the field and 21.5-percent from beyond-the-arc. Virginia is averaging over 48 rebounds per contest and has 36 more assists than its opponents and has forced one turnover more per game. The Cavaliers are averaging over 19 assists per game.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST VIRGINIA
First-ever meeting.