Cowgirls Travel to Face Wolf Pack Saturday Night

Tip-off set for 7:30 p.m., Mountain

LARAMIE, Wyo. (Feb. 20, 2025) – The Wyoming Cowgirls look to bounce back Saturday with its second road contest of the week. The Cowgirls will face Nevada at 7:30 p.m., Mountain Time.

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 (16-10, 10-4 MW) had its five-game winning streak snapped Tuesday night at Boise State. The Cowgirls were outscored 20-6 in the fourth quarter against the Broncos, shooting just 1-of-11 from the floor in the game’s final 10 minutes. Emily Mellema led UW with 18 points in the loss while Malene Pedersen scored 16 and led the team with five assists. Allyson Fertig and Tess Barnes scored 15 and 14 points, respectively. In the game, Fertig became the program’s all-time leader in career rebounds as she pulled down 12 boards. Fertig, who surpassed Michele Hoppes (1984-87) atop the all-time list, now has 1,107 career rebounds.

Despite having her Mountain West record of 21 straight games shooting 50-percent or better snapped, Fertig is still the lone player in the nation averaging at least 20 points and shooting at least 60-percent from the floor in conference play. Fertig remains the league leader in points (20.4), rebounding (10.7), blocks (2.1) and shooting percentage (60.6) in conference contests. Pedersen is also in the top 10 in scoring, averaging 15.2 points per contest and is second to Fertig in league field goal percentage, shooting nearly 56-percent. Pedersen’s 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio is fourth-best in the MW. Ola Ustowska (2.7) and Mellema (1.4) are fifth and eighth, respectively in that category. That duo ranks fifth (3.8) and sixth (3.6), respectively in assists per game in league action. Mellema’s 2.4 steals per game still paces the league.

As a team in conference play, the Cowgirls are first in team field goal percentage at 49.4-percent and are second shooting 36.2-percent from 3-point range. UW is second in scoring defense, allowing 60.6 points per game and is also second with a plus-4.9 rebounding margin. As a team, the Cowgirls’ 1.19 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks third.

SCOUTING NEVADA
The Wolf Pack is led by a pair of scorers averaging in double figures this season in Lexie Givens (12.9) and Kennedy Lee (11.7). Givens also leads Nevada averaging 6.6 rebounds per game and is third in assists (45) and in steals (26) this season. Lee has played in limited games this season, however. Dymonique Maxie and Audrey Roden have 67 and 65 assists, respectively this season. Maxie leads the squad with 58 steals in 2024-25. Izzy Sullivan has a team-high 41 made 3-pointers this season to lead the Wolf Pack. Victoria Davis is third on the team in scoring, averaging 9.1 points per game while Sullivan is averaging an even 9.0 per contest.

Nevada is averaging 63.8 points per game and is allowing 66.1 a contest. The Wolf Pack shoot it at 39.3-percent as a team on the season and are shooting just 29-percent from 3-point range. Opponents shoot it at a 42.7-percent clip and are hitting just 29.1-percent of its shots from beyond-the-arc. The Wolf Pack has a plus-1.2 rebounding advantage and commits fewer turnovers per game than their opponents.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST NEVADA
Wyoming leads the all-time series with the Wolf Pack, 25-9 and have won five straight in the series. The Cowgirls are 7-7 in Reno in the series and won the last meeting on the road, 57-53 in January of 2023. UW won the first meeting this season, 66-61 in Laramie, Jan. 15. In five career games against Nevada, Fertig is averaging 19.2 points per game and is shooting 64.6-percent from the field.