Cowgirls Travel to Fresno State for First League Road Test
Photo courtesy University of Wyoming Athletics
Wyoming and Bulldogs tip Saturday at 3 p.m.
LARAMIE, Wyo. (Jan. 2, 2025) – The Wyoming Cowgirls hit the road for the first time in Mountain West play as they travel to face Fresno State Saturday in a 3 p.m., Mountain Time contest. It will be the only matchup this season with the Bulldogs.
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
UW (7-6, 1-0 MW) is coming off a 73-53 victory Wednesday over Utah State to open the New Year and conference play. Malene Pedersen led all scorers with second 20-point game of the season as she poured in 22 points on 7-of-13 season. The Cowgirls got three others in double figures in Allyson Fertig (14), McKinley Dickerson (11) off the bench and Kati Ollilainen (11) who made her first-career start. Ollilainen also had five assists and no turnovers in the game. Emily Mellema had a solid all-around game as she grabbed six rebounds, had six assists and no turnovers and defensively added a pair of blocks and steals.
Fertig, who entered conference play as one of five Division I players leading her conference in points and rebounding, is first or second in the league in seven different statistical categories and has four more where she ranks in the top five in the Mountain West. Mellema, meanwhile, is fifth in the league in assists per game (3.5) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.67). Her 1.92 steals a contest are eighth-best in the MW.
As a team, Wyoming is first in the league in scoring defense, allowing just 58.5 points per game. The Cowgirls are third in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio with a 1.08 and also ranks in the top five in the Mountain West in six other categories. Wyoming’s 43.2-percent team field goal percentage ranks fourth in the league while its 39-percent defensive field goal percentage is fifth. The Cowgirls’ 3.5 blocks per game are fourth-most.
SCOUTING FRESNO STATE
Fresno State is led by one of the best players in the MW in All-Mountain West honoree, Mia Jacobs, who is tied for second in the league in scoring with 17.8 points per game while her 10 rebounds per contest are second-best in the Mountain West. Jacobs is shooting over 40-percent from the field and has made 26 3-pointers on 36.6-percent shooting from beyond-the-arc. Jacobs also leads the Bulldogs with 34 steals and 32 assists. Mariah Elohim is second on the team averaging 10.3 points a contest and has a team-high 31 made 3-pointers.
The Bulldogs, who are 7-1 at home this season, are averaging 63.4 points per game and allowing 63.7 a game. Fresno State is shooting 37.3-percent from the floor and 35-percent from 3-point range. Bulldog opponents are shooting it at a near-39-percent clip and are hitting 31.6-percent from beyond-the-arc. Fresno forces its opponents into 15.6 turnovers per game and is averaging nearly 12 assists per game. The Bulldogs have a minus-three rebounding margin this season.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST FRESNO STATE
Fresno State leads the series, 22-20. The Cowgirls are 5-11 all time in Fresno and have won each of the last two contests on the road. This will be just the third game in Fresno dating back to the 2019-20 season. Overall, the Cowgirls have won five consecutive in the series and seven of the last eight. In four career games against the Bulldogs, Fertig is averaging 17.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per game on nearly 63-percent shooting from the field. Pedersen, meanwhile, is scoring 11a game in three career contests against Fresno State.