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Cowgirls Travel to Gonzaga for Sunday Matinee

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By
Kevin DeVries, Athletic Communications Coordinator — Tennis, Volleyball and Women's Basketball

Sixth-straight seasons the two programs will meet

LARAMIE, Wyo. (Nov. 15, 2024) – The Wyoming Cowgirls hit the road again this weekend looking to even their season record to .500. Wyoming will make the trek to Spokane, Washington to face Gonzaga in a 2 p.m., Mountain Time contest.

Sunday’s game will be broadcast live on ESPN Plus and can be heard across parts of the Cowgirl Radio Network that aren’t preempted by Denver Broncos football. David Settle will be on the radio call.

ABOUT THE COWGIRLS
Wyoming (1-2) pushed into the win column Wednesday evening in the AA with a 69-57 win over Regis. A trio of Cowgirls scored in double figures in the win, led by Allyson Fertig’s 21 points. Fertig, who also blocked four shots for the second consecutive game, ranks eighth in the nation with 10 total blocks this year. Fertig also scored 20-plus points for the second consecutive game, marking the fourth time in her career that she has scored 20-or-more in consecutive contests.

Malene Pedersen and Emily Mellema scored 17 and 11, respectively in the win. Those are both season-high marks in scoring for Pedersen and Mellema. Ola Ustowska, meanwhile, notched a game-high five assists against the Rangers. Logann Alvar, Heidur Karlsdottir and Payton Muma all scored their first-career points in a Cowgirl uniform on Wednesday.

On the season, Fertig is averaging a double-double with 20.3 points and 10 rebounds per game on 56-percent shooting from the floor. Fertig’s 3.33 blocks per game is seventh-best in the country. Tess Barnes and Pedersen also average in double figures with 12 and 11.3 points per, respectively. Ustowska’s 10 assists are a team-best for UW while Mellema’s seven steals leads the way.

SCOUTING GONZAGA
Gonzaga enters Sunday on a two-game losing streak, having lost its previous two contests to ACC foes. The Bulldogs are led by one of the best players in the country in Yvonne Ejim, who is averaging 18.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game this season while shooting nearly 58-percent from the floor. Allie Turner is also scoring at an 18.7-point per game clip on 59.4-percent shooting. Maud Huijbens’ nine assists are a team high while Claire O’Connor leads GU with two steals per game.

The Bulldogs have shot nearly 43-percent from the floor on the young season and are hitting an impressive 45.3-percent from 3-point range. Gonzaga opponents are averaging over 81 points per game and shooting over 51-percent from the floor. The Bulldogs have a plus-nine rebounding advantage on the season and are committing nearly nine more turnovers per game than their opponents.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST GONZAGA
Gonzaga leads the all-time series, 9-1. Sunday will be the sixth consecutive season the two teams will meet, dating back to 2019. The Cowgirls are 1-4 in Spokane and have lost nine straight in the series since winning the opener between the two teams, 69-60 in November of 1989. In three career games against Gonzaga, Fertig and Mellema are averaging 9.7 and seven points per game, respectively while shooting a combined 66.7-percent (20-30) from the floor.

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