Cowgirls Win Rock Fight with San Jose State, 59-54

14-1 run to begin the fourth separates Wyoming late

LARAMIE, Wyo. (Feb. 15, 2025) – It wasn’t always the prettiest game, especially in the second and third quarters, but a big opening to the fourth quarter helped the Wyoming Cowgirls pull away late for a 59-54 win over San Jose State Saturday afternoon. Wyoming began the fourth with a 14-1 run to help it separate. The final score made things look much tighter than they were, as the San Jose starters went on a 19-2 run the final 3:34 of the game against the UW bench.

“We were obviously still able to do some stuff today and hit some shots,” said Heather Ezell after the win.

“It was the same defensive scheme that we saw against them at their place, we just didn’t hit as many shots today. We got to the free-throw line today, I wish we had finished there better. I wasn’t worried about the score there at the end. I wanted to get some rest for the starters today since we play Tuesday. We’ve got a couple of weeks coming up here to end the season that are not going to be easy.”

 Things were back-and-forth early in the contest as the beginning of the quarter featured eight lead changes and three ties, as both teams struggled to get stops on the defensive end. Wyoming led 17-15 at a late first media timeout. The rest of the first saw the Cowgirls end the frame with the final four points as they took a 21-17 lead into the second.

Wyoming continued to struggle to find separation to begin the second quarter before Malene Pedersen’s second 3-pointer of the game gave UW a 26-20 advantage as San Jose State called a timeout with 5:49 left in the half. After the timeout, things remained a battle as the game became physical with both teams struggling to score. Neither team scored double figures in the second quarter as the Cowgirls led 28-22 at the half. Wyoming went the final 4:44 of the half without scoring while the Spartans went scoreless for 5:12.

Ugly play continued to open the third as the Cowgirl struggles on offense continued, despite a bunch of good looks to extend the lead. Wyoming led just 30-27 as it called a timeout with 5:42 to play in the third. Following the timeout, not much changed as SJSU’s plan to keep the game disjointed continued to work. UW was able to stretch the lead up to nine points late in the quarter thanks to four points from Kati Ollilainen to end the frame. The Cowgirls carried a 41-32 lead into the fourth.

An Allyson Fertig layup gave Wyoming a double-digit lead for the first time all day as the fourth began. The Cowgirls finally seemed to have some life as a pair at the free-throw line from Emily Mellema made it a 13-point game with nine minutes to play. A Tess Barnes 3-pointer got the Cowgirls to 50 points as they finally seemed to find an offensive rhythm. A few possessions later and a Pedersen 3-pointer all-of-a-sudden gave Wyoming a 55-33 lead with 5:27 left, forcing a Spartan timeout.

The Cowgirl lead remained 20-plus points for the next couple of minutes as UW brought in the subs for the final stretch. San Jose State made a run late as it brought full-court pressure for the first time all game with the Cowgirl reserves in to make the final score look much more respectable.

Pedersen recorded her second consecutive 20-point game and fifth of the season as she scored 21 on 8-of-13 shooting while making three 3-pointers. Despite, for her, what was a struggle offensively in the game, Fertig made an impact, as she had another big rebounding game with 16 boards. Fertig still closed with 18 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the floor. Mellema ended with seven points, and along with Ola Ustowska, led the Cowgirls with three assists on the day.

Both teams struggled offensively and at the free-throw line Saturday. Wyoming did get up to 44-percent from the floor (22-50) by the end of the game and hit four 3-pointers. The Cowgirls shot just 11-of-23 at the free-throw line. SJSU shot under 33-percent (21-64) and went just 3-for-17 from beyond-the-arc. The Spartans went 9-of-18 at the charity stripe.

San Jose outscored the Cowgirls 20-9 in points off turnovers. Most of that came in the final few minutes, however. Wyoming had a 12-9 edge in second-chance points and a 36-34 margin in points in the paint. The Spartans had a 42-40 edge in rebounding.