Mellema Scores Career-High in Loss at Gonzaga

Mellema scores 27 in the contest

SPOKANE, Wash. (Nov. 17, 2024) – It was a defensive battle for much of the contest Sunday on the road for the Wyoming Cowgirls as they came up short at Gonzaga, 62-51. Emily Mellema poured in a career-high 27 in the loss.

The Cowgirls got off to a solid start in the game’s first 10 minutes, jumping out to an early six-point lead. However, Gonzaga would respond to end the first quarter, hitting 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions and took a 20-15 lead after one.

In the second, the Bulldogs extended their lead to as many as eight, 23-15 before back-to-back hoops from Mellema got the Cowgirls back to within four. After GU extended its lead up to 31-22, it was Wyoming’s turn to get a rhythm from beyond-the-arc as it closed with back-to-back 3-pointers from Malene Pedersen and Mellema. Mellema’s three beat the buzzer just before half as UW trailed 31-28 going into the break.

Gonzaga opened the second half scoring six of the first eight points before a Mellema pull-up jumper led to a GU timeout with 4:28 left in the frame with the score sitting at 37-32 score. Out of the timeout, the Bulldogs went to work and pushed their lead out to 39-32 before five-straight Cowgirl points cut the deficit down to 39-37. Gonzaga extended the lead in its final two possessions of the quarter and took a 44-37 lead into the fourth.

The fourth quarter followed the same script as most of the contest, with Wyoming not quite being able to reel Gonzaga in as it kept the advantage at three-to-four possessions for much of the rest of the contest. At the media timeout, GU led 48-42 and after the timeout, built the lead up to as many as 11 in the game’s final minutes.

Mellema’s 27 in the loss, marks her third-career 20-point performance. Mellema shot 10-of-18 from the floor and made four 3-pointers. Pedersen also finished in double figures with 12. Fertig, who was held in check offensively, grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds on the day. Madi Symons’ team-best four assists tied a career-high for her. Mellema had four steals in the loss while Fertig added a pair of blocked shots. Payton Muma scored five off the bench in her return to her former school.

Wyoming shot 34.5-percent is all from the field, shooting 19-for-55 and hitting 8-of-25 from 3-point range. The Bulldogs shot nearly 47-percent and went 6-of-14 from beyond-the-arc. Neither team shot the ball well at the free-throw line. The Bulldogs enjoyed a plus-11 advantage on the glass and had an 11-7 edge in second-chance points. Gonzaga outscored Wyoming 30-18 in the paint while the Cowgirls had a 13-7 edge in points off turnovers.

The Cowgirls are now off until Friday, November 22 when they will host Colorado Christian. It will be Education Day in Laramie as tip-off is set for 11 a.m.