Second Half Struggles Cost Cowgirls at BYU

PROVO, Utah (Nov. 9, 2024) – It was a tale of two halves Saturday on the road for the Cowgirls against BYU. After playing a stellar first half against the Cougars, the second half was a different story as BYU rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to win 76-63. Wyoming shot the ball well in the first half and went cold in the final two quarter. BYU, meanwhile, couldn’t miss in the second half.

It was a strong first 20 minutes for the Cowgirls, on both ends of the court. Wyoming had the offense going in the first half, both inside and out as it shot 47-percent from the floor in the first and hit 7-of-14 from 3-point range. Defensively, the Cowgirls held BYU to 27 points and forced 11 turnovers in the first half as they led 40-27 at halftime. BYU started the game strongly, jumping out to an early 14-6 lead before UW adjusted, started to find its range on offense, and locked down on the defensive end of the court. 

Tess Barnes and Malene Pedersen had strong first halves, with both scoring in double figures before half. Barnes had 11 while Pedersen had 10 in the first 20 minutes of the contest. Allyson Fertig, meanwhile, nearly had a double-double at half with nine points and 10 rebounds.

BYU came out to begin the third quarter as it did the first, shooting the ball well and being effective offensively. The Cougars opened the half on a quick 11-1 run and forced a Wyoming timeout less than two minutes into the half. After shooting so well in the first half, Wyoming went cold in the third quarter and trailed 58-46 going to the fourth.

In the fourth, the Cowgirls were able to cut the deficit down to 58-51 with 7:48 left, forcing a Cougar timeout. Wyoming didn’t threaten the rest of the game following the timeout as BYU continued to play a strong half.

Fertig led Wyoming individually with a big game. Fertig scored 22 points and grabbed 18 boards. It is the 15th20-point game of Fertig’s career. Pedersen and Barnes both ended up in double figures as well as Pedersen finished with 15 and hit a trio of 3-pointers. Barnes had 11 in the loss. Emily Mellema scored nine points, had a team-high four assists and added a pair of steals.

Wyoming ended the game shooting 39-percent from the floor and hit 9-of-28 from beyond-the-arc. The Cougars, meanwhile, hit 51-percent of their shots, including 11-of-17 from 3-point range. BYU shot a blistering 60.7-percent in the second half from the field and went 9-of-11 from deep.

Next up, Wyoming returns home looking to enter the win column. Regis comes to town Wednesday evening for a 6:30 contest.