LARAMIE, Wyo. (Feb. 17, 2020) – The Wyoming Cowgirl basketball team (12-11, 8-6 MW) will host the Utah State Aggies (7-19, 2-13 MW) on Wednesday night with tip-off scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the Arena-Auditorium. The Cowgirls are going for the season sweep of the Aggies after winning the earlier matchup in Logan, 65-54.
 
The game will be broadcast live on the Mountain West Network, and can be heard across the 25 stations of the Cowgirl Radio Network with Reece Monaco on the call.
 
A LOOK AT THE WYOMING COWGIRLS
The Cowgirls are 12-11 overall this season with an 8-6 mark in conference play following a 43-40 road win over Colorado State. Sophomore Tereza Vitulova leads the Cowgirls with both her 14.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Senior Taylor Rusk averages 9.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, while sophomore Quinn Weidemann puts up 9.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per contest. Sophomore Alba Sanchez Ramos and freshman Jaeden Vaifanua each score 7.0 points per game, with Sanchez Ramos grabbing 5.0 rebounds and Vaifanua collecting 4.0 rebounds per game. Defensively, Vitulova and Vaifanua each have 14 blocks this season, while sophomore Tommi Olson has a team-best 28 steals this season.
 
The Cowgirls are shooting 41.9 percent (547-1,306) from the field, 33.5 percent (158-471) from three and 74.3 percent (202-272) from the free throw line to average 63.2 points per game. The Cowgirls average 12.7 assists and 13.0 turnovers per game. Cowgirl opponents are shooting 39.2 percent (516-1,316) from the field, 31.1 percent (119-383) from three and 74.9 percent (221-295) from the free throw line to average 59.7 points per game. Opponents average 10.7 assists and 11.9 turnovers per game.
 
Head coach Gerald Mattinson is in his first year as head coach of the Cowgirls and owns a 12-11 record. He spent the previous 16 seasons on the Wyoming bench as an assistant and associate head coach.
 
SCOUTING UTAH STATE
The Utah State Aggies are 7-19 overall with a 2-13 record in the Mountain West following a 61-79 loss to league-leading Fresno State. Hailey Bassett leads USU in scoring and rebounding with 13.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Lindsey Jensen-Baker averages 12.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, while Steph Gorman scored 10.9 points and has a team-high 70 assists. Defensively, Bassett has a team-best 35 blocks, while Gorman has 58 steals.
 
The Aggies are shooting 37.2 percent (536-1,441) from the field, 31.5 percent (135-428) from three and 72.2 percent (273-378) from the free throw line to average 56.9 points per game. Utah State averages 11.2 assists and 16.6 turnovers per game. Utah State opponents are shooting 43.3 percent (634-1,465) from the field, 34.1 percent (174-510) from three and 74.5 percent (272-365) from the free throw line to average 65.9 points per game. Aggie foes average 13.9 assists and 15.0 turnovers per game.
 
Interim head coach Ben Finkbeiner is 5-16 since stepping into the head coach role earlier this season. It is his first stop as a head coach.
 
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST UTAH STATE
The Cowgirls lead the all-time series over Utah State, 23-9. Wyoming has won nine of the last 11 meetings overall, with the only two losses over that span on the road last year and in 2016. The series began in 1975, with USU winning the first three meetings before UW rattled off seven consecutive wins of their own. Wyoming has won four in a row at home.
 
UP NEXT
The Cowgirls will host Air Force on Saturday, Feb. 22 in the Arena-Auditorium. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.