LARAMIE, Wyo. (Dec. 11, 2022) – Malene Pedersen scored a career-high 20 points, and the Wyoming Cowgirls got a huge fourth quarter to pull away from Kansas City Sunday afternoon in Laramie, winning 72-43. The win is the fourth consecutive for the Cowgirls. UW outscored the Roos 26-8 in the final quarter.
The Cowgirls (6-3) got it going inside early on, scoring their first three buckets in the paint. UW was sloppy with the ball in the game's first five minutes, committing four turnovers as the game was knotted up at 6-6 at the first quarter media timeout. Out of the timeout, the Cowgirls started to get the offense going from the perimeter, as Quinn Weidemann and Tess Barnes both hit 3-pointers. Wyoming led 16-13 after one, despite turning the ball over six times in the opening frame.
The second quarter brought more physical play as neither team could find much of a footing and the Cowgirls held onto a 22-19 lead with 4:34 left in the half. Turnovers continued to plaque Wyoming, as it committed 12 in the first half. However, the Cowgirls were able to find a surge late in the frame, as they ended the half on an 11-0 run late to lengthen the lead out to 33-20 at halftime.
In the third, Kansas City (3-7) was able to chip away at the deficit, as the Cowgirl offense slowed to begin the half. However, after it was cut down to 10, back-to-back hoops from Wyoming brought the lead back out to 41-26. UW led 41-29 at the third quarter media. Following the timeout, the Roos started to answer, continuing a 6-0 run before Barnes' second 3-pointer ended a long Cowgirl scoring drought. Wyoming ended the third going just 2-for-9 but led 46-35 after three.
It was all UW in the fourth quarter as the Cowgirls were relentless to begin the frame, jumping out with a 16-3 run to lengthen the lead to 62-38 with 4:42 to play. After the timeout, a pair of Grace Ellis free throws gave Wyoming a 24-point advantage, the biggest of the day, to that point.
"It was nice to get that run in the fourth," said Head Coach Heather Ezell postgame.
"We were able to get stops on the defensive ends grab the rebound and then, a credit to our kids, because they weren't tired, they were ready to keep running. I thought that really separated us there."
In addition to Pedersen, Allyson Fertig recorded her 12th career double-double as she recorded 10 points and 11 boards to go along with three blocks and a career-best four assists. Weidemann also finished in double figures as she added 12 on 5-for-7 shooting from the floor. Weidemann, along with Tommi Olson, also had a game-high six assists in the win.
For the second consecutive game, the Cowgirls shot a season-high as they knocked down 57.4-percent of their shots (27-47) while holding KC to just 36.2-percent from the field (17-47). UW also shot a season-high 53.3-percent from 3-point range, going 8-for-15 in the contest. It was also the second consecutive game that the Cowgirls recorded 20-plus assists as a team, dishing out 21 on the 27 made field goals.
Wyoming had a huge advantage on the glass, out-rebounding the Roos 34-17 in the contest. The Cowgirls had a 32-22 scoring edge in points in the paint and had 22 points to KC's 18 off turnovers, despite turning the ball over five more times than the Roos. The Cowgirl bench also came up huge, outscoring KC 24-10. Wyoming also had a 9-0 advantage in fastbreak scoring.
"We were able to get some things accomplished today. When things weren't going our way at first, we were able to stick through it. We're continuing to grow and we keep getting better," continued Ezell.
The Cowgirls are off during the week for Finals Week and will next be in action December 18 with a road trip at Nebraska. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m., MT against the Cornhuskers.
-WYO-