LARAMIE, Wyo. (Feb. 3, 2022) – The Wyoming Cowgirls continue their week on the road and their 5-of-6 game stretch away from home with a trip to conference-leading New Mexico for a 2 p.m., contest February 5 in Albuquerque.
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on the Mountain West Network and can be heard across the Cowgirl Radio Network with Keith Kelley on the call.
ABOUT THE COWGIRLS
Wyoming (8-10, 4-5 MW) is coming off a defensive slugfest Tuesday at Air Force, a 47-45 loss for the Cowgirls. Air Force scored the first 10 points of the game as the Cowgirls continued to chip away at the deficit the rest of the way. McKinley Bradshaw had a last-second, game-winning 3-pointer go halfway down and out as the Falcons escaped with the victory.
Bradshaw led the Cowgirls with 14 points in the loss, her 12 double-figure scoring game of the season. Quinn Weidemann added 11 points and hit a trio of 3-pointers. Weidemann is now just 45 points shy of joining the 1,000-point club at UW. Allyson Fertig pulled down a career-best 13 rebounds in the loss at AFA.
Bradshaw continues to score the ball well for the Cowgirls, ranking ninth in the Mountain West averaging 14.3 points per game while her 15.5 points per in conference-only contests ranks seventh. Bradshaw also ranks ninth in the league with a 39.3-percent field goal percentage and is eighth shooting 75-percent at the free-throw line. Fertig's 7.2 rebounds per contest ranks seventh in the league.
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO
League-leading New Mexico enters Saturday's contest tops in the league in scoring, averaging 77.2 points per game. The Lobos are No. 1 in the Mountain West in team field goal percentage, shooting nearly 46 percent from the floor and are first in 3-point shooting at 37.5-percent. UNM makes over 10 3-pointers per game in 2021-22. It doesn't end there, as the Lobos also rank first in the league in blocks per game (4.4) and assists per (17.2).
A total of five Lobos are averaging in double figures in scoring this season and are led by Shaiquel McGruder's 15.1 points per game. Jaedyn De La Cerda averages 12.8 per, LaTora Duff averages 12.1, Antonia Anderson is at 12 per game and LaTascya Duff comes in at 11.4 per. McGruder leads the team in rebounding at 6.9 boards per game, 42 steals and 41 blocks, while LaTora Duff's 5.7 assists per ranks third-best in the league. LaTascya Duff is No. 1 in the conference making 2.7 3-pointers per game and is shooting 46-percent from beyond-the-arc.
Head Coach Mike Bradbury is in his sixth season leading the Lobos and led UNM to the regular-season Mountain West crown last season.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST NEW MEXICO
New Mexico leads the all-time series with the Cowgirls, 43-38 and has won four of the last five in the series. The Cowgirls are 5-4 all-time in "The Pit" and won their last meeting in Albuquerque, 73-66 back in late 2019. That 2019 victory was UW's last in the series since 2018 at the Mountain West Tournament.
New Mexico defeated the Cowgirls 85-76 back on January 13 in Laramie. Bradshaw tied a career-high with 27 points last time out against the Lobos while Grace Ellis scored a career-best 14 off the bench in the loss.
-WYO-
