STILLWATER, Okla. (Dec. 3, 2023) – A slow first quarter and a rough final three minutes to the second and third quarters proved costly for the Wyoming Cowgirls Sunday on the road at Oklahoma State. Wyoming was outscored by 12 in the first quarter and spent the rest of the contest trying to fight its way back out of the hole as OSU won 78-62.
OSU outscored the Cowgirls 10-2 in the final three minutes of the first half and then closed the third quarter with an 11-3 run.
The Wyoming offense struggled out the gate as the Cowgirls shot just 3-of-15 from the floor in the opening 10 minutes and scored just six points. OSU led 18-6 after the first as it shot 8-of-13 from the field to begin. Turnovers plagued the Cowgirls in the first quarter, as they did for the entire first half.
In the second, the Cowgirls found their rhythm to begin the frame. UW scored 12 of the quarter's first 16 points and the Oklahoma State lead was trimmed down to just 22-18 with 6:33 to play in the half. Maren McKenna sparked the run as she hit a trio of 3-pointers in the frame to get Wyoming within striking distance. However, Okie State also was finding its range from deep and led 28-21 at the media timeout. Oklahoma State would extend the lead in the final 4-plus minutes of the half and carried a 41-25 lead into the break thanks to threes and free throws.
The second half began better for the Cowgirls, as they cut the deficit down to 46-32 with a little over seven minutes to play. Each time UW would chip away a little bit though, OSU would have an answer right back as the Orange Cowgirls led 53-39 at the media timeout in the third. Following the media, Wyoming cut the deficit down to 55-45 with 2:33 to go in the frame but Oklahoma State would counter the rest of the quarter, much like it did to end the second quarter and led 66-48 going into the fourth.
Back-to-back hoops from Emily Mellema to begin the fourth made it 66-52, but things wouldn't get much closer than that the rest of the contest. The Oklahoma State lead proved too much down the stretch for the Cowgirls to overcome as a 12-point deficit would be as close as Wyoming would get in the last 10 minutes. A Tess Barnes 3-pointer with 2:20 remaining got the Cowgirls within 74-62.
McKenna led the Cowgirls with a career-high 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting from deep. It marked the first time in her career that McKenna has scored in double figures. Allyson Fertig ended the day with 14 points, four rebounds and a pair of blocks while Marta Savic also ended in double figures off the bench as she scored 11 on 5-for-6 shooting and grabbed a team-high five boards. Malene Pedersen added nine points while Emily Mellema tied a career-high with five assists.
UW shot 43.6-percent (24-55) from the floor and made 6-of-19 from 3-point range while Oklahoma State shot 53-percent and went 8-of-21 from beyond-the-arc. OSU also made twice as many free throws than the Brown & Gold (16-8). Wyoming did have a 31-28 advantage in rebounding and had a 10-8 edge in second-chance points. The Cowgirls also outscored OSU 34-28 in the paint and got 27 bench points to Oklahoma State's 10.
The Cowgirls now have a week off of prep as they welcome in Creighton for a December 3 contest in Laramie. The Blujays come to town for a 1 p.m., contest.
-WYO-