LARAMIE, Wyo. (Feb. 11, 2023) – The Wyoming Cowgirls made it a 2-for-2 week at home with victories thanks a Saturday matinee win over Air Force, 62-56 in what was a thrilling contest inside the Arena-Auditorium. The game's first 20 minutes was a defensive struggle before both teams opened it up in the third quarter, combining to shoot 15-for-25 in the frame.
Wyoming (17-8, 10-4 MW) got things going early with three layups in the game's opening minutes to take an early 6-2 lead. AFA (12-13, 7-6 MW) would respond with back-to-back hoops to knot things at 6-6 at the first quarter media timeout. Following the timeout, the Cowgirls started turning the ball over and the Falcons took advantage, pushing the lead up to 11-6 before a Malene Pedersen 3-pointer ended the 9-0 Air Force run. Things continued to be physical the rest of the quarter and AFA held an 11-9 advantage after one. Wyoming had some very good looks from beyond-the-arc in the first but couldn't take advantage and went 1-of-7 from deep.
Air Force came out and knocked down some mid-range jumpers to open the second and had a 15-9 lead. Wyoming got to within 15-13, but couldn't quite reel the Falcons in as AFA continued to make tough shots and the Cowgirls had untimely turnovers. After the media timeout, UW went on a 7-0 run to take a 20-18 lead with under two and a half to play in the first half. The two teams would exchange hoops the rest of the second as a pair of Quinn Weidemann free throws pushed UW out in front, 25-23 at the half.
The Cowgirls got the first five points of the second half and forced an early Falcon timeout, with 8:42 to go in the frame after taking a 30-23 lead. Out of the timeout, Air Force responded by getting the offense going by hitting some well-contested shots, cutting the Cowgirl lead to just one, 34-33. After a Tommi Olson 3-pointer, the Falcons continued their hot shooting, especially from beyond-the-arc and Wyoming clung to a 39-38 lead with 3:47 to go in the third as the media timeout came. After the media, the Cowgirls went on a 10-3 run to end the quarter, making their final five shots and held a 49-41 lead going into the fourth.
The fourth began with UW pushing the lead to double digits, 53-43 lead with under eight minutes to play. The score didn't change leading up to the media timeout with 6:17 to go. After the timeout, a Weidemann layup brought the lead up to a dozen but AFA was game from there and responded with a big run as the Cowgirls went cold offensively. Wyoming went the final 5:38 of the contest without a made field goal. It was 56-52 with a minute left before Allyson Fertig hit a pair of free throws. On the other end, it was Air Force's turn to hit a pair at the line with 42.2 to go.
Weidemann hit two more at the line for Wyoming after that with 26.2 to play as the Falcons called a timeout. After the timeout, AFA hit another midrange jumper to keep things alive and led to another timeout, this time by the Cowgirls. UW ran out a lot of time on its next possession before another pair of freebies by Weidemann made it 62-56 with just 6.5 seconds remaining. The Falcons missed a three the next time down the floor and it was all over from there.
"Our timing and our pace was a lot better offensively in the second half," said Associate Head Coach Ryan Larsen after the game.
"That first quarter, they dictated what we did and we weren't able to score a lot. We settled down a bit and credit to the women, we started to implement the things that we practiced on Friday."
Fertig finished the game with a game-high 17 points and once again went perfect from the field shooting, as she was 7-of-7 from the floor. Fertig also added a game-best six rebounds and had a pair of blocks in the win. Weidemann and Pedersen also finished in double figures on the day. Weidemann closed with 13 points and was a terror on the defensive end as she tallied a block and four steals against the Falcons. Pedersen, meanwhile, had a great all-around game, scoring 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting while adding four rebounds and a game-high four assists.
"We play through Allyson Fertig. She continues to see a lot of different defenses thrown her way and she's starting to improve at figuring those out. Figuring when to shoot it, when to pass and when to be patient with the basketball," continued Larsen.
The Cowgirls shot an impressive 55-percent (22-40) from the field, despite tailing off late in the fourth. Wyoming finished 6-for-14 from 3-point range in the contest, including going 5-of-7 in the final three quarters of action. Air Force, meanwhile, hit 7-for-19 from 3-point range and went 21-of-51 (41.2-percent) from the field. UW went plus-five at the free-throw line, making 12-of-15 while the Falcons were 7-for-9.
The Falcons had a 16-6 advantage in points off turnovers Saturday and had eight second-chance points to Wyoming's six. The Cowgirls once again enjoyed a big edge inside, outscoring Air Force 32-14 in points in the paint. Wyoming also had a 30-20 rebounding advantage on the day.
Next up, the Cowgirls embark on their final two road contests of the season. UW opens the two-game road swing next week February 16 at New Mexico for a 7 p.m., tip.
-WYO-