LAS VEGAS – Tears will be shed on March 5 at the Arena-Auditorium.
 
The Wyoming women's basketball program will honor six seniors, including Glendo legend Allyson Fertig, during the regular-season home finale against UNLV.
 
The 2024-25 Cowgirls, picked to finish second in the preseason Mountain West coaches poll released Wednesday as part of the conference's media day event at Resorts World Las Vegas, also have plans for a joyful postseason return here.

Third-year head coach Heather Ezell has an experienced, talented returning cast capable of cutting down the nets at the end of the MW Tournament at the nearby Thomas & Mack Center.
 
"Every year that I've been here we've had the potential to go far," senior point guard Emily Mellema said. "I think now as a senior, especially returning a large core of our group and six seniors, we are excited to see how far we can go and really owning and buying into the potential that we really could go win a Mountain West Conference championship.
 
"For us it's taking it as far as we want to take it. It's all up to us at this point and we're really excited to see how far we can go."
 
Mellema joined her star classmate Fertig, the co-preseason MW player of the year with Colorado State forward Emma Ronsiek, to represent the Cowgirls in Las Vegas.
 
Fertig was the MW freshman of the year in 2022 and an all-MW selection in 2023 and 2024. The 6-foot-4 center was sixth in the conference in scoring (14.3 ppg), second in rebounding (8.4 rpg) and blocks (1.64 bpg) and first in field-goal percentage (.608) last season.
 
"It's a blessing just to be recognized by the conference and by our rivals and stuff like that," Fertig said of her latest individual recognition. "But I'm just honored and grateful for a team that has put me in that position and coaches and teammates that trust me to be in the position that I am in today. It has been amazing to play with them. It's a preseason accolade, so I just have to go out and prove it."
 
The Reigning champion Rebels received 21 of the 30 first-place votes and totaled 298 points in the preseason poll to finish ahead of UW (three first-place votes, 251 points), CSU (four first-place votes, 248 points), Boise State (248 points) and San Diego State (two first-place votes, 221 points).
 
New Mexico (218), Nevada (172), Air Force (125), Fresno State (116), San Jose State (60) and Utah State (60) rounded out the projected pecking order.
 
Ezell wants her veteran squad to embrace the lofty expectations. The Cowgirls made the Great 8 round of the WNIT last season but have a goal of playing in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
 
"You've got to be able to say, OK, yeah, the target is on our back, but you can't be scared of that," Ezell said. "You've got to be able to come up to that challenge each and every day. It started three weeks ago when we started practice and continues for the next two and half weeks before that first game.
 
"We've got to start believing in it and owning it and coming in every day ready to compete for that."
 
UW returns all five starters with Mellema and Fertig joining seniors Tess Barnes and Ola Ustowska and junior Malene Pedersen for one last ride together. McKinley Dickerson, a former all-MW selection, is also back for her senior season.
 
Impact transfers Logann Alvar (Casper College) and Payton Muma (Gonzaga) add experience and quality depth along with sophomores Madi Symons, Kati Ollilainen and Mikyn Hamlin.
 
Joslin Igo, who played with Fertig at Douglas High School and Alvar at Casper College, is UW's other senior.
 
True freshmen Fia Proctor, Lana Beslic, Karoline Lundin and Heidur Karlsdottir have an opportunity to be mentored by the strong senior class led by Fertig and Mellema.
 
"They really embody what we're about, what our program has been about," Ezell said while making rounds at media day with the two UW player representatives. "Especially Allyson being from Wyoming. She bleeds brown and gold. At the same time, Emily has grown up now and become a Wyomingite you could say. She cares just as much about what we're doing and that name across the front of the chest."
 
The Cowgirls host Chadron State for an exhibition game on Nov. 1 before tipping off the regular season against Colorado on Nov. 4 at the Arena-Auditorium.

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