LARAMIE, Wyo. (Dec. 30, 2024) – The Wyoming Cowgirl basketball team returns for the New Year and will begin Mountain West play Wednesday at 2 p.m. The Cowgirls welcome in Utah State to the Arena-Auditorium to begin league action on New Year's Day.
Wednesday's game will be broadcast live on the Mountain West Network and can be heard across the Cowgirl Radio Network with David Settle on the call.
ABOUT THE COWGIRLS
Wyoming (6-6) is coming off a 73-41 victory over North Dakota to close non-conference play December 21. The Cowgirls, who led start-to-finish, outscored the Fighting Hawks 17-3 in the fourth quarter and forced 29 UND turnovers. Wyoming recorded 16 steals in the win, its most in a contest since 2018. Tess Barnes led all scorers with 16 points in the contest while Allyson Fertig and Malene Pedersen also finished in double figures with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Emily Mellema had a career-best six steals against North Dakota.
Fertig continues to lead the Cowgirls on the season averaging 18.2 points and 10.3 rebounds per game on 58-percent shooting from the field. Fertig ranks in the top two in the conference in nine different statistical categories and is in the top six in the MW in 13 total statistics. Fertig ranks in the top-15 in the country in offensive rebounds per game (4.7, 11th) and total rebounds (124, 15th).
Mellema, who leads UW with 39 assists and 23 steals, ranks fifth in the Mountain West with a 1.44 assist-to-turnover ratio. She also ranks sixth in the league in assists (3.3) and steals (1.92) per game this season. Barnes and Malene Pedersen both have 17 made 3-pointers on the season to lead the team.
In the last three games to end non-conference play, the Cowgirls are averaging 19 assists per game (57 total), including a season-best 23 in the December 15 win at South Dakota. In those three games, Wyoming is assisting on 70.3-percent of its 81 made field goals. For the season, Wyoming's 14.7 assists per game ranks fifth in the Mountain West. The Cowgirls also rank in the top five of the league in blocks per game (3.4, fourth), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.04, 3rd), scoring defense (59 PPG, fourth) and field goal percentage (.443, fourth).
SCOUTING UTAH STATE
Utah State is led by Cheyenne Stubbs' 13.1 points per game. Stubbs also leads the Aggies with 27 assists on the season, despite missing four games. Jamisyn Heaton is second on the Aggies averaging 10.3 points a contest and is averaging a team-leading 6.3 rebounds per contest. Mia Tarver's 30 steals in 2024-25 leads Utah State while Gracie Johnson is averaging 1.5 blocks per contest this season for USU.
As a team, the Aggies are scoring 63 points per game while allowing opponents to score 78.5 per contest. USU is shooting 35.4-percent overall and 28.5-percent from beyond-the-arc. Utah State opponents are shooting it at a 45.5-percent clip and are hitting over 35-percent of its shots from 3-point range. USU is minus-eight in rebounding margin and is averaging 7.4 fewer assists per game than its opponents. Utah State averages 11.5 offensive rebounds and an impressive 10.6 steals per game. The Aggies are looking to snap a 10-game losing streak.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST UTAH STATE
Wyoming leads the all-time series, 32-10 and is 16-4 in Laramie against the Aggies. The Cowgirls have won four straight in the series and 12 of the last 13 contests versus Utah State. In five career games against USU, Fertig is averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds per game on 69-percent shooting from the floor. McKinley Dickerson has a 10.3 point per game average in eight career games against the Aggies.
-WYO-
