LARAMIE – Heather Ezell knows what it feels like to be a shooting star in the Hawkeye State.
 
Ezell, an all-Big 12 guard who played in three NCAA Tournaments at Iowa State, hopes the surge in popularity of women's basketball, thanks in large part to the story of Caitlin Clark and Iowa, will be felt in Laramie next season.
 
Wyoming, coming off a run to the Great 8 round of the WNIT in Ezell's second season as head coach, returns all five starters and eight players from the rotation.
 
Allyson Fertig has a chance to be the program's Clark – the brown and gold G.O.A.T. – by breaking records and leading the Cowgirls to the NCAA Tournament.
 
The 6-foot-4 center from Glendo is 19^th in Wyoming history for points (1,238), seventh for rebounds (833) and fourth for blocks (151) entering her senior season.
 
"People know Allyson, they know her name, they know her face and what she has done already here," Ezell said on the One Wyoming Podcast of growing the support for the Cowgirls beyond the loyal season-ticket holders that show up for every home game. "I think it takes one game where maybe, and knock on wood because I hope this happens, that she goes off for a 40 (points) and 20 (rebounds) night and people go, 'I need to go see this girl. I need to see this person in person and watch her play.' "
 
Fertig, who was selected to the all-conference team for the second consecutive season after averaging a team-high 14.3 points and 8.4 rebounds, will be on the short list of Mountain West player of the year candidates.
 
She will also have help from a strong supporting cast.
 
Emily Mellema and Tess Barnes, who were in Fertig's recruiting class, also return as seniors after breakout seasons. McKinley Dickerson and Ola Ustowska, two players that were part of the 2021 MW Tournament championship team, will use the extra year of eligibility granted during the pandemic looking to get back to the NCAA Tournament.
 
"We can all dream of it, we can all say when you look at (it on) paper, hey, this team is good, and they have that chance," Ezell said. "We've done all of our individual meetings and what we've told every player is we can't just come back and think what we're doing will get us there.
 
"We have to be better; We have to put in work this summer and we have to raise that bar and have a different outcome."
 
Ezell said after a disappointing loss to Boise State in the quarterfinal round of the MWC Tournament In Las Vegas, the coaching staff implemented some changes for next season during WNIT practices.
 
"It looked different, and our workload was different," Ezell said of the improved focus and attention to detail.
 
The Cowgirls lose senior forward Marta Savic, who thrived in her role backing up Fertig the past two seasons, to graduation. Maren McKenna, who carved out a role for herself off the bench as a true freshman, will be leaving the program temporarily to serve a religious mission.
 
"What we talked about in losing those two players is it's our two toughest players with Marta and Maren," Ezell said. "There was no environment, no player, no situation that scared (Savic). Maren probably just didn't know any better. She wasn't afraid, wasn't going to back down and no shot was too big for her probably because she didn't know any better. We'll miss that and we'll need some people to step into those roles."
 
Ezell would like Barnes, who made 60 3s and shot 34.9% from behind the arc, to post up in the paint more often and Dickerson, who made 60% of her shots inside the arc, to not pass up any open 3s next season.
 
Down the stretch Malene Pedersen started to recapture the form that made her the MWC freshman of the year. She averaged 11.0 points on 46.6% shooting as a sophomore while typically being guarded by the opposing team's top perimeter defender.
 
"I think what the big shock for Malene was she kind of came in and surprised everybody her freshman year and wins freshman of the year," Ezell said. "I think she probably got moved pretty far up that scout. It probably went Allyson, Malene. They started to really key in on her where maybe that wasn't the case her freshman year."
 
Three members of McKenna's recruiting class – Kati Ollilainen, Madi Symons and Mikyn Hamlin – are expected to return with expanded roles.
 
Ollilainen showed flashes of brilliance as the backup point guard but was never completely healthy as a freshman. Symons played in all 33 games and will likely log more minutes without McKenna. Hamlin seemed to have a firm grasp of the motion offseason but redshirted after suffering a knee injury.
 
The three incoming freshmen signed last November are 6-4 forward/center Heidur Karlsdottir, 6-2 forward Fia Proctor and 5-9 guard Karoline Lundin.
 
Ezell said Karlsottir, who is from Iceland, will benefit from a year developing behind Fertig. Proctor's game reminds the coaches of Barnes and Lundin is the "spitting image" of Dickerson with her style of play.
 
Wyoming will add two additional players during the spring signing period, which begins next Wednesday. Ezell and her staff are also scouring the transfer portal looking for an impact player to take the final remaining scholarship.
 
"We have to find the right person," Ezell said. "I can't just go into the portal and grab anybody, and say come to our program because that could screw it all up. We return a lot of pieces, and we always say it just takes one bad apple to ruin the bunch. So, you really have to be picky in that case."
 
The Cowgirls are not dealing with much attrition to the portal. Ezell credits the culture created by Joe Legerski and Wyoming's commitment to the growing sport for the stability.
 
"Wyoming athletics has done such a good job with women's basketball supporting it and putting the money into it to help build that culture that we just don't see players leave," Ezell said. "I had that conversation with Marta because I've said this numerous times, any other player in her position would have transferred and said, no, I want to go be the star somewhere else instead of being a backup. She said it today, she's like, it would have never felt right. You guys put so much into me, and I put so much into you that why would I want to leave a place like this that has my stamp on it?"
 
To listen to the full interview with Ezell on the One Wyoming Podcast subscribe via Apple, Spotify or visit the podcast web page.
 
If you are interested in learning more about NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) or would like to support our student-athletes, please visit 1wyo.org. 1WYO was created out of Wyoming's culture of neighbor helping neighbor. The mission is to promote and strengthen local charitable organizations and develop Wyoming student athletes. 
 
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