LARAMIE – Malene Pedersen usually makes three connecting flights and spends over 20 hours traveling from here to her native Aabyhoj, Denmark.
 
The Cowgirls made Pedersen feel like a part of the family as soon as she transferred from Kansas State, which has made the 6,300-plus mile distance between Laramie and Aabyhoj easier for the junior to handle.
 
Pedersen, who has been an integral part of Heather Ezell's program since the moment she stepped foot on campus, became the 30^th player to score 1,000 points at UW on Wednesday night during the Cowgirls' 77-64 victory at San Jose State.
 
"You are so far away from home so it's important to find a place where you feel comfortable and feel like it's your second home," Pedersen said after Thursday's practice. "I just felt like on my visit this could be my home because the coaches were so supportive from right when I got here and very interested. It just felt like a good match for me. I'm very glad I made the decision."
 
In her three seasons at UW, Pedersen has averaged 11.7 points on 46.9% shooting in 76 games (75 starts). She is averaging 12.7 points this season, which is second on the team behind Allyson Fertig (19.0 ppg), the Mountain West's leading scorer.
 
Pedersen is shooting 36.5% on 3-pointers, 48.2% from the field and 90.3% at the foul line while averaging 3.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 0.8 steals per game.
 
"She was a kid we recruited before she went to K-State so when she went in the portal it was a no-brainer for us. We were just hoping she was going to say yes," Ezell said. "Every night we look at (the box score) and wonder, how does Malene shoot 8-for-10, 10-for-14 or whatever it is from the field night in and night out? It's because she understood the motion so well and she takes high quality shots."
 
Pedersen joins two teammates, Fertig (1,637 points) and McKinley Dickerson (1,079 points), in the active 1K club. With nine games remaining in the regular season, the deft 5-foot-11 guard is soaking in this last ride with the six seniors.
 
"I am enjoying the time and spending as much time as I can with them and learning from them," said Pedersen, the only non-senior in the starting lineup. "They have been here at least one more year than I have and I'm enjoying the moment and enjoying that I have them a couple months more."
 
Cowgirl fans aren't surprised that the consistent Pedersen has already piled up 1,000 points at UW. What's amazing is how easy she makes scoring look at times with her Euro steps, head fakes, mid-range game and textbook 3-point shot.
 
UW's motion offense, which was passed down by Joe Legerski and Gerald Mattinson and tweaked by Ezell and her staff, is a perfect fit for Pedersen's versatile skillset.
 
"As coaches we have been running this motion for a long time. Malene taught us new motion, new cuts, new things where we're going, man, I never thought about it that way but let's add that cut or that action. That just kind of tells you the kind of I.Q. she has," Ezell said. "We joke about it; she's our Danish robot. Everything is very robotic in a sense, but it is done perfectly and executed perfectly. She is very fundamentally sound in that piece."
 
The Cowgirls (12-9, 6-3) assisted on 13 of their first 14 made field goals and shot 66.7% from the field, including 5-for-7 on 3s, while scoring 50 points in the first half at San Jose State.
 
Pedersen finished with a team-high 20 points on 10-for-14 shooting with two assists and no turnovers. Fertig (16 points), Dickerson (13 points), Tess Barnes (10 points) and Kati Ollilainen (10 points) also scored in double figures.
 
"I probably won't say I'm an expert, but I definitely have it all in the back of my head. I kind of know what to do and can play out of it if I read it," Pedersen said of the motion. "Whenever it goes well it's fun to play and I think it clicked for all of us."
 
UW, which is currently tied with New Mexico for third in the standings, hosts Boise State on Saturday at the Arena-Auditorium (2 p.m., MW Network).
 
Pedersen knows it's time for the Cowgirls to start making a run as March is near.
 
"We always believe in ourselves and believe we can achieve our goals," she said. "I'm excited to see where we can take it."
 
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