LARAMIE – Through her first three seasons as Wyoming's head coach Heather Ezell has won 63 games with three top three finishes in the Mountain West standings, three postseason appearances and two excruciating losses in the conference tournament championship game.
 
Version 4.0 of the Ezell era will look a lot different but the expectations do not change.
 
Program pillars Allyson Fertig, the MW player of the year, and Emily Mellema, the MW defensive player of the year, have graduated along with four other unforgettable seniors.
 
The Cowgirls only return one starter and three players that averaged more than 10 minutes per game from the 2024-25 team, which finished with 22 wins and lost the MW Tournament title game in triple-overtime to San Diego State in Las Vegas.
 
"You get back to teaching and the part of the game that I love is that teaching piece," Ezell said during UW's women's basketball media day event in the Arena-Auditorium. "We didn't have to do a lot of teaching last year. We just had to do the coaching and get them in the right stuff, but now we're back to the basics of teaching and learning and coaching. That's always fun."
 
UW will be led by unflappable senior Malene Pedersen, who averaged 14.0 points and 3.7 rebounds last season. The 5-foot-11 guard from Aabyhoj, Denmark, has flawless basketball fundamentals and is working on raising her voice to make sure young teammates can also master the motion offense.
 
"I would say the natural aspect for me is leading on the court by my actions and not necessarily verbally," Pedersen said. "So, the verbal leadership aspect is definitely something I'm working on and must grow. I feel like even the returners on the team that don't have as much experience are also a big part of helping the new ones adjust to our system.
 
"It is definitely a team thing, but I am trying to do my best on that part as well as leading the team in the right direction."
 
Kati Ollilainen played valuable minutes at point guard both backing up and alongside Mellema. Unfortunately, the junior from Helsinki, Finland, suffered an injury while playing overseas this summer and will be out of the lineup indefinitely while recovering.
 
Sophomore Lana Beslic, junior Payton Muma and graduate transfer Aurore Eyango will compete for the starting spot and will do most of the ball handling against pressure until Ollilainen returns.
 
"We still have a good group of point guards who can step in for Kati until she gets healthy," Pedersen said. "Lana has done a good job pushing the ball a lot. We have Payton Muma and our new transfer Aurore. All three of them are competing at practice and getting each other better. It will be fun to see and exciting to see who can step up and help the team."
 
The 6-4 Fertig, who is now playing professionally in Germany, graduated from UW as the program's all-time leader in rebounds (1,216), second in scoring (1,860 points) behind Christine Fairless (1,933, 1985-89) and third in blocks (210) behind Lori Kline (322, 1979-82) and Hillary Carlson (212, 2008-11).
 
The Cowgirls will try to fill Fertig's big shoes by committee with 6-4 sophomore Heidur Karlsdottir of Iceland, 6-4 freshman Liv Blomkvist of Sweden and 6-foot senior Logann Alvar of Casper all expected to contribute.
 
"I felt so fortunate to have been able to learn from someone as great and talented as Allyson," Karlsdottir said. "I hope to show some of that on the court this year and honor her legacy as a center. We're very different but I learned a lot from her like that little hook (shot) of hers. I love doing that."
 
Karlsdottir has the skill set to score in the post or knock down 3-pointers. Blomkvist had an outstanding prep career and is also a versatile scorer. Alvar adds an element of the physicality and rebounding ability that Fertig was known for.
 
"Obviously, everybody knew that Al was going to be Al. Now you know it's your turn and that just grows your confidence level," Ezell said. "You can see (Karlsdottir) playing with a little more pep in her step. Between her and Logan and our freshman Liv getting comfortable understanding what's going on, there's a nice battle there at the five (position)."
 
Henna Sandvik, an Indiana transfer, has fit seamlessly in the backcourt with Pedersen and will give the Cowgirls another reliable scoring option. The 6-foot senior guard from Finland, also has great chemistry with Ollilainen from playing on national teams together
 
"She has already fit in," Ezell said of Sandvik. "Her skill set really applies to the motion, she's figured it out quickly and her leadership is starting to stand out. I think once she gets a little more comfortable, she's going to be an outstanding player this year for us."
 
Madi Symons, a 6-foot junior forward, has an opportunity to step into the spotlight after averaging 11 minutes off the bench as a sophomore. Mikyn Hamlin, a 5-8 guard, is also in her third year in the program and competing for more minutes. Sophomore guard/forward Karoline Lundin will likely miss the season with a knee injury.
 
True freshmen guard Katie Harrington of Victoria, Australia, forward Jane Rumpf of Denver and forward Peyton Wohlford of Smithville, Mo., could also carve out a spot in the rotation.
 
"At this point the door is wide open for anybody," Ezell said. "It's fun to watch practice every day because it's a battle. Who is starting? It could be one group for the first exhibition game, and it could be totally different for the next."
 
The Cowgirls host Fort Lewis for an exhibition game at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 24 in the Arena-Auditorium.
 
Follow Ryan for more stories on Wyoming athletics on X at @By_RyanThorburn on Facebook at Wyoming Athletics and Instagram at wyoathletics. Also follow him at Pokes Insider at Gowyo.com/pokesinsider.
 
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