LARAMIE – It was Education Day at the Arena-Auditorium.
And
Malene Pedersen took Chadron State to school.
The all-Mountain West senior guard scored 26 points on 11-for16 shooting from the field, including 4-for-7 on 3-pointers, to lead Wyoming to a much needed 75-38 victory in front of a crowd of 5,179 mostly screaming elementary students.
Pedersen, who only played 24 minutes, had 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting in the first half to stake the Cowgirls to a 38-19 lead.
Chadron State was much less efficient scoring its 19 points on 8-for-25 (32%) shooting.
The Cowgirls (2-4) were coming off a bumpy 0-3 road swing.
"We needed it so bad," Pedersen said. "I think that's what we focused on these past couple days (in practice). It feels good to be back home to get our confidence back. The Education Day game is always fun, it gets us going, so it was all about enjoying it and finding our game again."
Pedersen, the only returning starter from last season, has been playing with a lot on shoulders with the graduation of Mountain West player of the year
Allyson Fertig, conference defensive player of the year
Emily Mellema and four other seniors.
UW head coach
Heather Ezell was happy to see the unassuming standout from Denmark smiling again.
"At times it's tough for her. I know she's a player that doesn't like losing, so this three-game losing streak was tough on her," Ezell said. "She was trying everything she could in the locker room … she's not a player that's going to yell and scream at players but she's going to constantly be a voice, I think a positive voice, going hey guys stick together and just trying to continue to get them to be a team that's going to move forward and make sure they stick into that one unit."
Pedersen had some help against Chadron State with
Henna Sandvik finishing with 12 points, point
Payton Muma adding nine points and the Cowgirls getting 22 points from the bench.
UW shot 64.1% inside the arc and made six 3s.
Lana Beslic led the team with seven rebounds and six assists rotating behind Muma at point guard.
"We know what (Pedersen) is going to give us, but she needs help," Ezell said. "We finally saw some of that help (Tuesday). Mal got us going and obviously was the one that led us there, but Henna got going as well, I thought Payton really ran the show for us and then Lana off the bench gave us some really good, not just scoring, but she distributed the ball, she got some rebounds."
UW is 11
th in scoring offense (54.7 ppg) and third in scoring defense (56.3 ppg).
Pedersen (16.8 ppg) is third in the MW in scoring behind Colorado State's Lexus Bargesser (17.2 ppg) and New Mexico's Destinee Hooks (17.0 ppg).
Sandvik, the talented Indiana transfer from Finland, showed she is capable of taking some of the burden off Pedersen on the offensive end.
"I know how good Henna is from playing against her growing up even before college. I know what she is capable of," Pedersen said. "I'm sure she just needs to find her confidence and her role on the team. We're slowly starting to see it as she gets more games under her belt. It's important for the whole team that we have a player like her, and she can be productive for us."
The Cowgirls will have to raise their level of play against South Dakota on Saturday at the Arena-Auditorium (1 p.m., MW Network). The Coyotes are 7-0 with a road win at Kansas State.
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.
Don't just watch the game — change it. The most powerful way to support University of Wyoming student-athletes is by joining the
Cowboy Joe Club. Your membership fuels scholarships, provides essential resources, and helps Cowboys and Cowgirls succeed both in the classroom and in competition. Your gift is not just support —
it's access. As a member, you'll enjoy exclusive benefits that bring you closer to the action than ever before.
Be a champion. Join our team. Visit
CowboyJoeClub.com or call
307-766-6242.
