ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (Dec. 31, 2025) – Offensive rebounds and turnovers proved to be the difference Wednesday as the Wyoming Cowgirls lost a hard-fought battle on the road at New Mexico to close out the year 2025. UW fell 62-48 in the contest as the Lobos pulled away late. UNM forced 19 Cowgirl turnovers and had a 17-3 margin on second-chance points.
Both teams got off to slow starts offensively Wednesday as the Cowgirls missed their first six shots while New Mexico scored the first 10 points despite committing four early turnovers. The Lobos led 10-0 at the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, a Henna Sandvik 3-pointer got Wyoming on the board for the first time. The Cowgirl defense was able to play strong for the rest of the quarter, despite the offensive struggles as UNM led 12-5 after the first.
Malene Pedersen's 3-pointer opened the scoring in the second as UW clawed within two possessions. From there, Pedersen continued her seven-point scoring run with a pair at the free-throw line before as the Wyoming defense continued to play hard and get stops. Eventually, Pedersen's 10th consecutive point and then a Jane Rumpf 3-pointer forced a New Mexico timeout with 6:15 left in the half, as the Cowgirls surged in front 16-12. Following the timeout, the Lobos started crashing the offensive glass, leading to second-chance points, putting them back in front.
After the two teams traded 3-pointers, the offense continued clicking for a couple of possessions as Wyoming assisted on its first eight field goals of the game. The final three minutes of the frame were controlled by the Lobos as they scored the final eight points as the Cowgirls went scoreless the final 3:43 of the half. UNM led 28-21 at halftime.
Wyoming opened the second half with a Logann Alvar mid-range jumper before the two teams started trading baskets. New Mexico led 34-28 at the media timeout. After the timeout, the Cowgirls cut the deficit to just four before the Lobos would answer back with a three-point play. Pedersen would trump that however, capitalizing on a four-point play to get UW within one, 37-36 with a little over three minutes left in the third. A Heidur Karlsdottir skyhook gave the Cowgirls a lead before Pedersen's third 3-pointer made the score 41-37 in favor of the Brown & Gold before a rough final minute of the frame led to UNM tying things up at 41-41 going to the fourth.
New Mexico put its stamp on things to begin the fourth quarter as it scored the first five points of the frame before an Alvar driving layup got UW back within three. Alvar hit her second 3-pointer a couple of possessions later to get the Cowgirls within 48-46, but that was as close as they would get the rest of the contest. The Lobos got timely baskets late when the game was still within doubt, before tacking on late points to make the margin seem greater.
Pedersen led all scorers with the 13th 20-point contest of her career as she finished with 22. Alvar scored 10 in the loss. Karlsdottir closed the game with a career-high 10 rebounds and had a pair of blocks. Lana Beslic led the Cowgirls with four assists in the loss.
Despite turning the ball over four more times, the Cowgirls had a 16-12 edge in points off turnovers. The Lobos ended the day plus-14 on the glass and outscored Wyoming 28-12 in points in the paint. UW got nine points from its bench while UNM got 18 from its reserves. UW shot 36-percent overall and went 8-for-23 from 3-point range in the loss. New Mexico shot 36.1-percent and went an identical 8-of-23 from deep.
Next up for the Cowgirls is a home contest to kick-off 2026. Wyoming hosts San Diego State at 2 p.m., Saturday, January 3.
-WYO-