SAN DIEGO, Calif. (Feb. 8, 2025) – The Wyoming Cowgirls led wire-to-wire Saturday as they picked up a big road win at San Diego State. The Cowgirls, who made their last six shots in the contest, and made 7-of-10 in the fourth to pull away late, came away with a 64-51 win.
The two teams began the game by trading early baskets as Wyoming held onto an early lead. After the Cowgirls held a 14-8 lead, their biggest of the frame, late in the quarter, San Diego State got back-to-back scores to cut the deficit down to just two. However, an Allyson Fertig buzzer beater off a putback gave UW a 16-12 lead going into the second.
In the second, it was more of the same as the first, as the Cowgirls would stay in front of the Aztecs. Wyoming's lead was two to three possessions for most of the quarter as it led by as many as seven points, twice. After the Aztecs cut the Cowgirl lead down to 31-27, a Logann Alvar layup before the break gave the Brown & Gold a 33-27 halftime lead.
After SDSU opened the third with a hoop, the Cowgirls got three consecutive layups to build up a double-digit lead, 39-29 with 7:05 left in the quarter, leading to an Aztec timeout. Out of the timeout, an Emily Mellema 3-pointer brought the advantage up to 13 points. Wyoming had some good looks to lengthen the lead from there but were snake-bitten a couple of times before the media timeout. After the media, the two teams traded scores before the Aztecs ended the third on a run, cutting the deficit down to just 46-39 going to the fourth.
A Tess Barnes 3-pointer opened the fourth to get the UW lead back to double digits. The Cowgirls couldn't extend the lead the next few possessions, despite playing excellent defense. Again, San Diego State responded before back-to-back Fertig layups pushed the lead back to 10. Following an Aztec timeout with 5:40 to play, San Diego State would keep fighting. However, after another Mellema 3-pointer, SDSU would call its final timeout after getting a layup to drop. Wyoming held a 63-51 lead at that point, with 2:31 to go. Out of the timeout, the Cowgirls would spend the rest of the game salting things away as the Aztec comeback didn't materialize.
Fertig led all scorers with her 12th 20-point outing of the season as she scored 20 on 10-of-14 from the floor. Fertig also set a new career-high with five assists in the victory. Barnes and Mellema closed with 11 points each and combined to shoot 5-for-8 from 3-point range. Mellema also had a pair of assists and three steals. Malene Pedersen also finished in double figures as she had 10 and a game-high six assists. Ola Ustowska, who hit a back-breaking three late, also had five assists against the Aztecs.
The Cowgirls shot 51-percent from the floor in the contest and made 7-of-13 from 3-point land. SDSU shot 40-percent and made just one 3-pointer on eight attempts. Both teams ended with 29 boards but Wyoming had a 9-2 advantage in second-chance points. The Aztecs held a slim, 34-32 edge in paint points. The Cowgirls also enjoyed a 18-13 advantage in points off turnovers.
Wyoming now will get the next two at home, as both games next week are at the Arena-Auditorium. The Cowgirls host Air Force February 12 at 6:30 p.m.
-WYO-