LAS VEGAS – A brick wall prevented a third Border War.
 
After second-seeded Wyoming set a Mountain West Tournament record by shooting 60.4% from the field, including making 19 of 25 shots (76%) in the second half of its 77-64 win over No. 7 Air Force, the rivals from Fort Collins didn't find the rims at the Thomas & Mack Center nearly as kind.
 
No. 3 Colorado State shot just 29.8% (17-for-57) during a 54-52 loss to No. 6 Fresno State in Monday night's last quarterfinal.
 
The Cowgirls (21-10) and Bulldogs (19-14) will meet in the semifinals on Tuesday with a trip to the title game on the line. The opening tip will be at approximately 8:30 p.m. on the MW Network following the first semifinal between No. 1 UNLV and No. 4 San Diego State.
 
"Just relaxing, taking a deep breath," senior guard Emily Mellema said of UW's halftime adjustments after trailing the Falcons 34-28 at the intermission. "I don't think we were playing our best basketball in the first half. That's something we really keyed in on the second half. We played really good basketball with whichever five were on the floor, and that's when things started rolling for us a little bit."
 
Allyson Fertig led the way with 22 points and 13 rebounds. The MW player of the year had plenty of help with Malene Pedersen (18 points), Tess Barnes (15 points) and Mellema (15 points) all scoring in double figures.
 
Fresno State is led by forward Mia Jacobs, who finished with 20 points and 18 rebounds against the Rams.
 
"I think we just wanted it more," Jacobs said of the win over CSU. "Our effort was there, and we had nothing to lose. It's (win) today or we go home. Just being able to push through, push together and stick together through those times … we did a really good job of that and just working our butts off."
 
The teams only met once during the regular season with UW holding on for a 68-59 road victory over Fresno State on Jan. 4. Barnes scored 24 points on one end of the floor and helped limit Jacobs to seven points on the other end.
 
CSU standout Emma Ronsiek scored 17 points on 6-for-18 shooting against the Bulldogs, who limited the other Rams to 3-for-18 on 3-pointers.
 
Fertig will be the focal point defensively for Jaime White, a former UW assistant (2003-06) who is in her 11^th season as Fresno State's head coach.
 
"I love her demeanor," White said of UW's star 6-foot-4 center from Glendo. "She draws two and three defenders every night. She gets hung on and banged up and she keeps going. I really think she's done a good job."
 
This will be the third game in three nights for the Bulldogs, who defeated San Jose State 67-62 in the opening round Sunday.
 
"I think our kids are hungry and ready," White said. "So, we'll be ready."
 
Two members of UW's senior-led squad, Ola Ustowska and McKinley Dickerson, were on the team that defeated Fresno State in the 2021 MW Tournament championship.
 
The seats in the Thomas & Mack Center were empty for that event during the pandemic. The Cowgirls will try to take the next step toward cutting down the nets in front of their loyal fans this time by beating the Bulldogs.
 
"She's talking about staying here for three days," Mellema said of head coach Heather Ezell. "It starts with the next one. I'm glad we got this one (against Air Force) done and over with. Now we just have to get our bodies ready to go for (Tuesday)."
 
If you are interested in learning more about NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) or would like to support our student-athletes, please visit 1wyo.org. 1WYO was created out of Wyoming's culture of neighbor helping neighbor. The mission is to promote and strengthen local charitable organizations and develop Wyoming student athletes. 
 
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