LARAMIE, Wyo. (Jan. 17, 2026) – It was an impressive wire-to-wire performance Saturday afternoon from the Wyoming Cowgirls as they essentially led from start to finish in their 67-44 win over Air Force. Saturday was the annual Bounce Cancer Game for Wyoming as it impressed once again on the special day.
"I thought we really executed what we wanted to do today," said Head Coach Heather Ezell postgame.
"We wanted to start fast and we did that. Executed early and got ourselves going. It helps when you make shots, but also our defense was also on point. I thought we set the tone early today."
After Air Force got the first hoop of the game, the Cowgirls scored the next seven to take an early 7-2 lead. Wyoming hit each of its first two 3-point attempts and led 10-6 at the first media timeout as the Falcons did their damage in the paint. Following the timeout, a Jane Rumpf driving layup put Wyoming back up by six before the two teams traded 3-pointers back-and-forth. UW led by as many as 14 at the end of the quarter, 23-9 as the 3-point barrage continued. Rumpf hit a trio of 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes and had 11 first quarter points.
Both teams struggled to score to open the second quarter before a pair at the free-throw line from Heidur Karlsdottir broke the seal. From there, the two traded scores before both defensives continued to put their stamp on the quarter. UW called a timeout with 5:55 left in the half as Air Force cut the deficit down to 27-14. Out of the timeout, the Cowgirl offense continued to struggle as the Falcons got to within just 11 as both teams couldn't get a basket to fall at times in the second. Wyoming led 31-18 at halftime.
Malene Pedersen opened the second half with three free throws before the two teams traded points before an early media timeout with the Cowgirls up 36-20. After the timeout, Wyoming turnovers plagued it as the Falcons got to within 12 before Pedersen hit a tough reverse layup. Both offenses got going after that, trading baskets as the third quarter turned into a frenetic pace. Another 3-pointer from Rumpf extended the Cowgirl lead to 20 with under two to play in the frame. UW led by as many as 23 late and took a 52-31 lead into the fourth.
The fourth quarter began much like the third did for Wyoming, with sloppy turnovers. Air Force would get to within 19 before Rumpf buried another 3-pointer to put the Cowgirls back up by 22 with under eight minutes to play. The Falcons would whittle the UW lead down to 55-36 at the final media timeout. Following the timeout, the Cowgirls took the air out of the ball offensively, keeping AFA at arm's length for the final five minutes. A Henna Sandvik 3-pointer to beat the shot clock with under four minutes to play was the final dagger.
Pedersen led all scorers with the fifth 20-point game of her season and the 14th of her career as she poured in 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Pedersen also extended her national-leading streak of consecutive games scoring 10-plus points while also making a 3-pointer to 25 consecutively now. It was also her 37th-straight game scoring in double figures.
Rumpf closed the day with her second double-double in the last three games as she scored 17 and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds. Rumpf also hit a career-best five 3-pointers (5-11) and tallied three blocks in the win. Logann Alvar chipped in with seven points while Sandvik had a nice all-around game as she led Wyoming with five assists.
Wyoming shot 52.7-percent (22-42) on the day and made 9-of-21 (42.9-percent) from beyond-the-arc, tying a season-high shooting percentage from three. The Cowgirls held the Falcons to just 18-of-66 (27.3-percent) shooting overall and 1-of-17 from 3-point range. Air Force's Milahnie Perry entered Saturday leading the Mountain West averaging 17.3 points per game but was held to just eight on 4-of-11 shooting Saturday afternoon.
The Cowgirls were plus-eight on the glass and made 14-of-20 at the free-throw line. AFA shot just 7-for-15 at the charity stripe. The Falcons outscored UW 28-20 in points in the paint and 10-4 on points off turnovers.
Next up for Wyoming is Utah State Week. The Cowgirls play the Aggies in both contests next week. The week begins with UW hosting USU Wednesday night at 6:30 in Laramie.
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