LARAMIE, Wyo. (Jan. 21, 2026) – The Wyoming Cowgirls started off hot from 3-point range, making their first three and 4-of-5 from beyond-the-arc to begin Wednesday night's victory over Utah State. From there, Wyoming got strong bench contributions and scored 38 points in the paint on its way to a 63-51 win.
A Logann Alvar 3-pointer got the night started before a Jane Rumpf 3-pointer of her own made it 6-0 real quick for the Cowgirls. It was 9-0 after three possessions as Henna Sandvik got in on the 3-point barrage early. Wyoming remained hot from beyond-the-arc as Karoline Lundin drilled one as UW led 12-5 at the first media timeout. Following the timeout, Utah State started cutting into the Cowgirl lead as the Wyoming offense began to slow down. UW led 18-11 at the end of one after scoring the final four of the frame.
The two teams traded hoops to open the second as the Wyoming offense ground to a halt to begin the second, thanks in large part to way too many turnovers. The Cowgirl defense remained strong however, as they led 23-15 at the media timeout. After the timeout, both schools made layups before USU called a timeout with 2:00 left in the half and Wyoming up 27-17. The rest of the half was controlled by the Aggies as the Cowgirls continued to turn the ball over and led just 29-24 at the break.
A Malene Pedersen layup two and a half minutes into the second half provided the first points of the third as Utah State called a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Cowgirl lead got back up to double digits before the media with Wyoming leading 35-24. The final 3:51 of the third saw the UW lead balloon to 17 before USU would get its first hoop of the second half. The Cowgirls led 43-27, going to the fourth.
The fourth began with a frantic pace as the two teams traded scores the first few minutes before the Aggies called another timeout with 7:20 left and UW up 51-36. Utah State would get within 13 before back-to-back layups from Aurore Eyango got the Cowgirls back up by 17. The Aggies would respond again after that, cutting the deficit down to 12 before a couple of Wyoming buckets halted any late USU comeback.
"I thought we came out and hit shots, we were getting stops and then the turnover bug kind of got us there in the second quarter," said Head Coach Heather Ezell.
"That's what we really talked about at halftime. I thought we were guarding well. The only way they were really scoring was off our turnovers, so we really had to tighten that up. I thought the third quarter we did that and obviously our defense in the third quarter was outstanding. We also were rebounding and then we were able to execute on the other end, we got some high-quality shots."
Sandvik led the Cowgirls with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor. Pedersen also finished in double figures with 10 as she has now scored 10-plus in 38 consecutive contests. Pedersen's national leading active streak of consecutive games scoring 10-or-more points and making at least one 3-pointer did end Wednesday at 25 straight games. Despite being in foul trouble all night, Rumpf had a strong all-around performance, scoring nine points, grabbing eight rebounds, tying a career-high with four assists while also adding two blocks and a steal in just 15 minutes of action.
Wyoming's 21 bench points are the third-most by Cowgirl reserves this season. Eyango led the UW bench with a career-high eight points and also nabbed two steals. Heidur Karlsdottir was solid once again, scoring six points on 3-of-3 shooting while pulling down seven boards. Karlsdottir also had a pair of blocks and a steal on the night. Madi Symons added four points and six boards as well.
The Cowgirls shot 26-of-49 (53.1-percent) from the floor, despite ending the game just 4-of-18 from 3-point range. Wyoming did have 21 turnovers, but only seven in the second half. The Cowgirls recorded 19 assists on those 26 field goals and out-rebounded the Aggies 41-23. Utah State shot 33.9-percent overall and went 5-of-23 from beyond-the-arc.
UW outscored the Aggies by 10 in the paint, and despite committing nine more turnovers, it was only outscored 15-13 in points off turnovers. The Cowgirls had a 6-2 edge in second-chance points and scored 14 fast break points to Utah State's eight. The 38 points in the paint were the most against a Division I opponent this season for Wyoming.
Up next, Utah State Week continues as this time the Cowgirls and Aggies will meet Saturday in Logan for a 1 p.m., contest.
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