LARAMIE, Wyo. (Feb. 21, 2026) – The Wyoming Cowgirls' second half comeback bid came up short Saturday afternoon as they fell to Colorado State, 62-48. Wyoming, who trailed by as man as 21 in the first half and got to within just four points late in the fourth quarter before the Rams slammed the door shut.
"The biggest thing that happened to us today is, we dug ourselves a hole too early," said Head Coach Heather Ezell.
"When we finally 'woke up' it was kind of too late. When you dig yourself that big of a whole, we were just trying to fight to get back into it. If we had done what we wanted to do and executed on both ends of the court, maybe we would have been up by eight when we went on that big run. Except, this way we had to fight just to get back into the game."
Both offenses struggled out the gate before a Henna Sandvik pull-up jumper got the Cowgirls on the board. CSU would counter from there with the next seven points as it led 7-4 at the media timeout. Following the timeout, the two traded hoops before the Rams lengthened their lead to 15-8 at the end of one. Sandvik accounted for six of the Cowgirl's eight points in the first 10 minutes.
Colorado State built its advantage up to double digits to begin the second quarter as the UW offense continued to struggle. Wyoming called a timeout trailing 22-8 with 7:38 left in the frame. Out of the timeout, it was more of the same as the Rams went up by as many as 21. Heidur Karlsdottir provided the first three points of the quarter for the Cowgirls. Wyoming trailed 36-18 at the break.
The Cowgirl offense was sharper to begin the second half as it cut the deficit down to 40-27 in the first part of the third. The CSU lead was 44-30 at the media as Payton Muma provided the offensive spark for Wyoming. Late in the quarter, 3-pointers from Karoline Lundine and Jane Rumpf got the Cowgirls within 10 going to the fourth, 48-38.
A Sandvik midrange jumper got the UW deficit down to single digits to begin the fourth. A Malene Pedersen 3-pointer forced a Rams timeout with 6:59 remaining as the Cowgirls were within just five. Wyoming got to within four after the timeout but couldn't get even closer despite a couple of solid looks to trim the lead down more. CSU extended the lead from there to put an end to the Cowgirls' comeback dreams.
Pedersen and Sandvik scored 13 and 12, respectively to lead Wyoming and were the only two in double figures in the loss. Muma and Rumpf added eight and six, respectively. Rumpf led the Cowgirls with 12 rebounds and had two blocks. Off the bench, Karlsdottir had a strong all-around game, as she had eight rebounds, a career-high four assists a block and a steal to go along with her three points.
Wyoming shot 18-of-56 (32.1-percent) from the floor and made 6-of-21 from 3-point range. The Rams shot an even 50-percent and went just 2-of-13 from beyond-the-arc. CSU went 8-for-11 at the free-throw line to the Cowgirls' 6-for-10. UW was plus-six on the boards and in second-chance points. Colorado State outscored Wyoming 16-3 in points off turnovers and had 40 points in the paint to the Cowgirls' 14.
Up next for the Cowgirls, they begin a week on the road beginning with a Wednesday matinee at Air Force. Tip time with the Falcons is 11 a.m.
-WYO-