LARAMIE – Malene Pedersen put on her practice jersey for the final time this regular season on Monday afternoon in the Arena-Auditorium.
 
The Cowgirls were finishing their preparation for the home finale against Grand Canyon University, which means "Money Mal" was making her patented sharp cuts and a variety of shots in the motion offense she executes and understands as well as any player to ever wear the brown and gold.
 
Pedersen and fellow seniors Henna Sandvik, Logann Alvar and Aurore Eyango will put on the Wyoming jersey for the final time on Tuesday in the Arena-Auditorium for a 5 p.m. tip against the Lopes.
 
"I'm going to miss it a lot, but I've just enjoyed it so much. Right now, I'm trying to make the most out of everything," Pedersen said. "I won't be surprised if I start tearing up. I have my parents here, so that's awesome they could make it. If one of my teammates starts crying I will, too, for sure."
 
After starting her career at Kansas State, where she redshirted as a true freshman, the Denmark import entered the transfer portal looking for a better fit.
 
UW head coach Heather Ezell viewed Pedersen as a perfect fit when she took the court to workout with the Cowgirls during her recruiting visit to Laramie.
 
"I grabbed her over to the side because I could tell she was probably a little nervous," Ezell recalled. "I said, 'I already know I want you, just go out and have fun.' It literally was that moment watching her play with our players that I knew she could be a star in this program. Lucky for us she came here and that came true."
 
Pedersen was the Mountain West freshman of the year and made the all-conference tournament team while starting all 34 games during the 2022-23 season. The 5-foot-11 guard led the team in minutes played as a sophomore and was an all-MW and all-MW Tournament team selection last season as a junior.
 
Entering the home finale game, Pedersen leads the Cowgirls and is second in the MW in scoring (16.7 ppg). Air Force's Milahnie Perry (16.8 ppg) has a slim lead for the conference scoring title entering the last regular-season game for each player.
 
"I'll miss all of it," Pedersen said. "I've been here for four years, and I've always tried to come in and do my best and help this team be successful. I'm just really proud and honored to have had a big role and for Heather trusting me over all four years. It has been a pleasure and a privilege for me."
 
Pedersen is currently eighth on UW's all-time scoring list with 1,664 career points. She is seventh in games played (128), ninth in made field goals (623), 10^th in made 3-pointers (163) and 16^th in assists (302).
 
"I don't know what Wyoming basketball is like without her," said junior point guard Kati Ollilainen, who has watched Pedersen from the bench this season while recovering from a knee injury. "She was already here when I was watching film back home before I committed and I talked to her before I made the decision. She was a big part of it for me already and I can't imagine she's going to be graduated. I'm proud of her and super happy for her."
 
Over the past three seasons, Ezell and Pedersen won 63 games together with two appearances in the MW Tournament championship game and three postseason appearances.
 
This season has been bumpy with Ollilainen getting hurt over the summer and UW replacing six seniors, including MW player of the year Allyson Fertig and MW defensive player of the year Emily Mellema.
 
Despite Pedersen's best efforts, the Cowgirls are 9-19 overall.
 
"We've had a lot of moments in this office together. There have been a lot of tears talking it through, a lot of questions, conversations about how to continue to grow and how to continue to lead and how to continue to get through," Ezell said of Pedersen's leadership. "The biggest thing for Malene is she keeps showing up and giving me her best and doing whatever she can do for this team. Whatever it is, she's going to give it her all."
 
Tommi Olson and Quinn Weidemann taught Pedersen about the program's culture when she first stepped on campus. Now she has passed the tradition down to a roster that includes three sophomores and four freshmen.
 
"This year with the role I've come into I have a closer relationship with all my coaches and that has made me feel more comfortable on the court and off the floor as well," Pedersen said. "The coaches have said I do the right things and to go help the young ones, they respect you. It was awesome to learn from the older ones when I was young, and I've tried to do my best for the new ones."
 
The Cowgirls lost in triple-overtime to San Diego State in the excruciating 2025 MW Tournament title game. Pedersen is determined to put the UW jersey on as many times as possible next week in Las Vegas.
 
"I'm ready. I believe in us," said Pedersen, who will graduate with a degree in architectural engineering. "We have grown so much over the season, and we probably should have won more and played better the last couple games because I feel we're better than that.
 
"But I believe in us and as long as we take it one game at a time we can improve and impress and no one should underestimate us."
 
Follow Ryan for more stories on Wyoming athletics on X at @By_RyanThorburn on Facebook at Wyoming Athletics and Instagram at wyoathletics. Also follow him at Pokes Insider at Gowyo.com/pokesinsider.
 
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