• 1 p.m. tip-off against the Roadrunners
LARAMIE, Wyo. (March 22, 2024) – The Wyoming Cowgirl basketball team finally gets to kick-off WNIT action this Sunday at 1 p.m., as UTSA comes to the Arena-Auditorium for second round action.
Sunday’s game will be broadcast live on the Mountain West Network and can be heard across the Cowgirl Radio Network with David Settle on the call.
ABOUT THE COWGIRLS
Wyoming (16-14) will play its first game in nearly two weeks Sunday against the Roadrunners. Last time out, the Cowgirls lost in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Championship, 62-54 against Boise State. Allyson Fertig and Malene Pedersen finished the loss in double figures each with 16 and 13 points, respectively. Fertig also tied the Mountain West tournament record for single-game blocks with seven in the loss to the Broncos.
For the season, Fertig leads the Cowgirls in scoring (13.7 PPG), rebounding (8.2 RPG), field goal percentage (59.9) and blocks (45). Pedersen is the other Cowgirl averaging in double figures in 2023-24, scoring 10.7 points per game. Tess Barnes, who is at 9.6 points a contest, leads UW with 58 made 3-pointers and is shooting a team-best 36.3-percent from 3-point range. Emily Mellema leads the team with 41 steals and is second on the squad with 87 assists. Ola Ustowska has a team-best 89 assists and a better than 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
This will be Wyoming’s 12th appearance all-time in the WNIT and have posted a 20-10 record in the tournament. The Cowgirls, who claimed the 2007 WNIT crown, went 1-1 in last season’s tournament and will be making their third consecutive trip to the WNIT. All but two of UW’s games in the WNIT have come at home.
SCOUTING UTSA
UTSA, who finished fourth this season in the American Athletic Conference, are led by Jordyn Jenkins’ 16.1 points per game. Jenkins, who is second on the team averaging seven rebounds per game, has missed much of the year for the Roadrunners, but has played in the last 11 contests. Elyssa Coleman and Kyra White also average in double figures, scoring 10.6 and 10.2 points per game, respectively. Coleman leads the team in rebounding with 7.4 a contest and has 45 blocks this season. Meanwhile, White’s 158 assists (4.9 APG) are a team best.
The Roadrunners, who are 7-9 in road contests this season, are averaging 64.6 points per game while allowing just under 63 a contest. UTSA is shooting 39.7-percent overall from the field as a squad and 29-percent from 3-point range. Opponents are shooting just 36-percent this season against the Roadrunners and hitting 29.4-percent from beyond-the-arc. UTSA has a plus-8.5 rebounding advantage this season. The Roadrunners commit more than three turnovers per game more than their opponents in 2023-24 and shoot just 65-percent as a team at the free-throw line.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST UTSA
The Cowgirls are 2-0 all-time against the Roadrunners, after winning both games of a home-and-home series with UTSA dating back to 1989 and ’90.
