Cowgirls Host Falcons Wednesday Night

* University of Wyoming press release

LARAMIE -- For the second time in less than three weeks, the Wyoming Cowgirls and Air Force Falcons will face off. Wyoming hosts Air Force at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 24.

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Wednesday’s contest 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 WYOMING
The Cowgirls (10-7, 5-1 MW) are coming off a thrilling, come-from-behind victory last time out, a 67-63 victory Saturday over Colorado State. Wyoming trailed by as many as 10 late in the third quarter and trailed by seven entering the fourth. Emily Mellema led the Cowgirls with career-highs in points (25), made field goals (9), 3-pointers (7) and assists (6).

The seven made 3-pointers are tied for the second-most for a single game in program history. Mellema became the first Cowgirl since Quinn Weidemann in 2019 to hit seven treys in a contest.

Allyson Fertig also finished the game in double figures with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Fertig became the 28th member of the 1,000-Point Club in program history Saturday. Fertig becomes the 14th Cowgirl to reach 1,000 career points before her senior season and is the first Wyoming native since Kayla Woodward (2015) to enter the exclusive club.

Fertig, along with Ola Ustowska, also led UW with nine rebounds against the Rams.

In conference play, Fertig leads the way averaging 13 points and 8.8 rebounds per game while shooting 63.5-percent from the field. Fertig also has 10 assists and six blocks in Mountain West action thus far. Mellema, meanwhile, is averaging 12.2 points and 3.2 assists per game while Tess Barnes also averages in double figures in league play, averaging 10.8 points per game.

Barnes also averages 4.3 rebounds and has 15 made 3-pointers on nearly 40-percent shooting from beyond-the-arc.

As a team, Wyoming is shooting 48-percent from the field in league play and is averaging almost 64 points per game. The Cowgirls have a plus-8.5 scoring margin and a plus-6.2 rebounding edge in MW action. UW is holding its opponents to under 39-percent shooting from the floor overall and 29-percent from 3-point range in six league games.

SCOUTING AIR FORCE
Air Force continues to be one of the top defenses in the conference and is the best squad in the league at forcing opponents into turnovers. The Falcons force opponents into 19.5 turnovers per game and leads the Mountain West in steals at 11.4 per contest. AFA has committed 4.5 fewer turnovers per game than its opponents.

The Falcons average 62 points per game and shoots 37-percent from the floor and 29.3-percent from 3-point range. Air Force has a minus-5.4 point differential per game this season and is being out rebounded by over six boards per game.

Milahnie Perry continues to be one of the league’s top scorers as she enters Wednesday seventh in the league in scoring at 15.3 points per game during conference action. Overall, Perry’s 15.1 points per game ranks fifth-best. Madison Smith is second on the team averaging 12.3 points per game while her 47 steals are second-most in the MW.

Taylor Britt leads the team with 53 assists while her 48 steals leads the league. Jayda McNabb leads the team with 6.2 rebounds per game and 13 blocked shots.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST AIR FORCE
Wyoming is 59-4 all-time in the series against Air Force. The Cowgirls are undefeated at home against the Falcons in program history. Each of the last two contests in Laramie have been decided by single digits, with a UW scoring margin of just 4.5 points per. In five career games against the Falcons, Allyson Fertig is averaging 12.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per game on 26-of-32 shooting from the floor (81.3-percent).

UW won the first meeting this season, 68-51 January 6 at the Air Force Academy.