Cowgirls Host Fresno State on Senior Day
* University of Wyoming press release
LARAMIE -- The Wyoming Cowgirl women’s basketball team hosts its regular season home finale Saturday afternoon as Fresno State comes to town for a 1 p.m., tip. Saturday will be Senior Day at 7220 as Wyoming will honor Paula Salazar, Marta Savic and Ola Ustowska prior to the game.
Saturday 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 (15-12, 10-6 MW) is coming off an impressive offensive performance the last time out in an 88-73 victory Wednesday night at San Jose State. The Cowgirls set multiple season-highs in the win with points (88), points scored in a half (51), points in a quarter (28), made 3-pointers (15), 3-point percentage (60-percent) and assists (24). UW, who went 12-of-16 from 3-point range in the first half, assisted on 24 of its 30 made field goals Wednesday.
Tess Barnes tied a career-high with 21 points in the victory as she shot 8-of-13 from the floor and made 5-of-8 from 3-point range. Malene Pedersen finished with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting while Allyson Fertig recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Ola Ustowska and Emily Mellema recorded six and five assists, respectively in the victory.
With two conference games left, the Cowgirls have a quartet averaging 10-or-more points per game during Mountain West action this season. Fertig, is averaging a team-leading 12.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game this season while shooting a league-leading 60.4-percent from the floor. Pedersen is up to 11 points per game in league play this season and has scored in double figures in nine of her last 10 games. Mellema and Barnes average 10.8 and 10.4 points per game this season, respectively. Barnes is making 2.3 3-pointers per game and is shooting 37.5-percent from beyond-the-arc. Her 2.3 makes per game are tied for the third-most in the conference.
Mellema, meanwhile, has a team-best 20 steals in MW play and is second on the team with 44 assists. Ustowska’s team-high 3.4 assists per game are the fifth-most in the league this season. As a team, UW still leads the league allowing just 57.8 points per game while its plus-5.2 scoring margin, ranks second. The Cowgirls’ 46-percent shooting as a team also tops the Mountain West.
SCOUTING FRESNO STATE
Fresno State is led by Mia Jacobs, who is one of the top shooters in the Mountain West. Jacobs is making nearly two 3-pointers per game and is shooting over 38-percent from beyond-the-arc. Jacobs leads the Bulldogs in scoring (14.3) and in rebounding (7.1) and has a team-high 15 blocks. Deajanae Harvey and Kylee Fox are second and third on the team in scoring averaging 8.6 and eight points per game, respectively. The duo also leads the team with 46 and 41 steals, respectively. Taija Sta. Maria leads the Bulldogs averaging nearly four assists per game.
As a team, the Bulldogs are averaging just over 66 points per game and are allowing 62.7 per contest. Fresno State is shooting 40.5-percent overall from the floor and 34.4-percent from 3-point range. Opponents are shooting nearly 44-percent from the field and 35-percent from beyond-the-arc. Fresno has committed more than 100 fewer turnovers than its opponents this season and has a slim rebounding margin this season. The Bulldogs average over nine steals per game as a team.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST FRESNO STATE
Wyoming trails in the all-time series, 19-22. The Cowgirls won this season’s earlier matchup, 69-47 in Fresno back in January. UW has won three of the last four meetings against the Bulldogs in Laramie and has won 5-of-6 overall as of late in the series. Last season in Laramie, the Cowgirls prevailed for a 77-72 double-overtime win. For their careers against the Bulldogs, Fertig and Pedersen are averaging 15.7 and 15.5 points per game, respectively.
POKES: The Seven Best Games In The History Of The Wyoming-CSU Border War Rivalry (Naturally, they were all Wyoming wins)