LARAMIE — The Wyoming Cowboys and Cowgirls face key Mountain West tests this week, with the men heading to San Diego State on Tuesday night and the women returning home Wednesday to host New Mexico.
The Cowboys travel to The Mesa for a 9 p.m. MT tip against San Diego State on Tuesday. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network, with radio coverage across the 26 affiliate stations of the Cowboy Sports Network with Keith Kelley on the call and Kevin McKinney on color. In Sweetwater County you can listen to the game on KUGR 104.9 FM.
Wyoming enters the matchup with a 13-9 overall record and a 4-7 mark in Mountain West play following a 68-57 win over Colorado State on Saturday. The Cowboys are averaging 78.3 points per game this season and allowing 72.5, while scoring 68.6 points per game in conference play. Wyoming leads the Mountain West with 37.2 rebounds per game and 12 offensive rebounds per contest.
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San Diego State is 15-6 overall and 9-2 in conference play after falling on the road at Utah State on Saturday. The Aztecs average 80.2 points per game and allow 71 per night. SDSU is shooting 48 percent from the field and 37 percent from 3-point range, while holding opponents to 39.7 percent shooting and 9.2 made 3-pointers per game. The Aztecs average 36.2 rebounds per game.
Leland Walker leads Wyoming in scoring at 15.3 points per game, ranking eighth in the Mountain West, and adds a team-high 3.6 assists per contest. Nasir (Naz) Meyer averages 13.2 points per game and leads the Cowboys with 5.1 rebounds per night. Khaden Bennett is averaging 9.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game and is coming off a season-high 22-point, 10-rebound performance against Colorado State, the first double-double by a Cowboy this season.
San Diego State is led by Reese Dixon-Waters at 11.9 points per game, along with 3.9 rebounds per contest and a team-high 32 made 3-pointers. Miles Byrd adds 10.8 points per game, 4.1 rebounds and a team-high 57 assists, while BJ Davis is scoring 10.8 points per game and shooting 87 percent from the free throw line.
Wyoming trails the all-time series with San Diego State, 54-42, and is 12-33 all-time in San Diego. The Aztecs won the first meeting this season in Laramie, 74-57, on Jan. 14. Wyoming fell at Viejas Arena last season, 63-61.
The Cowgirls return home Wednesday night to host New Mexico at 6:30 p.m. inside the Arena-Auditorium. The game will be broadcast live on the Mountain West Network and carried on the Cowgirl Radio Network with David Settle and Jennifer Aadland on the call.
Wyoming is coming off a 57-47 loss at Grand Canyon that snapped a four-game winning streak. Malene Pedersen led the Cowgirls with 20 points in the loss, marking her sixth 20-point game of the season and the 15th of her career. Pedersen has scored in double figures in 41 consecutive games, the fourth-longest active streak in Division I.
Heidur Karlsdottir recorded a career-high nine points and tied her career best with three blocks for the third time this season. Karlsdottir ranks second in the Mountain West in conference-only play with 1.42 blocks per game. Jane Rumpf leads the league in conference play with 1.5 blocks per game. As a team, Wyoming ranks second in the Mountain West with 3.9 blocks per game and leads the conference in league play at 4.5 blocks per contest.
Wyoming ranks third in the Mountain West with 13.8 assists per game and has assisted on just over 65 percent of its field goals this season. Payton Muma leads the Cowgirls with 2.4 assists per game. Henna Sandvik is averaging 9.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game and ranks second on the team with 2.38 assists per contest. Pedersen leads Wyoming and the Mountain West at 16.9 points per game while shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from 3-point range. Her 1.9 made 3-pointers per game rank fourth in the league.
New Mexico enters the matchup averaging 69.5 points per game while allowing 61.1. The Lobos lead the Mountain West with 40.2 rebounds per game and are plus-5.5 on the glass. New Mexico is shooting 41 percent from the field and 32 percent from 3-point range, while holding opponents to 39.1 percent shooting and 30 percent from beyond the arc. The Lobos average 12.9 assists per game, force 17.6 turnovers per contest, and average 10.5 steals and 2.8 blocks per game.
Destinee Hooks leads New Mexico in scoring at 13.6 points per game and has a team-high 53 made free throws. Alyssa Hargrove averages 2.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Laila Adburraqib leads the Lobos with 42 made 3-pointers and is shooting nearly 42 percent from 3-point range. Cacia Antonio leads the team with 4.5 rebounds per game and is second in scoring at 10.1 points per contest.
New Mexico leads the all-time series with Wyoming, 48-41, and won the first meeting this season, 62-48, in Albuquerque. The Cowgirls won last season’s meeting in Laramie, 59-40, and are 27-15 all-time against the Lobos at home. The two teams have split the last four meetings inside the Arena-Auditorium.
