LARAMIE – The Wyoming Cowgirl basketball team displayed a dominant performance on both offense and defense in an 84-52 victory over South Dakota in the Super 16 Round of the WNIT on Friday night at the Arena-Auditorium, drawing a crowd of over 3,300 fans.

The Cowgirls shot nearly 55% from the field while holding the Coyotes to just 27.3% shooting.

“Credit to our team tonight,” said Head Coach Heather Ezell. “They really competed, and they stuck with what was working, which was going inside. The crowd was great tonight, the atmosphere was awesome. We’ve got the best fans in the country, and I hope we can see them all again Monday night.”

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The game started with both teams exchanging baskets. Three consecutive scores from the Cowgirls gave them an early 8-4 lead. Wyoming led 20-11 with 2:33 left in the first quarter after a corner 3-pointer by Emily Mellema prompted a South Dakota timeout. Wyoming extended its lead to 24-13 by the end of the quarter.

In the second quarter, Wyoming took a 14-point lead on a hook shot by Marta Savic. South Dakota began hitting shots from beyond the arc, but Wyoming maintained a 41-23 lead at halftime.

The Cowgirls continued their dominance in the third quarter, leading 63-40 at the end of the period. Despite South Dakota’s efforts to cut into the lead, Wyoming had an answer every time.

In the fourth quarter, Wyoming extended its lead to as much as 41 points, ultimately securing the victory.

Wyoming had five players score in double figures for the first time since February 2020. Allyson Fertig led the way with 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting and recorded her fifth double-double in the last six games.

Overall, the Cowgirls scored 32 bench points, outscored the Coyotes 54-20 in points in the paint, enjoyed a 13-4 advantage in points off turnovers, and collected eight more rebounds than South Dakota.

“We know from the beginning that we wanted to work through Allyson and Marta tonight,” Ezell said. “At first, they didn’t bring the double, and Al was able to make easy work of that. What we really emphasized to Al and Marta was, ‘get to your spot’. If you make a quick move, they can’t bring a double.”

Wyoming will host Minnesota at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, April 1, marking the first game played in the month of April in program history.