LARAMIE – The Wyoming Cowgirl basketball team is set to commence WNIT action Sunday at 1 p.m. as UTSA visits the Arena-Auditorium for second-round play.
Sunday’s matchup will air live on the Mountain West Network and will be broadcast on the Cowgirl Radio Network with David Settle providing commentary. You can listen to the game on KUGR at 104.9 FM and 1490 AM.
Wyoming (16-14) takes the court for the first time in nearly two weeks against the Roadrunners. In their previous outing, the Cowgirls suffered a 62-54 defeat against Boise State in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Championship. Allyson Fertig and Malene Pedersen led the team with 16 and 13 points, respectively. Fertig also equaled the Mountain West tournament record for single-game blocks with seven against the Broncos.
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Throughout the season Fertig has been a standout performer for the Cowgirls leading the team in scoring (13.7 PPG), rebounding (8.2 RPG), field goal percentage (59.9), and blocks (45). Pedersen also contributes significantly with an average of 10.7 points per game. Tess Barnes leads the team with 58 made 3-pointers and shoots 36.3% from beyond the arc. Emily Mellema tops the team with 41 steals and 87 assists. Ola Ustowska leads in assists with 89 and maintains a favorable assist-to-turnover ratio.
This marks Wyoming’s 12th appearance in the WNIT, boasting a 20-10 record in the tournament. The Cowgirls, who secured the 2007 WNIT championship, went 1-1 in last season’s tournament and are making their third consecutive trip. The majority of UW’s WNIT games have been played at home.
UTSA finished fourth in the American Athletic Conference this season and is led by Jordyn Jenkins averaging 16.1 points per game. Jenkins, who is second on the team with an average of seven rebounds per game, has appeared in the last 11 contests after missing much of the year. Elyssa Coleman and Kyra White also contribute with double-digit scoring, averaging 10.6 and 10.2 points per game, respectively. Coleman leads in rebounding with 7.4 per contest and has 45 blocks this season, while White’s 158 assists (4.9 APG) top the team.
The Roadrunners have a 7-9 record in road contests this season and average 64.6 points per game while allowing just under 63. They shoot 39.7% overall from the field and 29% from 3-point range. UTSA’s opponents shoot 36% from the field and 29.4% from beyond the arc. UTSA holds a rebounding advantage of plus-8.5 this season but commits over three turnovers per game more than their opponents. The team shoots 65% from the free-throw line.
The Cowgirls hold a 2-0 all-time record against the Roadrunners, winning both games of a home-and-home series with UTSA dating back to 1989 and 1990.
