Wyoming Wins 4th Game in a Row, Just in Time for the Conference Tournament
On a night showcasing Wyoming’s six seniors in their last game in Laramie, it was a Junior from Denmark who stole the show for the 2nd Place Cowgirls.
Malene Pederson poured in 27 points in the 71-66 win over the visiting UNLV Lady Rebels.
Head Coach Heather Ezell on Pedersen, “It was Malene being Malene. UNLV changed to the zone and she found every opening that she could…I tell you what, the kid loves corner threes.” Pedersen was 5 for 9 from beyond the arc.
Ezell added, “She wanted to do that for those seniors.”
Pedersen said, “I just went out and tried to be confident throughout the whole game…we were keeping tough as we always talk about and playing for the seniors. Those six are some of my closest friends and it is kind of bittersweet that they are all leaving now.”
Senior Allyson Fertig added another monster night on the boards in the win. She contributed 16 points and 19 rebounds. This was her 44th career double-double in the Brown and Gold.
At the 4:27 mark in the 4th quarter, Senior Emily Mellema tied up a loose ball but had a hard fall on the floor landing on her back.
“She will be sore tomorrow, but you’re never going to get that kid off the floor. We are off tomorrow, so we will make sure she gets healthy going into Vegas.” Ezell added.
Mellema said, “I am a little sore, but I am really happy with the team and it’s a big win for us and it’s some (good) momentum for us going into the tournament.”
“We know this wasn’t our last game together…we have more work to do here in the next couple of weeks. That is a really cool win for us, it's Senior night, it's something that should be celebrated, but the job is not finished. We have to keep that mentality in the way we have been playing and go beat three teams straight in Vegas."
She pitched in 17 points and a steal in the win.
Just over 3,600 fans packed into the Arena-Auditorium to show support for the Cowgirls and their 6 graduating players.
It was the last home game for Allyson Fertig, Emily Mellema, Tess Barnes, Ola Ustowska, McKinley Dickerson, and Joslin Igo.
Wyoming moves to 14-4 in the MWC. UNLV holds onto the #1 seed going into the MWC tournament. The loss brings them to 16-2 in conference play.
The MWC Tournament starts March 9th in Las Vegas.
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