The University of Wyoming Cowgirl basketball team fought bravely on Friday, Dec. 2, beating the Montana State Bobcats by eight points. This game was a special one because it was the annual Teddy Bear Toss, where fans throw stuffed animals onto the floor during halftime, and they get donated to the children’s wing of Ivinson Memorial Hospital.
All the fans there to support the toss helped cheer the Cowgirls on to a victory, despite the change in plays, lineups, and overall gameplay.
“We made a couple of matchup adjustments. Once we settled in, I thought we started to get it figured out,” head coach Heather Ezell said.
“Our main adjustment tonight was just settling into what we wanted to do.”
The game consisted of multiple points from both teams. The lead scorer for UW was 6 ‘4 sophomore and center Allyson Fertig, who ended the game with 18 points and seven rebounds. Close behind her was 5‘9” graduate student and guard Quinn Weidemann, who lobbied 16 points for the Cowgirls.
5’10 junior and guard Ola Ustowaska also had an impressive game Friday night, with a record-high of eight assists. The team as a whole had a season-high number of assists, ending the game with 16 total.
Ustowaska also helped the team get on the board by scoring a pair of three-pointers at the beginning of the first quarter. Soon after the start of the second quarter, Fertig also helped increase points by throwing an impressive pair of free throws.
The Cowgirls ended the first half leading the Bobcats by three points, the score being 29 Montana State, 32 Wyoming.
Then the game kicked into high gear during the third quarter, leading both teams to a tie of 44-44. Ustowaka then lobbied a free throw, creating a way for UW to remain ahead for the rest of the game.
In the fourth quarter the Brown and Gold stayed ahead of the Bobcats, ending the game with a score of 59 Montana State, 67 Wyoming.
After Friday’s game, the Cowgirls are now 4-3 overall and are ranked fifth in the Mountain West Conference. UW has not played in a conference game and won’t until Dec. 29, when they will face off against the University of Las Vegas.
The Cowgirls have several non-conference games in their future, the next one being Dec. 11 when they battle it out against the University of Missouri-Kansas Kangaroos.
