Emily Mellema scored a career high 25 points to help the Cowgirls overcome a 10 point deficit late in the third quarter on their way to take down the Colorado State Rams. Allyson Fertig also eclipsed the 1,000 point mark in her career in the contest. The win also gives the Cowgirls a one game edge in the entire series at 57-56, the series dating back to the early 1970s.
Both the Cowboys and the Rams would start off hot, both nailing their first attempts from beyond the arc. Mellema hit her first three, and Tess Barnes would match that with a three of her own. Both teams would run cold past the opening minutes, though, as neither team would score almost 4 minutes until Malene Pederson would find her way into the paint with a lay-in, but that was answered quickly by the Rams with a three to tie it at 8-8. The Rams would go on a quick 7-0 run, but a tough drive by Barnes would make sure the Cowgirls would stay in it. The Rams would end the half with 5 straight though, as the Cowgirls had a 17-10 deficit to overcome after one quarter of play.
Fertig would get on the board scoring the first points of the second quarter at the free throw line and Mellema would hit two straight as the Cowgirls would take a quick lead until the Rams answered, giving them a 21-18 lead. Once again Mellema would answer for the tie with her third straight hit from distance and fourth in the game. The Rams would score five straight to maintain their lead, but McKinley Dickerson would cash in her first triple to keep the Cowgirls in striking distance. The Rams were on a 9-3 to take a 6 point lead, but yet again Mellema would answer with her fifth triple of the night as the Cowgirls would enter the locker room down 30-27 to the Rams.
The Cowgirls shot well from beyond the arc in the half, mostly due to Mellema’s 5/9 mark from three as the Cowgirls hit 7 threes on 43.9% in the first half. This mark kept them close in the first half as 21 of their 27 points came from three.
Fertig would open the third quarter with her first two field goals of the game as the Cowgirls would take a quick 31-30 lead before the Rams would hit a three. Fertig would make another quick two to tie it back up and then would make a nice move for an and-one, as she had all nine points for the Cowgirls early until Pederson would score. Despite Fertig’s run, two straight threes from Rams and an 8-0 run would earn them a 43-38 lead midway through the second half. Dickerson would finally end the run with a nice shot in the lane, but the Rams offense was rolling as they’d take a 50-40 lead late in the quarter. Ola Ustowska would finally have the answer to the three minute scoring drought by the Cowgirls with a big three, as the Cowgirls once again trailed by 7 at 50-43 heading into the fourth quarter.
Mellema would pick up where she left off in the first half, opening the fourth quarter with a big three and then a nice lay-in to draw the Cowgirls within 2 before the Rams could answer. Mellema would continue to tack on with a crafty reverse layup and Fertig would score down low as well to knot things up in the early goings of the fourth quarter. The Rams would retake a two point lead off a pair of free throws, but Maren McKenna would keep things tied up with a pair of freebies before the Rams would again retake their two point lead at 56-54 with three minutes left in the game. Pederson would tie the game back up with two and a half minutes left and Fertig would give the Cowgirls a two point lead with 1 and a half minutes left. Barnes would knock down a massive three with a minute left as well as the Cowgirls had their largest lead of the night up to that point at 61-56. The Rams would bring it within three, but Mellema would hit her seventh three which would prove to be the dagger as the Rams late comeback effort would come up short and the Cowgirls would win 67-63.
The Cowgirls were led offensively by Mellema who scored her career high 25 points in the contest while making 7 threes. Mellema also stuffed the stat sheet with a team high 6 assists to go along with 4 rebounds. Fertig also had a solid game offensively in double figures with 16 points and tied Ustowska for a team high 9 rebounds in the game.
The Cowgirls shot extremely well in the contest, sitting at 50% from the field and 40.7% from deep with 11 made threes in the contest while holding the rams to 40% from the field and 32.1% from deep. The Cowgirls also held an advantage on the glass with 33 rebounds compared to the Rams’ 25. The Cowgirls were very effective sharing the ball, as they had 17 assists on 24 made field goals in the game as well.
The Cowgirls continue their homestand on Wednesday with their second game of the season against the Air Force Falcons, the game set to tip off at 6:30 p.m.
