It was raining free t-shirts inside the Arena-Auditorium for the Wyoming Cowgirls’ final homestand and senior night where six seniors were honored for their careers with Cowgirl basketball.
That wasn’t the only thing that was raining down, either.
The Cowgirls would also pour in an astounding 12 of their 24 attempts from deep as it was also raining triples inside the Arena-Auditorium–where the Cowgirls would ultimately come up with their 14th conference win of the season, a program record for the Cowgirls as they handed the UNLV Lady Rebels just their second conference loss of the season.
“That’s what it really came down to, to send those seniors out that way,” head coach Heather Ezell said postgame. “No matter who the team was, that’s what you wanted to do for them.”
The Cowgirls would jump out to an early 19-7 lead in the opening quarter of play after an Emily Mellema three would ring true. The Lady Rebels would adjust their defense to a zone after a dominant opening eight minutes from the Cowgirls, as the Lady Rebels would propel themselves back into the game within just a few minutes off the back of a 9-0 run, but another made three allowed the Cowgirls to still lead 22-16 after one quarter.
The pesky Lady Rebels wouldn’t go away, though, as they’d open the second quarter with an 8-0 run to take a two-point lead. The Lady Rebels would even extend that run to 16-3 to take their largest lead of the night at 32-25, but the Cowgirls would finally solve the zone defense and would head into the locker room at halftime only down two after Barnes would hit a pair of late triples.
A back-and-forth third quarter would see no separation between the two teams, as both scored 15 points by quarter’s end. It was the fourth quarter, however, where the Cowgirls would take their play up a notch, as they’d open the fourth frame with a 6-0 run to retake the lead once and for all. The Lady Rebels would draw within a point at 62-61 late in the quarter, but a pair of clutch shots by Malene Pederson and Mellema would prove to be the dagger as the Cowgirls would come out on top by a final score of 71-66.
“I was really happy with the way that we came out. We withstood some runs that they had and then we made our runs,” Ezell said of the win.
While the spotlight may have shined upon the seniors before the game, no player shone brighter than junior Malene Pederson in this one, as she finished her night with a career best in points, chipping in 27 while shooting 9/17 from the field and 5/9 from deep.
Seniors Tess Barnes, Emily Mellema, Allyson Fertig, Ola Ustowska and McKinley Dickerson all poured in impressive efforts and were crucial in the Cowgirls’ victory as well, as it was easy to see just how well the team was clicking together in the victory.
Allyson Fertig finished with a monstrous double-double including 16 points and 19 rebounds and even chipped in just her second made three of the season in the win. Mellema finished with 17 points including a number of timely shots late to close out the game. Barnes and Dickerson only finished with six and three points respectively, but both led the Cowgirls in assists with five a piece. Ustowska finished with just two points, but also poured in four assists to no turnovers.
While the win may not have impacted the league standings in any way, it was easy to tell just how much it meant to the six seniors who were honored to get one final win on their home floor–not mention how much momentum has now swung in the Cowgirls corner as they begin their Mountain West tournament campaign against either Air Force or Utah State this coming Monday.
Plus, who knows if these two teams will meet again at the tournament. There’s no doubt that a rematch between the Cowgirls and Lady Rebels in the conference tournament finals would make for a thrilling finale to Mountain West play.
