Cowgirls Host Border War Part One Saturday Afternoon

* University of Wyoming press release

LARAMIE -- The Wyoming Cowgirl basketball team looks to bounce back after suffering their first setback of the Mountain West slate Wednesday night at New Mexico, by hosting Border Rival Colorado State at 2 p.m., Saturday afternoon in the Arena-Auditorium.

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Saturday’s game against the Rams will be broadcast live on the Mountain West Network and can be heard across the Cowgirl Radio Network with David Settle on the call.

ABOUT THE COWGIRLS
Wyoming (9-7, 4-1 MW) is looking to get back on the winning track after losing 68-61 at New Mexico Wednesday night. Allyson Fertig led the Cowgirls with 14 points and eight rebounds in the loss while Malene Pedersen had 13 in the contest. UW was held to just 23 points in the second half against the Lobos.

The Cowgirls have been sharing the ball well on offense as of late, averaging 16 assists per game over their last seven contests. Wyoming has recorded a season-high 19 assists, twice during this stretch, including Wednesday at UNM. The Cowgirls recorded an assist on 12 of their first 13 made field goals in the contest.

Through the first five games of Mountain West action in 2023-24, Wyoming has had a balanced offensive attack with five players averaging at least 8.8 points per game. Fertig leads the Cowgirls in scoring at 12.4 points per game on nearly 63-percent shooting. Fertig also leads the squad averaging 8.8 rebounds per game and has a team-best six blocks. Tess Barnes also averages in double figures at 11.4 a contest and has made a team-high 13 3-pointers in those five games. Ola Ustowska is averaging a team-high 3.2 assists per game during conference play.

Overall this season, Fertig and Pedersen lead the way averaging 13.7 and 10.2 points per game, respectively. Off the bench, Wyoming is averaging over 20 points per game from its reserves, led by Marta Savic’s 6.1 points a contest. Savic also leads the bench in rebounding at 4.1 per game. UW is out-rebounding its opponents by over six boards per game in conference play and 4.5 per game in all 16 contests.

SCOUTING COLORADO STATE
Colorado State is led by reigning Mountain West Player of the Year, McKenna Hofschild, who leads the league in both scoring (24.8) and assists (8.4) per game. In league play, Hofschild is even better, scoring nearly 31 points per game. Hofschild is shooting 51-percent from the floor and 46-percent from 3-point range with 35 made 3-pointers. Hofschild also leads the Rams with 18 steals this season. Hannah Ronsiek is second on the team in scoring at 9.3 points per game while her 5.7 rebounds a contest are also second-best. Ronsiek leads the way with 22 blocks this season. Cali Clark leads the team averaging 6.4 rebounds per game.

As a team, the Rams are second in the league in scoring at nearly 74 points per game while their plus-12.2 scoring margin is also second-best. CSU is shooting nearly 46-percent from the floor overall and 38.5-percent from 3-point range. Colorado State is being out-rebounded by almost eight a contest but has a 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio in 2023-24. The Rams lead the league shooting 79-percent from the free-throw line as a team. CSU averages 15.5 assists per contest. Colorado State opponents are averaging nearly 62 points per game and is shooting just 36.2-percent from the field.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST COLORADO STATE
Wyoming and Colorado State have met each other 112 times before in its histories, with each program garnering 56 wins. The UW-CSU rivalry is the Cowgirls’ most-played opponent in program history. Wyoming has won 3-of-4 as of late at home in the series and won two of three matchups with the Rams last season. The two teams have played eight overtime contests, the last being in the season finale in Laramie two seasons ago, a 69-63 Cowgirl victory. Last season, the two squads split their regular season meetings with both winning at home. Wyoming won in the semifinals of the Mountain West Tournament a season ago.