Cowgirls, Rams Face-Off in Mountain West Tournament Semifinals

* University of Wyoming press release

LAS VEGAS, Nev., – The No. 2 seed Wyoming Cowgirls face-off with a familiar foe Tuesday night in the Mountain West Tournament Semifinals as they face third-seeded Colorado State at 8:30 Mountain Time.

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Tuesday’s game 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 (21-9) advanced to the tournament semifinals for the fourth time in the last five seasons behind the strength of a 72-57 win Monday night over the No. 10 seed San Jose State.

Malene Pedersen led the Cowgirls with a career-high 24 points in the win on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting from the floor and also made a career-high eight free throws on the night. Allyson Fertig also finished in double figures and registered her eighth double-double of the season as she had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Marta Savic and Quinn Weidemann added nine points each while Grace Ellis chipped in with eight.

Earlier this week, a trio of Cowgirls received All-Mountain West honors. Fertig and Weidemann both were named to the All-Mountain West Team for the first time in their careers while Weidemann was named to the All-Defensive Team for the third time.

Weidemann became the first Cowgirl and just the second student-athlete in Mountain West history to be named to the all-defense team three-or-more times. Pedersen, meanwhile, was named the Mountain West’s Freshman of the Year marking the second consecutive season a Cowgirl has won the award.

On the season, the trio all score in double figures and are led by Fertig’s 13.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Fertig, who is shooting nearly 60-percent from the field in 2022-23, is also averaging 1.9 blocks per game.

Weidemann is averaging 11.8 points per game this season and leads the Cowgirls with 49 made 3-pointers while shooting over 38-percent from beyond-the-arc. Pedersen comes in at 10.9 points per game and is averaging 2.4 assists per game.

Tommi Olson leads the Cowgirls averaging 2.8 assists per game and is shooting a team-high 40.3-percent from 3-point range.

SCOUTING COLORADO STATE
Colorado State is led by the 2022-23 Mountain West Player of the Year in McKenna Hofschild, who leads the league in both scoring (20.9 PPG) and assists (7.3 APG) on the year. Hofschild is shooting nearly 49-percent from the floor and over 45-percent from 3-point range.

Destiny Thurman, who was named the league’s Newcomer of the Year, is second on the team averaging 12.8 points per game and is second averaging 4.7 rebounds a contest. Thurman leads CSU with 39 steals this season.

Cailyn Crocker also averages in double figures at 10.8 per game. Cali Clark leads the Rams with 6.3 rebounds per game and is tied with Sydney Mech for the team lead with 36 blocks each.

CSU is one of the best offensive teams in the league this season, averaging 72.7 points per game and is shooting 44.7-percent from the floor, 37.2-percent from beyond-the-arc and 79.6-percent at the free-throw line. The Rams average just over 14 assists per game and turns the ball over just 8.7 times a contest.

Colorado State is being out-rebounded by opponents by nearly six boards per game. The No. 3 seed Rams made it to Tuesday’s semifinal round behind the strength of a 59-52 win over Boise State.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST COLORADO STATE
Colorado State leads the all-time series, 56-55. The Cowgirls are just 2-6 all-time against the Rams in the Mountain West Tournament and lost last season’s quarterfinal matchup, 51-38. Wyoming defeated CSU just 10 days ago, in its regular-season finale, 76-60 February 25. Allyson Fertig scored a career-high 27 points in the victory. The two teams split the regular season matchups, with each winning at home.