No. 2 Seeded Cowgirls Open Mountain West Tournament Tonight

* University of Wyoming press release

LARAMIE -- The No. 2 seed Wyoming Cowgirls open Mountain West Tournament play Monday at 6 p.m., Mountain Time with a quarterfinal matchup against San Jose State.

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Monday'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 (20-9) enters the tournament on a three-game winning streak with an average margin of victory of 14.3 points per game over those three contests. The Cowgirls' 20 victories overall and 13 Mountain West wins this season marks the first time since 2018-19 that they have reached those win marks. UW closed the regular season with a 76-60 win over Border Rival Colorado State on Senior Night February 25.

Allyson Fertig scored a career-high 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting in the win over the Rams and also made a career-best nine free throws on the night. Malene Pedersen added 15 points against CSU while Grace Ellis and Quinn Weidemann added 12 and 11, respectively. Ellis also recorded her second-career double-double as she pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds in the win.

For their efforts against the Rams and earlier in the week against Nevada, Fertig and Pedersen swept the Mountain West Players of the Week honors. Fertig was named the Player of the Week for the third time this season, including second straight while Pedersen took home Freshman of the Week honors for the fifth time in 2022-23. It was also the second time this season that the duo swept the award for the week.

In conference play this season, Fertig leads the Cowgirls and ranks third in the league averaging 15.7 points per game. Fertig leads the MW in field goal percentage, shooting 63.4-percent from the floor, is second averaging 2.1 blocks per game and is third with 8.1 rebounds a contest. In the last six games, Fertig is scoring 22.2 points, grabbing 7.7 rebounds and blocking 2.3 shots per game. Over that stretch, Fertig is shooting 55-of-74 (74.3-percent) from the floor and has five games where she has scored 20-or-more points, including four consecutively.

Pedersen and Weidemann are tied for second on the team in scoring during conference play this season at 11.4 points per game each. Weidemann, along with fellow Super Senior Tommi Olson, leads the Cowgirls with 23 made 3-pointers in league action this season, is shooting nearly 92-percent at the free-throw line and is averaging 2.4 assists and a steal per game. Pedersen, meanwhile, is shooting 49-percent from the field and 91.5-percent at the free-throw line while averaging 2.6 assists per game.

The Cowgirls are 15-22 all-time at the Mountain West Tournament, including winning the 2021 tournament title. Weidemann is fourth all-time at UW in postseason scoring with 190 career points and is tied for second with 41 assists during postseason action. Olson is sixth in program history with 32 assists and is 10^th averaging 2.9 assists per game. Olson is also second with 20 career steals, including recording a Mountain West Tournament record with 17 in four games at the 2021 tournament.

SCOUTING SAN JOSE STATE
Marisa Davis-Jones leads San Jose State in scoring (11.1 PPG) and rebounding (5.9 RPG) in 2022-23 and leads the Spartans with 92 made free throws. Jada Holland also averages in double figures with 10.8 points per game and leads the Spartans with 80 assists and a league-leading 2.5 steals per game. Sabrina Ma is by far-and-away SJSU's top 3-point shooter. Ma has made 55 3-pointers this season, accounting for nearly 44-percent of SJSU's made 3-pointers this season. Ma is shooting 38-percent from beyond-the-arc. Amhyia Moreland leads the team with 22 blocks.

 SJSU averages 57.7 points per game and is allowing 68.1 a contest. The Spartans are shooting 37.4-percent from the field and 28.8-percent from 3-point range. San Jose State opponents shoot at a 44-percent clip from the field and nearly 33-percent from deep. The Spartans are second in the league forcing nearly 10 steals per game but commit over 18 turnovers per game as a team.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST SAN JOSE STATE
Wyoming is 16-3 all-time against San Jose State and has won 11-straight in the series, having last lost in 2016. UW won both meeting previously this season, 64-48 in San Jose and 68-54 in Laramie. The Cowgirls and Spartans have never met in the Mountain West Tournament.