January 22, 2024 |
Photo – Cowgirls at the free throw line – Courtesy gowyo.com
Saturday was a big day in Laramie. The Wyoming men and women basketball teams put up back-to-back wins inside the Arena Auditorium.
In the early Border War matchup with CSU, the Cowgirls pulled off a monumental comeback for a 67-63 win.
Down by three at the half, the Wyoming women went on a run with Alyson Fertig scoring nine of her 16 points on the day in the third quarter to take the lead. The Rams answered, retaking the lead with a 15-2 run to go up by ten points. The Cowgirls fought back to get within seven at the start of the fourth period.
Then Emily Mellema and Fertig carried Wyoming down the stretch for the win. Fertig, the junior from Glendo Wyoming, put up the ninth and final lead change of the game with her 1,000th point during her career in Laramie. The layup shot came in the paint at the 1:31 mark of the fourth.
Fertig became the 28th Cowgirl all-time to reach the 1,000 mark and the first Wyoming native since Kayla Woodward reached the mark in 2015.
Meanwhile, Mellema a junior from Lynden, Washington, put on a show of her own with a career high nine field goals and seven three-pointers.
Head Coach Heather Ezell praised Mellama not just for her shooting, but for pushing out six assists and finding ways to get her teammates involved.
Next up, the Cowgirls will play their second consecutive home game as Air Force comes to town for a Wednesday night game. Tip here on Bigfoot 99 at 6:30, pregame show at 6.
