SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The Wyoming Cowgirls found themselves trailing by double digits after two quarters on Saturday against San Diego State. But thanks to a second half that saw them score 50 points and shoot better than 79% from the floor, the Cowgirls were able to reverse the script and defeat the Aztecs 70-58.
Much like the first meeting between the two teams, the Cowgirls got off to a slow start on Saturday. The Aztecs scored the first seven points of the game, and though Tommi Olson and Quinn Weidemann both hit 3-pointers to get UW on the board, Wyoming was unable to put much of a dent in SDSU’s lead throughout the first quarter.
In the second quarter, things remained stagnant for the Wyoming offense, as the team trailed 23-16 with six minutes left in the half. From there, San Diego State was able to build the lead back up to double digits and continued to maintain it, leading 32-20 at the halftime break. The Cowgirls shot just 7-of-21 in the first half while committing nine turnovers.
The two teams traded buckets to open the the second half, until a Tess Barnes 3-pointer and a turnaround jumper from Allyson Fertig got Wyoming to within six, at 43-37 with just under three minutes to go in the third quarter.
Fertig got another two baskets after an Aztec timeout to make it a one-possession game, at 43-41 heading into the fourth. UW ended the frame on a 9-0 run the final three and a half minutes.
A Weidemann pull-up jumper began the scoring in the fourth, and just like that the game was tied for the first time since 0-0. An Olson layup a couple of minutes later gave the Cowgirls their first lead of the contest.
After another Olson 3-pointer and a Fertig layup, SDSU called a timeout with roughly six minutes remaining in the game and the Cowgirls up by five. After the timeout, the Cowgirls were able to immediately grow their lead even further thanks to a 3-pointer from the corner by Barnes.
With roughly three minutes left in the game, the Cowgirls called a timeout up six, and the break seemed to be just what the team needed. Fertig scored out of the timeout to make it an eight-point Cowgirl lead. After the Aztecs cut the Cowgirls’ lead back down to six at the free throw line, Barnes’ third 3-pointer of the game gave Wyoming its biggest lead of the day thus far.
For the game, Wyoming shot 57.8-percent from the field, a season-best. The Cowgirls made 6-of-11 from 3-point range and went a perfect 12-of-12 from the free-throw line.
Fertig scored 16 of her game-high 20 points in the second half, while Pedersen scored 12 of her 14 in the second half. Olson also finished the game in double figures, tallying 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Barnes and Weidemann added nine points each, with Weidemann tallying five assists and a pair of steals.
The game was Wyoming’s final road contest of the season. They close Mountain West play out this week with a home game against Nevada on Thursday, followed by a Border War showdown against the rival Colorado State Rams on Saturday.
