SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The Wyoming Cowgirls basketball team could not overcome a big third-quarter run by Missouri State, falling 62–50 to the Lady Bears on Friday evening. The Cowgirls made a late push in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Bears would hold on for the win.
“We put ourselves in a position to have to play perfect in the fourth quarter and that is not a recipe for success,” UW head coach Heather Ezell said. “Our focus was lacking tonight on the defensive end, and we had to scramble and catch up. They hit some kick out threes and that hurt us tonight.”
The Cowgirls were led by Allyson Fertig’s 15 points and 10 rebounds. She was 5-of-8 from the field. Emily Mellema and Tess Barnes added 11 points each, and Malene Pedersen added 10 points.
The Cowgirls took an early 7–2 lead with Mellema knocking down a 3-pointer two minutes into the frame. Missouri State answered with a 12–2 run to surge into the lead. MSU would ride that momentum to an 18–14 lead through one quarter, shooting over 50% from the field in the process.
Barnes added an and-one play to make it a one-point game at 18–17 in the opening two minutes of the second quarter. The Cowgirls went scoreless for nearly six minutes, with the Lady Bears taking a 28–19 lead with a minute and a half left in the quarter. Fertig and Barnes ended Missouri State’s run with a pair of buckets, and Wyoming trailed 28–23 at the half.
Early in the third quarter, a Mellema layup put the Cowgirls up 30–28. That lead was short-lived, though: The Lady Bears went on an 11–0 run to build a 39–30 lead halfway through the third quarter.
UW used the free throw line to make it a five-point game with time running down in the third frame. However, the Lady Bears pushed the lead back to nine points by the end of the period, and then up to double digits, taking a 50–36 lead in the fourth quarter.
Another run by the Lady Bears pushed their lead to 56–38 three and a half minutes into the final quarter. The Cowgirls went on a 12–0 run, highlighted by a 3-pointer from Pedersen, that cut their deficit to just 56–50 with just over two minutes left.
Missouri State responded with a 3-pointer that put them up 59–50 with 45 seconds left.
Missouri State was led by Kaemyn Bekemeier with 15 points and eight rebounds. Sarah Lithacum added 14 points.
