LARAMIE, Wyo. — History was made again in the Arena-Auditorium last night when standout Wyoming center Allyson Fertig broke through into quadruple-digit career rebounds — the third Cowgirl to do so. She and her fellow Cowgirls also earned a hard-fought win over the Nevada Wolf Pack, winning 66–61.
Before Fertig’s time, only two other Cowgirls have entered 1,000-rebound territory. From 1980 to 1983, Rita Makovicka first made Cowgirl history with 1,006 career rebounds. Starting in the ’84 season and up to 1987, Michelle Hoppes grabbed 1,104. It is extremely likely Fertig will end her college career with the second-most rebounds in program history.
With that as inspiration, the Cowgirls were able to best the now 8–11 Wolf Pack after a close second half. The Cowgirls didn’t trail for a single second and looked nearly untouchable in the first half, but Nevada still found a way to claw its way up to single-digit differentials.
Fouls and ensuing free throws on top of some contentious turnovers kept the Cowgirls sweating before a clutch steal from guard Emily Mellema with under 10 seconds of game left sealed the deal. Fertig’s rebounds also contributed positively to keep the Cowgirls’ heads above water.
“Our seniors and our leaders know they’ve only got one more chance at this,” head coach Heather Ezell said to UW Athletics after the game. “They’re leaving it all out on the court every night and you’re seeing that grit and that toughness come through, especially at the end of games like this.”
Fertig led the way in scoring with 21 points, followed by senior Tess Barnes and junior Malene Pederson with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Fertig, of course, ended the night leading in rebounds as well. She finished with 12 in total, with offensive and defensive rebounds split evenly. This outing marks Fertig’s fifth double-double of the season — the 37th of her career — and the 22nd night scoring 20-plus points in college.
When asked in an interview with Oil City News at the beginning of the season how many double-doubles she was looking to bag in the 2024–2025 season, Fertig said she only cares about the stat in regards to what it can do for her team.
“When I’m rebounding good and when I’m scoring good — when I can do those two things I do really good for the team,” Fertig said. “If I’m doing well, that means our team is also doing well, so hopefully I get a lot in that sense.”
Mellema grabbed six steals as well, which tied a career high for the scrappy guard.
The Cowgirls’ next game is shaping up to be an even bigger challenge, however, as they hit the road to face defending Mountain West champion UNLV. That game will be nationally televised on Sunday at 2 p.m. on the CBS Sports Network, according to UW Athletics.
For more information on the University of Wyoming Women’s Basketball team, visit the team’s page on the UW Athletics website.
