LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The Wyoming Cowgirl offense went cold at the worst time Monday night at the Mountain West Championship. The Cowgirls lost 62–54 in the quarterfinals to Boise State as the Broncos ended the game on a 15–4 run over the final five-plus minutes.
The action was fast-paced to open the game as the Cowgirls hit four of their first five shots. Boise State matched the offensive output, however, leading 10–8 at the media timeout. Out of the timeout, UW reclaimed the lead on an Emily Mellema 3-pointer. The Cowgirls continued their 9–0 run to push the lead to 17–10 with 1:51 left in the first, leading to a Bronco timeout. The rest of the frame saw as big as an eight-point advantage for Wyoming, which led 19–12 after one.
The second quarter started off as more of a defensive struggle as Boise cut the deficit to just four before a Tess Barnes 3-pointer became UW’s first field goal of the quarter. The Cowgirl lead was 25–18 at the media. After the timeout, it was the Broncos’ turn to make a run as they took a 27–25 lead with under two minutes left in the half. The rest of the half saw back-to-back layups from Wyoming, giving it a 29–27 lead going into the locker room.
Allyson Fertig opened the second half with the first five points for the Cowgirls, giving them an early 34–29 advantage. Wyoming led 39–31 at the media timeout. Following the media, Boise State again went on a run, controlling the end of the quarter. The Broncos went on a 9–2 run toward the end of the frame before a Malene Pedersen 3-pointer to beat the buzzer gave UW a 44–40 lead going to the fourth.
The fourth began with the two teams trading stops before the Broncos took their first lead of the second half with 6:31 remaining. The lead went right back to the Cowgirls on the next possession thanks to a Fertig layup. After a UW timeout with 5:48 left to play, it was Boise State’s turn to go back in front just before the final media, and it didn’t trail again. The final 4:03 of the game saw the Broncos make a couple of big shots as the UW offense struggled down the stretch, allowing Boise to pull away in the waning moments.
The Cowgirls shot 42.3% overall for the game and were at 50% at one point Monday before closing the contest, making just 1-of-10 late. UW made just 4-of-16 from 3-point range while the Broncos made 8-of-17 from beyond the arc, including three during their late-game stretch. Boise shot 42.1% on the night.
Fertig finished the night one rebound shy of her fourth consecutive double-double as she had 16 points and nine rebounds. Fertig also tied the Mountain West Championship record for blocks in a a game with seven in the loss. Pedersen was the other Cowgirl to finish in double figures, closing with 13. Ola Ustowska logged a game-high five assists.
