LARAMIE — Wyoming could not keep pace with Utah State’s perimeter shooting in a 94-62 loss Wednesday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, while the Cowgirls closed the evening with a late surge to defeat Fresno State 47-42 in Laramie.
Utah State, which is receiving votes in both the Associated Press and Coaches’ Polls, knocked down 13 3-pointers and shot 55 percent from the field to pull away from the Cowboys. Wyoming was held to 35 percent shooting and 25 percent from beyond the arc, as the loss dropped the Cowboys to 12-9 overall and 3-7 in Mountain West play. Both teams finished with 36 rebounds, though Wyoming grabbed 16 offensive boards, while Utah State scored 21 points off turnovers.
“We put a plan in place that we were going to go zone for a full forty and get them off early and it didn’t happen and we were dying on that hill tonight and see if our guys could figure it out and hats off to Utah State,” Wyoming head coach Sundance Wicks said. “We have to respond and have a plan of attack heading into CSU and the Border War.”
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Leland Walker led Wyoming with 24 points for his 16th double-figure game of the season and the 69th of his career. Nasir (Naz) Meyer, returning from injury, added 12 points, while Walker, Meyer and Abou Magassa each had five rebounds. Khaden Bennett finished with nine points and four assists. Utah State was led by Kolby King’s 20 points, with Mason Falslev adding 11 and Garry Clark and MJ Collins scoring 12 apiece as the Aggies pulled away after building a 50-28 halftime lead.
Earlier Wednesday night in Laramie, the Wyoming Cowgirls erased a late deficit by closing the game on an 8-0 run over the final 1:22 to secure a 47-42 win over Fresno State. Wyoming held the Bulldogs scoreless for the final 3:12, using a burst of offense and defensive stops to rally from a 42-39 deficit.
After a defensive first half in which Wyoming scored just one point in the second quarter and trailed 20-15 at halftime, the Cowgirls slowly chipped away in the second half. They trailed 33-30 entering the fourth quarter before Jane Rumpf and Malene Pedersen hit timely 3-pointers to keep the Cowgirls within striking distance. Pedersen’s 3-pointer tied the game at 42-42, and an Aurore Eyango steal and basket put Wyoming ahead for good with just over a minute to play.
“At halftime, I said we have to get back to doing the things that have gotten us here on this winning streak,” head coach Heather Ezell said. “I thought our passing was really bad in the second quarter. I thought we had to clean that up, we had to clean up our screening. We just talked about that. We were guarding. It was about the defensive end it was our offense and executing our motion.”
Pedersen led all scorers with 17 points and extended her streak to 40 consecutive games scoring in double figures, becoming the fourth player in Mountain West history to reach that mark. Henna Sandvik added 11 points and led Wyoming with seven rebounds and three assists, while the Cowgirls recorded seven blocks as a team. Wyoming next travels to Grand Canyon on Saturday, while the Cowboys return home to host Colorado State in the Border War.