After being on the road for a month, the Wyoming Cowgirls will return home to play their first game at the Arena-Auditorium since November 22. They will host North Dakota for a 1 p.m. tip-off on Saturday, December 21. The Cowgirls have spent their last six games away from Laramie.
Saturday’s game will be broadcast live on the Mountain West Network and can be heard on the Cowgirl Radio Network with David Settle calling the action.
ABOUT THE COWGIRLS
Wyoming (5-6) is coming off a 76-60 loss to Creighton on Tuesday in Omaha. The Bluejays outscored the Cowgirls by 13 in the final quarter, pulling away late after Wyoming held a two-point lead late in the third. Allyson Fertig led the Cowgirls with a season-high 23 points in the loss, marking her fifth 20-point game of the season. Tess Barnes and Malene Pedersen each scored 16 points. Barnes, Emily Mellema, and Ola Ustowska each recorded five assists, with Ustowska tying a career-high with nine rebounds.
Fertig ranks among the top two in 12 different statistical categories in the Mountain West this season. She is averaging 18.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game through the first 11 games. Barnes has made 17 three-pointers this season and ranks seventh in the league with 1.89 three-pointers per game. Mellema, with a 1.40 assist-to-turnover ratio, ranks fifth in the Mountain West.
Barnes, despite missing two games, is averaging 10.8 points per game and leads the team with 17 made three-pointers. Mellema is second on the team in scoring with 11.6 points per game and leads Wyoming with 35 assists and 17 steals. Pedersen also scores in double figures with an average of 11.2 points. As a team, the Cowgirls are averaging just under 63 points per game and shooting 43% from the field. Their opponents are averaging 60.6 points per game and shooting just under 40% from the floor. Wyoming holds a +1.7 rebounding margin during non-conference play.
SCOUTING NORTH DAKOTA
North Dakota (UND) is led by forward Kiera Pemberton, who averages 15.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 58% from the field. Pemberton is the only Fighting Hawk scoring in double figures. Jocelyn Schiller (9.9), Mikayla Aumer (9.8), and Walker Demers (8.8) are the next top scorers for UND. Schiller leads the team with 37 assists and 19 steals, and alongside Aumer, has 16 made three-pointers to lead North Dakota. Fatima Ibrahim, who comes off the bench, leads the team with 11 blocks.
The Fighting Hawks are averaging nearly 64 points per game and shooting 40.3% from the field and almost 30% from three-point range. Their opponents score an average of 65.6 points per game, shooting just under 40% from the floor and 33% from beyond the arc. North Dakota has a nearly +4 rebounding margin this season. The Fighting Hawks have committed 21 fewer assists than their opponents and average over three more turnovers per game than their opponents.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST NORTH DAKOTA
Wyoming leads the all-time series 3-1. This will be the third consecutive season the teams meet, with each team winning on their home court in previous matchups. UND won the season opener in 2022-23, while the Cowgirls won in Laramie to begin the 2023-24 season. Wyoming is 2-0 against North Dakota in Laramie.
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