Cowgirls hit the road to take on Air Force
* University of Wyoming Athletics media relations release
LARAMIE -- The Wyoming women’s basketball team hits the road for a pair of games this week, beginning with a Feb. 2 contest at Air Force in a 6:30 p.m., tip.
Wednesday’s contest will be broadcast live on the Mountain West Network and can be heard across the Cowgirl Radio Network with Keith Kelley on the call.
ABOUT THE COWGIRLS
Wyoming (8-9, 4-4 MW) is coming off a hard-fought 62-53 win Saturday over Nevada inside the Arena-Auditorium.
Allyson Fertig recorded her fifth double-double of the season in the win as she scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed a game-best 11 rebounds. Thanks to that performance, Fertig was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Week for the third time this season. Fertig averaged 15.5 points, seven rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game last week in the Cowgirls’ two wins while shooting 68-percent from the floor.
Wyoming was able to hang on for the win over the Wolf Pack, going the final 31 minutes without trailing, despite Nevada tying the game numerous times. The Cowgirls shot a season-high 46.3-percent from the floor, despite going just 1-for-13 from 3-point range. McKinley Bradshaw added 18 points in the victory and is now averaging 14.3 points per game, a mark that ranks seventh in the league. Bradshaw has four 20-plus-point performances this season.
UW has multiple student-athletes ranking in the top-10 in the league in statistical categories this season. Bradshaw’s 39-percent shooting from the field this season ranks ninth-best in the MW while her 75-percent clip at the free-throw line ranks eighth.
Tommi Olson ranks second in the league and fourth nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio, with a 3-to-1 mark on the year. Olson’s two steals per game ranks third-best in the Mountain West. Rounding this out is Fertig’s 6.9 rebounds per game, which ranks 10th in the league.
SCOUTING AIR FORCE
The Falcons are led by Riley Snyder, who’s 14.6 points per game ranks sixth-best in the Mountain West this season.
Haley Jones ranks second in the league in rebounding, grabbing 9.3 boards per contest. Cierra Winters and Briana Autrey also average in double figures in scoring this season, averaging 11.7 and 10.9 points per game, respectively. Winters’ 2.8 steals per game is first in the league.
As a team, Air Force is averaging just under 61 points per game, a mark that ranks 10th in the league but leads the league in scoring defense, allowing opponents to score just over 57 points per contest.
AFA is shooting 37.4-percent overall from the floor and 28.2-percent from 3-point range. Falcon opponents are shooting 41.3-percent overall but just 25-percent from beyond-the-arc, a mark that is best in the Mountain West.
Air Force is led by head coach Chris Gobrecht, who is in her seventh season at the Academy.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST AIR FORCE
The Cowgirls have dominated the all-time series with the Falcons, leading 56-3. Wednesday’s contest will be the first in Colorado Springs since December of 2019, a 65-63 Cowgirl win. Wyoming last faced Air Force Jan. 15 of this season, a 57-54 Cowgirl victory. Grace Ellis hit the game-winning layup with under three seconds left in the contest to break a 54-54 tie.
RESCHEDULE ANNOUNCED
Wyoming had two road contests rescheduled Monday, as announced by the league office. The Cowgirls will travel to face San Jose State Feb. 14, in a contest that was originally slated for Jan. 6, but was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. Because of this rescheduled contest, the Feb. 16 game at Colorado State, has now been moved back a day to Feb. 17.
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