PROVO, Utah — It was a tale of two halves Saturday for the Cowgirls on the road against Brigham Young University. After playing a stellar first half against the Cougars, the second half was a different story as BYU rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to win 76–63.

Wyoming shot the ball well in the first half and went cold in the final two quarters. BYU, meanwhile, enjoyed an explosion of offense in the second half.

It was a strong first 20 minutes for the Cowgirls on both ends of the court. Wyoming’s offensive executed at an efficient rate in the first half, as the team shot 47% from the floor, going 7-of-14 from 3-point range in the process.

Defensively, the Cowgirls held BYU to 27 points and forced 11 turnovers in the first half, taking a 40–27 lead into the halftime break.

Tess Barnes and Malene Pedersen had strong first halves, with both scoring in double figures. Barnes had 11 while Pedersen had 10 in the first 20 minutes of the contest. Allyson Fertig, meanwhile, nearly had a double-double at half with nine points and 10 rebounds.

BYU came out strong to open the third quarter, shooting the ball well and avoiding the turnover bug that had hindered them in the prior half offensively. The Cougars opened the half on a quick 11–1 run and forced a Wyoming timeout less than two minutes into the half.

After shooting so well in the first half, Wyoming went cold in the third quarter and trailed 58–46 going into the final quarter.

In the fourth, the Cowgirls were able to cut the deficit down to 58–51 with just under eight minutes left, forcing a Cougar timeout. However, that was as close as the Cowgirls would get.

Fertig led Wyoming individually with 22 points and 18 boards. It marks the 15th 20-point game of Fertig’s career. Pedersen and Barnes both ended up in double figures as well, with Pedersen scoring 15 and hitting a trio of 3-pointers. Barnes finished 11 in the loss.

Emily Mellema scored nine points, had a team-high four assists and recorded a pair of steals.

Wyoming ended the game shooting 39% from the floor and going 9-of-28 from beyond-the-arc.

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