LARAMIE – The Aztecs ran into the Wyoming wall.
Tess Barnes finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and four blocks and Allyson Fertig added 10 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks to lead UW to a 72-55 victory over San Diego State on Wednesday at the Arena-Auditorium.
Emily Mellema, who had 17 points and controlled the tempo during UW’s key road win at Air Force, added 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting.
The Cowgirls (9-6, 4-0) outscored the Aztecs (11-6, 2-2) 21-7 in the fourth quarter to remain unbeaten in Mountain West play.
“I think they ran out of gas a little bit towards the end,” said Barnes, who had five of UW’s 10 made 3-pointers. “It’s hard breathing up here.”
Barnes opened the fourth quarter with a 3 and then rejected a shot on the defensive end. The Cowgirls led by double digits (58-48) after baskets by Malene Pedersen and Fertig.
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UW took its largest lead, 70-50, on another 3 by Barnes to put the exclamation point on a 12-0 run.
“I tell her we don’t really block shots around here,” UW head coach Heather Ezell said jokingly of Barnes. “I know she scored 17 points on the offensive end, but it comes down to she guarded for 34 (minutes), and we needed it every time she was down there guarding and being able to make stops on the defensive end.”
UW went on to defeat the Aztecs on Wednesday night at the Arena-Auditorium.
The Cowgirls led 18-14 at the end of the first quarter after freshman Maren McKenna scored the last four points of the frame for UW.
Both teams were shooting 50% from the field through 10 minutes. UW finished the game 31-for-59 (53%) while holding SDSU to 21-for-55 (38%) shooting.
Ezell credited Ola Ustowska, who did not score but finished with six assists and one turnover, for setting the tone on the defensive end.
“She defended her butt off,” Ezell said of the senior guard. “She was chasing around, making every catch tough and they couldn’t get into offense half the time because her man couldn’t get open. We really amped up that pressure and made it a battle down there.”
McKenna, who finished with nine points on 4-for-6 shooting, stayed hot with a 3 to open the second quarter to extend the lead, but the Aztecs responded with a 7-0 run to tie the score 21-21.
Barnes and McKinley Dickerson hit 3s, Pedersen made a floater in the lane and Mellema finished a 16-5 run that gave the Cowgirls a 39-28 halftime lead.
Khylee Pepe kept SDSU in the game with 10 first-half points on 4-for-6 shooting. The rest of her team had 18 points on 8-for-23 shooting.
Mellema buried a 3 early in the third quarter to make the score 42-30, but SDSU responded with a 10-0 run.
UW had a five-point lead and the final possession of the third quarter, but a turnover led to a layup by Adryana Quezada to get the Aztecs within 51-48.
“Heather talked about something we could carry over from Air Force was being composed,” Mellema said of the message from the coach entering the fourth quarter. “Being able to get those stops and taking care of it on offense by translating those stops into good points for us.”
The Cowgirls only allowed the Aztecs to make two field goals while making 9-of-13 shots on the other end in the fourth quarter.
UW finished with eight blocks as a team and cruised to the win despite not attempting a single free throw in the game.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever been a part of a game where we haven’t got to the free throw line,” said Ezell, whose team only committed seven turnovers and scored 20 points off nine SDSU turnovers. “Usually, an emphasis for us is trying to get there, but there never was a point where I was like, man, we need to get there to get points. We were finding other ways to score, which was good.”
The Cowgirls will have some extra time for prepare for its next game at New Mexico next Wednesday at the Pit.
Follow UW beat writer Ryan Thorburn on Twitter @By_RyanThorburn
