“We can no longer be afraid to talk about it.” Cowgirls Head Coach Heather Ezell
By Christian Lasher
The resounding theme at Thursday's Wyoming Cowgirls media day in Laramie was clear.
Senior Tess Barnes said it, “Getting to the NCAA for sure. That is always on our list, so definitely that is our goal.”
Two-time All-Mountain West Team honoree and current Preseason Mountain West Co-Player of the Year Allyson Fertig added, “Of course, the goal…we want to win that Mountain West Tournament. Coach Heather was saying we have to own it this year. That is the emphasis. We CAN win it. We have the potential. We have to own it…we have to believe it. We want to go to the NCAA. We have two girls who were here from when Wyoming won the tournament in 2021, but I want the rest of us to have that experience as well.”
Mountain West All-Defensive team honoree Emily Mellema echoed the same sentiment, “We’ve had great runs in the WNIT, and It’s obviously a privilege for us to play in the postseason every year, but we are trying to get to the NCAA Tournament. That is something we are starting to embrace and really own. We can go out and win a Mountain West championship. I think that will be big for us. Being aware that we can do that and also the need to hold ourselves accountable to that level…the NCAA Tournament is a goal for us.”
One of three Juniors on the team, Malene Pedersen, shares the same opinion. “Our big goal is to go all the way and win the conference championship and get a chance to play in March Madness.”
This was heard from every member of the Cowgirls on Thursday. Wyoming is coming off of a third-place conference finish and a Great-8 WNIT appearance last season.
Six seniors or grad students will wear the Brown and Gold when the Cowgirls take to the hardwood in an exhibition match against Chadron State on November 1st. The non-conference slate officially tips off on November 4th when the Buffaloes from Colorado make the trip to 7,220’.
Once again, Wyoming has a strong schedule of non-conference games. Pedersen said, “I am excited for another tough non-conference schedule. It’s great to start off against strong opponents. Because of last year’s schedule, we got some great experience. Playing the bigger schools helps us mentally in the postseason because we play teams we don’t really know or haven’t played beforehand.”
Undoubtedly, the most talked about matchup circled on all the Cowgirls’ calendars is the one on November 17th at Gonzaga.
“Gonzaga is probably the top one. I feel like we have been so close in the past years. I really hope this year is the one we get them. Payton (Muma) brings an extra bit of energy that I think we really need this year for that game.” Barnes said.
Grad student Ola Ustowska also joined in on the topic,
“I really like playing Gonzaga. I always have a good game against them. And Payton transferred from there, so there is a big motivation to win.”
Mellema added, “We haven’t gotten them yet since I’ve been here. I think we have a pretty good chance this year. I love playing at Gonzaga because my family can come. It’s kind of a fun road game for me. With Payton on the team, too, it’s kinda nice. A little bit of added incentive to win for her, so I am excited for that one.”
Muma is one of the newcomers to Laramie this year. She entered the transfer portal this past off-season after a stint in Spokane.
“When I committed to Gonzaga, I always had Wyoming in the back of my mind. I’m here now; that’s all that matters.
I am very thankful that I ended up here. Oh my gosh, we are beating them…without a doubt. It’s marked on my calendar: November 17th. It’s going to be kinda weird going back there and seeing all my old teammates, but we gotta get a dub!”
If the last name Muma sounds familiar to you, it is probably because her brother Chad (current Jacksonville Jaguar,) her dad, and her grandfather all played football at the University of Wyoming.
Head Coach Heather Ezell had this to say about Muma, “She loves her brother, she loves her dad, she loves her grandpa, don’t get me wrong…but she wants people to know the Muma on the basketball court and not just the Mumas on the football field.”
“She has the ability to score and play-make. There’s a reason she went to Gonzaga out of high school. She has those abilities and now she’s going to showcase it for us.”
Muma wants nothing more than to get substantial playing time this season and make a name for herself at Wyoming.
“I do have an amazing family with amazing history, but I am trying to make history for myself. I have a tattoo on my leg that says, “Born to Make History” so, I am doing that. I am just gonna do my best every day. I know I am great person so I am going to use that to my advantage and just create that name for myself.
It was a no-brainer to come here. When I entered that transfer portal, I was hoping and praying that Wyoming would call me, and they did the same day. I was like, “Yeah, I’m coming.”
Fertig says she is excited to get the conference season started as well. “A big one I have circled is Colorado State at CSU because I have not won there yet in my four years. I am really excited because I really want to win there. I am excited for every game…I’m just excited to play again.”
She adds that she feels very fortunate to have had such a successful career in Laramie full of honors from the Mountain West.
“I am very blessed. It has been an honor to be recognized by other teams in the conference. Also it’s just so nice to have a team that has put me in that position. In this day and age of basketball, it seems it is more about outside play, so it is nice to see post players recognized.”
Her backup center, Marta Savic has graduated, but Fertig sees a bright future with the younger girls that are coming off the bench to give her a breather this season.
“I think we have two girls that have a good opportunity to get playing time. We have (Junior) Logann Alvar coming in from Casper College and she’s really strong and works really hard. We have (6’4” Freshman) Heidur Karlsdottir. She is really tall and has some good touch, so if she can get things going, I think she has some potential for a big impact in the game. I am excited to see all the new girls play. I think all of them have great potential. I am excited to see what Heidur can do, because she is my position and I’ve kinda taken her under my wing.”
Ezell adds, “We hope the underclassmen learn everything they can right now. They will be the future leaders of this team. We have a chance to do something special, but we have to own it, and we’ve gotta come every day and embrace that. We can no longer be afraid to talk about it. Before we would say, ‘We’d like to win a Mountain West championship, knock on wood.’ Instead now we are saying, ‘I want to win it, it’s what I want to do. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.’”
Ustowska summed up media day with this, “I came back for one more year. I started with a Mountain West Championship and now I want to finish with that. We are still hungry for more. We want to go to the big tournament. When I went before it was during Covid…I want to feel how it is for real.”
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