Allyson Fertig leads UW with 17 points and 18 rebounds
LAS VEGAS – The Cowgirls are 40 minutes away from a championship.
No. 2 Wyoming went on a decisive 15-0 run in the second half to defeat No. 6 Fresno State 57-45 in the Mountain West Tournament semifinals on Tuesday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.
MW player of the year Allyson Fertig finished with 17 points and 18 rebounds, Malene Pedersen had 14 points and eight assists and Emily Mellema added 1 points and nine rebounds to lead the Cowgirls (22-10).
UW advances to play No. 4 San Diego State in the title game at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday on the CBS Sports Network. The Aztecs (24-9) upset No. 1 UNLV 71-59 in the first semifinal.
The Cowgirls, who shot 76% in the second half to overcome an eight-point deficit in the 77-64 win over Air Force in the quarterfinals, outscored the Bulldogs (19-15) 25-11 over the final 16 minutes.
Mia Jacobs made a 3-pointer to give Fresno State its first lead, 30-29, with 5:54 remaining in the third quarter. Fertig answered with a three-point play on the other end on the next possession.
After a bucket by Jacobs tied the score 34-34 the Cowgirls went on a 10-0 run over the final 3:32 of the third quarter to take a 44-34 lead.
Pedersen scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, including a three-point play to extend the cushion to 49-34.
Ola Ustowska and Pedersen hit back-to-back 3s to make the score 55-38 with 4:07 remaining.
Pedersen made the game's first basket, Fertig converted three layups and Ustowska buried an open 3 to get the Cowgirls off to an early 11-2 lead.
Fresno State answered with a 10-2 run capped with a 3 by Kylee Fox. Fertig added another basket to give UW a 15-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Mellema scored five points in the second quarter, but Cowgirls shot 30.8% in the frame and settled for a 24-23 halftime lead.
Fertig has 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting at the break. Jacobs had seven points on 1-for-6 shooting
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