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    Cowgirls open WNIT tonight versus Idaho State

    (Laramie, WY) –

    The Wyoming Cowgirls open play in their 10th appearance in program history in the Women’s NIT Thursday as Idaho State comes to town for a 6:30 p.m., contest inside the Arena-Auditorium.

    Thursday’s game will be broadcast live on the Mountain West Network and on the Cowgirl Radio Network with Keith Kelley on the call.

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    ABOUT THE COWGIRLS
    Wyoming (15-12) is 17-8 all-time in the WNIT, including winning the title in 2007. The Cowgirls are coming off a loss in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament last week. Despite the loss, UW has won 7-of-9 of late overall.

    The Cowgirls are led by a trio of student-athletes who received All-Mountain West accolades this season. McKinley Bradshaw leads the team in scoring at 15.3 points per game and adds 5.3 rebounds per game. Bradshaw was named to the All-Mountain West Team in 2021-22 after averaging 16.9 points per contest during league play, a mark that ranked fourth-best in the MW.

    Allyson Fertig was named the conference’s Freshman of the Year and was selected to the All-Freshman Team after averaging 9.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per contest overall this season. Fertig recorded seven double-doubles this season and had 14 games where she scored in double figures and 11 contests with double-digit rebounds. Quinn Weidemann was selected to the league’s All-Defensive Team for the second consecutive season as she led a Cowgirl defense that ranked second in the league in scoring, allowing opponents to score at just under 59 points per game.

    Weidemann and Tommi Olson look to continue to climb the all-time career record books in UW program history. Weidemann is currently tied for 22nd on the all-time scoring list with 1,044 career points, is seventh with 190 made 3-pointers in her career and is fourth all-time in career 3-point percentage (40.5) and free-throw percentage (85.9). Weidemann is also 19th all-time with 238 career assists. Olson, meanwhile, is 13th in program history with 146 career steals and is 15th with 272 career assists.

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    With their appearance in the WNIT, the Cowgirls have made a postseason appearance in each of the last four seasons (three WNIT, one NCAA) that postseason tournaments were held. There was no postseason play in 2020 due to Covid-19.

    SCOUTING IDAHO STATE
    Idaho State, who won the regular season Big Sky title, is led by First Team All-Big Sky honoree and Co-Defensive Player of the Year in Tomekia Whitman. Whitman leads a balanced Bengals offensive attack with 12.2 points per game and is second on the team averaging 6.9 rebounds per game. Whitman leads the team with 67 steals and is second with 16 blocks. Whitman also leads the Bengals with a 34.7-percent 3-point percentage.

    ISU has three other players averaging in double figures this season with Estefania Ors averaging 11.6 points per game and has a team-high 105 assists. Ors was also a Second Team All-Big Sky selection. Diaba Konate and Montana Oltrogge average 10 points per game each. Konate was a third team all-league honoree. Callie Bourne leads the Bengals pulling down 7.1 boards per contest. As a team, the Bengals averaging 66.6 points per game and are allowing opponents to score at just a 63.7-point clip. ISU is shooting 41.3-percent from the floor and hitting just over 30 percent of its 3-point shots. ISU and its opponents both average 35.4 rebounds per game.

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    The Bengals are led by longtime Head Coach Seton Sobolewski, who is in his 14th season leading the program and was the 2021-22 Big Sky Coach of the Year.

    SERIES HISTORY AGAINST IDAHO STATE
    The Cowgirls lead the all-time series with Idaho State, 20-5 and last played in December of 2017 in Laramie. UW has won the last 10 matchups with the Bengals, having last lost in the series in overtime back in November of 1999. Wyoming is 11-1 all-time at home against Idaho State.

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