Born and raised in Wyoming, Allyson Fertig knows what it means to represent the nation’s least-populous state.
“I always love it when I will be randomly walking in a small town in Wyoming where I usually am not there, and people will know me,” joked the star center for the University of Wyoming.
Now in her senior season, Fertig’s full resume of accolades has paved the way for those chance meetings — especially in her hometown of Glendo, with a population of around 250. From there, she blossomed into a first team All-Mountain West selection as a sophomore and junior.
“I love that there is a Wyomingian representing a Wyoming school,” Fertig told The Next. “It has just been really awesome. Growing up in Wyoming, I understand who our fans are, and it’s awesome to have them back me up and have that connection that a lot of the other girls on the team don’t, so it’s been a really cool experience.”
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The 6’4 Fertig is currently leading the Mountain West Conference with 18.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. After averaging around 14 points and eight rebounds the past two seasons, her numbers have increased, as the Cowgirls sit at 11-8 and 5-2 in the league, following Wednesday’s win over Air Force.
“She is a player who continues to work,” third-year Wyoming coach Heather Ezell said. “She hasn’t gotten complacent and continues to get better with each year she has been a part of the program. With each game, she continues to understand where she can improve and get better.”
“When you look at her stats and everything she does, our offense runs through her. The first option is getting it to Allyson.”
Laramie, Wyoming, on Nov. 13, 2024. (Photo credit: Troy Babbitt | UW Media-Athletics)
On Jan. 19, Wyoming lost a heartbreaking game at UNLV, 72-71 in overtime. Fertig scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 41 minutes against the three-time reigning MWC champions. It was her ninth 20-point performance of the season.
“It was a fun game,” Fertig admitted. “You never want to lose those close games, but we really found something as a team, and towards the end, when the game was getting really close, and we knew things weren’t going our way, Coach Heather emphasized us to look each other in the eyes and trust each other. So that was the main takeaway from that game, even though we lost, we grew a lot from the game. It was really fun because we could have easily beaten them if one or two shots fell.”
Junior guard Malene Pedersen, a former Mountain West Freshman of the Year, added 16 points in the UNLV loss. Pedersen is 13th in the league at 12.2 points per game.
“She is so strong and so smart on both ends,” Pedersen said of Fertig. “She is really a key player for our team. She is aggressive on both ends and teams have a hard time guarding her, and it’s a big advantage for us.”
Pedersen herself rode an unconventional path to Laramie. The Danish national team member began playing club ball at age 14 and is a two-time All-Star for Aabyhoj IF. She mentioned that she was given the chance to play with the older women due to a lack of players.
“The thing about Malene is she has continued to improve in multiple ways,” Ezell said. “She has really improved her 3-point shooting, but she still scores a lot inside for us. She takes advantage of some different situations and match-ups within our motion, where she can take advantage of the block and is constantly the forefront of our motion, and that works in our favor when you read the defense the right way.”
In addition, senior guards Tess Barnes and Emily Mellema are scoring 11.4 and 10.4 points per game. Fertig said that each of her teammates possesses a different skill set, making for a variety of playing styles.
“We have different types of players,” Fertig said. “[Some are] really good ball handlers, and some have a little bit more swag to them. The younger groups coming in may not be getting more playing time, but they are still pushing us in practice because they are giving us looks that we may not have seen in the past.”
Laramie, Wyoming, on Dec. 21, 2024. (Photo credit: Troy Babbitt | UW Media-Athletics)
The Cowgirls played a tough nonconference schedule that included wins over Virginia, Drake and South Dakota. Hard-fought losses to Colorado, BYU, Gonzaga and Creighton prepared Wyoming for a long conference, and potentially a post-season, run.
“I am happy with how our team comes out and competes every day, both on the practice court and our games so far,” added Ezell. “What we talk about is how we get a little bit better each day and each game. We learn from the games that don’t go our way and make sure we adjust and don’t make the same mistakes again.”
The team looks to find itself back in the conference tournament final, where it lost to UNLV in 2023. The program won the 2021 conference tournament under Gerald Mattinson, with Ezell as an assistant.
As for Fertig, she says she will continue pursuing her playing career, potentially overseas. The mathematics and secondary education major said she plans on returning to a small town in Wyoming to teach and coach basketball.
“It’s bittersweet because it’s my last year,” Fertig said. “You don’t really realize it until it actually happens. Myself and the other seniors, we will push ourselves more this season because we don’t have another season.”
