Courtesy of Braidon Nourse

LAS VEGAS – A jittery opening half turned into one of those nights.

Two massive third-quarter runs by No. 2 Wyoming stymied a promising-looking upset bid by No. 7 Air Force in the quarterfinal round of the Credit Union 1 Mountain West Basketball Championship on Monday night.

The Cowgirls used every bit of an MW tournament-record 60.4-percent field-goal percentage to beat Air Force, 77-64.

Air Force jumped out to a lead early and kept it for most of the first half. At a clear size disadvantage, the Falcons brought strength and energy early. Outside shots were falling, too, as they jumped out to a 34-28 halftime lead.

History favored the Falcons, who were 16-3 when leading at halftime this season, but the basketball gods — and a bit of composure — took the Cowgirls’ side.

“It’s just about having that conversation. They’ve all been there, done that and they all knew exactly what it was,” Wyoming coach Heather Ezell said. “It was just reassuring them and being able to go, ‘Yeah, we’re getting everything we want, we’re just allowing them to speed us up and play more of their game, and we’ve got to get back to playing our game.’

“That’s what happens when we’ve got really good leadership, really good experience here at the Mountain West tournament with our upperclassmen and they’re able to flip that switch and come out in the second half with that composure.”

Junior guard Malene Pedersen rose to that standard, scoring seven quick points of her 18 total in a 10-4 run in just 2:48 to tie the game up. Air Force found a stride, but it was short-lived.

Wyoming finished the quarter on another 14-2 run to win the quarter, 26-11, to take a nine-point lead into the final frame.

The shooting didn’t stop there. Not much a team can do to top a 9-for-10 shooting display in the third, but Wyoming was still above 65 percent in the fourth as it ran away with the game.

“I think starting from the halftime, we emphasized that our shots were going to fall (eventually),” Pedersen said. “We’ve got to be more confident in our shot and just be ready to make those plays.

“I think I got the passes delivered on time and on target and I think it was just that shots were just finally falling. It built up our confidence and momentum for the rest of the second half.”

For senior guard Emily Mellema, whose 2-for-5 first half garnered visible frustration, prior experience at this level took over.

“We talked about leaving the first half behind and knowing our shots would fall in the second half,” Mellema said. “The confidence I think the girls who are on that court have, we’re thinking every single one is in. And that helps us a lot and I think a lot fall when you’re thinking that way.”

On her final of two 3-point makes, her entire celebration was turning around, clapping once and maintaining a stone-cold expression.

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