11 is just a number: USU women’s hoops moves on
For the first time in Mountain West history, an 11-seed has advanced to the quarterfinals.
Sunday night, the Utah State University women’s basketball team closely beat the San Diego State Aztecs 81-79 after being tied at the final mark. At 67-67 regulation ended and pushed the game into overtime. Senior forward Hailey Bassett led the Aggies to victory with an impressive pull-up shot with two seconds to spare.
“I’m really excited,” Bassett said. “We just celebrated in the locker room and now, once we leave, we’re going to make it back to business and get another win tomorrow.”
The Shot.
As called by our own radio play-by-play @jadenjohnson00!#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/3XlfWBxFTt
— USU Women's Hoops (@USUWBasketball) March 2, 2020
Despite a disappointing season for the Aggies, the team managed to turn its luck around and prove that the underdogs can win.
“It was big for these players, because they have been working extremely hard, as has so many other teams in this country. And not everybody gets sort of reward for it. There’s no guarantee on that,” said USU head coach Ben Finkbeiner.
Sophomore guard Steph Gorman agreed, adding that the pressure helped them perform well.
“I definitely just think it showed how good we can be when we play to our potential. So it’s really good to see,” she said.
Bassett has had a fantastic season, finishing out her time as an Aggie with 1156 total points and 510 rebounds. Gorman has performed equally as well, making 32% of her three-point shots and leading the team with 83 assists this season. Both showed up Sunday and had one of their best performances of the year.
The Aggies return to the court Monday night to play against the Wyoming Cowgirls, who enter the quarterfinals as the 3-seed. Finkbeiner is confident the team will be able to play well against its next opponent.
“Wyoming has had a good season and they’ve earned the ability to have a bye. No doubt about it; it’s an advantage. But at the same time, we’re playing really well right now. So hopefully we can play our best… because I feel like we did that tonight,” he said.
Bassett agreed, noting that being the underdog is sometimes preferable.
“To me, I’m actually really excited because I like going, coming in and no one believing in you and proving them wrong, that’s kind of mentality.”
You can catch the Mountain West Tournament quarterfinals Monday night at 9:30 MST.
Photo by Chantelle McCall