Ag women get 30-point mauling by Grizzlies
Another loss on the road against the University of Montana puts women’s basketball at 2-4 for the season.
The Aggies fell to the Grizzlies by 30 points, with a final score of 86-56. Trailing the entire game, the Aggies could not manage to keep up with Montana. Dominating 22-5 on second chance shots, Montana also posted 19 offensive rebounds of their 51 total rebound count
“When we play against a team that’s going to run that zone defense the way they did, we’ve got to play better defense to create the tempo that we want,” said Head Coach Raegan Pebley in a post-game radio interview.
Junior guard Taylor Richards held strong through her 36 minutes of play as she led the Aggies with 14 points. The only other team player to hit double-digits in the game was sophomore guard Danyelle Snelgro with 13 points.
USU shot a 38.5 field goal percentage in the first half. Starting off with a 14-4 lead, the Grizzlies had already found their groove and continued to hold the Aggies down. The opening half concluded just as it had began, with a huge Montana lead, 42-24.
“We didn’t adjust quick enough to how they were going to defend,” said Pebley. “It was a lot tighter than what we’ve seen when we were out in the West coast conference games.”
Total shooting percentage for the Aggies was at 37.7 percent. Being ranked second in the NCAA in free throw-shooting, they shot only 5-9 from the line. Shooting from the 3-point line was at 29.4 percent, 5-17 from the 3-oint line.
Both freshman forward Indira Kaljo and freshman post Sharvelle Hurd had their first collegiate field goals. Playing behind many seasoned players, the two got a chance to show what they have on defense and offense against Montana.
“It’s about experience,” said Pebley. “They’re both such young players. Hopefully they are going to continue to get better.”
Second half play continued with Montana up 48-28 with 17:37 minutes still left to play. After reaching a score of 80-54, the Grizzlies had no problem bringing home the victory.
Montana shot a 45.5 field goal percentage, with sophomore guard Mandy Morales leading the team with 24 points, 13 of those in the first half, to contribute to the team win.
Wednesday Dec. 6 the Aggies descend on Bozeman, Mont., and the Montana State University Bobcats. MSU is now 3-4 on their young season, with a recent win against Washington State University, 70-64.
“We’re excited for that game,” Pebley said. “I know our team knows how to bounce back and refocus.”
-eawads@cc.usu.edu