Women to open against D-II foe
Women’s basketball is gearing up to welcome NCAA Division-II Mesa State tonight for their second and final exhibition game of the season at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum at 7 p.m. Last week’s exhibition battle against Utah Pride concluded in a 78-66 Aggie victory. Sophomore Danyelle Snelgro, a 5-foot-5-inch sophomore from Altadena, Calif., contributed 14 points to the team’s overall effort of a 46.3 field-goal percentage against the Pride. After the exhibition game on Nov. 2, Head Coach Raegan Pebley commented on some of the skills the women need to continue working on in order to improve as a team. “I would like to see us not make such a game of it in the first half,” said Pebley, “but it was nice to how we were able to close out the second half.” Senior Brittany Hagen, a 6-foot-1 player from Gillette, Wyo., returns to the team this year after setting the Utah State University record for career 3-pointers. Pebley also played four of her new freshmen in the exhibition game. Among them was Indira Kaljo, standing at 5-foot-10 from Sherman Oaks, Calif., who put up two 3-point field goals within her seven minutes of game time. These Aggies will continue to focus on future game play after an opening win, beating the Utah Pride does not mean that they’re going to win for the rest of the season, Pebley said. Emphasizing on finishing lay-ups and stepping up on defense will aid the team in getting better as the season continues, said Pebley. “We’re going to try to use our athleticism where we can on the court, instead of hiding it,” said Pebley. The Mesa State Mavericks are a part of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with an 8-11 record to their name in conference competition. Their first game of the season was exhibition play against Dixie State where they won 87-67. Regular season play for the Aggies begins Nov. 14 when they face off against Utah Valley State College in Orem, Utah. They will then return home on Nov. 17 to host Idaho State in the Spectrum at 7 p.m. -eawads@cc.usu.edu