Aggie women make it five straight
The winning streak continues for the hot-handed women’s basketball team.
Behind 21 points and 14 rebounds from Ashlee Brown, 25 combined bench points from guards Devyn Christensen and Jennifer Schlott, and some key crunch-time free throws from senior Alice Coddington, the Aggies improved their winning streak to five with a 77-71 win over San Francisco (2-6) Wednesday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
Brown, a redshirt junior transfer from UC Santa Barbara, tallied her third double-double of the season.
“It’s good to see us play two tough, game-ending decisions two games in a row where we did some things right,” said head coach Raegan Pebley.
“There’s still a lot of room for us to get better.”
After taking their first lead of the game at 31-29 with 3:41 remaining in the first half, the Aggies gradually built their advantage after intermission to 62-50 following following a putback jumper in traffic by preseason all-conference wing player Amber White.
However, San Francisco wasn’t finished.
The Dons retaliated with a flurry of three-point bombs to twice make it a one-possession game. The first came at 69-66 with 3:51 remaining in the game, and the final push came short at 71-69 with 1:31 to go. Guard Katy Keating, who finished with 17 points off the bench, and Kelly Jo Mullaney, who lead the Dons with 22, scored eight and five points, respectively. The duo also hit three 3-pointers to lead the charge.
But Utah State responded with six unanswered points, including four straight free throws from WAC assists leader Coddington, to seal the win.
“We weren’t very aware of where the 3-point shooters were,” said Christensen in reference to the Dons’ comeback bid. “We got sucked in on our (zone) defense, and coach Pebley had warned us about that. It was just a defensive breakdown.”
Dons head coach Jennifer Azzi, a former point guard for the WNBA’s now-relocated Utah Starzz, was not surprised with neither her team’s rally or the play of the Aggies, Brown or Christensen.
“(Coming back) has been true to this time the whole year, unless there’s been some situations where the game has just not been salvagable,” she said. “They don’t get down, and that’s something I’m really proud of. Both (Keating) and (Mullaney) are coming into their own shooting against a zone.”
But it wasn’t enough against a force led by Brown, who had her second-highest output of the young season.
“She’s great playing with (center Banna Diop), because (Diop) draws people to her because she’s good, and because of her size,” Azzi said.
However, Azzi said Christensen’s play was the key to the USU win. Christensen poured in 12 of her 14 points in the first half alone.
“(Christensen) was a huge, huge spark for them,” Azzi said. “Without her, it’s a different game. Look at her stats. She’s five (points) per game, and has 12 in the first half. We didn’t contain her at all. She’s a tough, gritty little player.”
It was a performance that included a 3-pointer which was at least NBA range, a score that drew the largest cheer of the night.
“I’m a big Kobe (Bryant) fan, so I try to do what he does,” Christensen said. “If I’m open, then I’ll shoot it. And if it happens to be deep, so be it.”
Her coach wasn’t too upset with it, either.
“The space was there before her catch, and she knew the space was open,” Pebley said. “I don’t like the penetration turnovers she does. I like when it comes in catching it for the three, then driving, but I’d rather have her shoot and and miss than drive and turn it over.”
Smart plays from the bench that needs to continue to fuel the team, especially because of the need to sustain team leaders.”
The Aggies will look to stay hot and continue their win streak as they continue a four-game homestand with a matchup Dec. 11 at 3 p.m. against Idaho State.
– rhett.wilkinson@aggiemail.usu.edu