Lady Ags lose opener

Last season in her first game as a true freshman, Taylor Richards scored her first points off a 3-pointer in Utah State’s win over Metro State.

This year, nearly a minute into the Aggies’ 66-65 loss to Utah Pride, Richards hit another 3-pointer to give the Aggies their first points of the 2005-06 season.

Deja vu?

“I’m really superstitious about hitting my first shot or not hitting it. So when I came out and hit my first shot and it was a three, just like my freshman year, that gave me some confidence,” Richards said.

But it wasn’t exactly like the game last season. Although the Ags had a strong lead for most of the game, they allowed the Pride – a group of former athletes that have ties to Utah – to catch up in the final stretch of the game.

“It just a lesson too, you can’t stop playing, you’ve got to wait until you hear that buzzer,” Utah State Head Coach Raegan Pebley said. “Honestly, they just did some things we were not expecting. It’s not an excuse to lose at all. But it’s great game tape.”

Senior Jessica Freeman led Utah State with 14 points. Brittany Hagen and Richards were the only other Aggies in double digits finishing the night with 12 points a piece.

Although it wasn’t a win, Pebley said the game gave the Ags a lot of experience. Every single player on the team was able to see some time on the floor tonight, something Pebley said she wanted to see.

“I really felt like we could have broken away from the defense if we would have gone with a lineup to really breakaway from somebody,” she said. “We really tried to get everybody the ball.”

With just more than three minutes left, Utah Pride went on a 7-1 scoring run to give them a 62-60 lead – it’s first since the opening basket.

For the final three minutes, it was a scramble on both sides to gain a foothold and take the lead. A basket from Richards with 13 seconds left put the Ags up 65-64, but USU was unable to stop a drive by Jill Adams, allowing her to score a basket with one second left.

“We played hard,” Richards said. “That’s the worst loss ever. I don’t think we lost on a buzzer-beater last year. Especially to come back and be so close.”

Three of the four new Aggie players saw action against the pride.

Freshman Danyelle Snelgro played for ten minutes and finished the night with five points.

Lindsey Freeze also saw some action for the Aggies, playing against her sister Camille Kesler.

Freeze finished the night with four points.

“I feel for them,” Richards said. “I know, I was there. I was excited they all got into the game. They did some good things for us.”

Utah State will host one more exhibition game Nov. 10 against Northwest Sports. The game starts at 7 p.m. in the Spectrum.

-aedmunds@cc.usu.edu