USU women’s basketball can’t get past UVU
The Jerry Finkbeiner era got off to a rocky start on Monday night when the Utah State women’s basketball team traveled to Orem to take on Utah Valley for their first game of the season. The Aggies fell to the Wolverines 78-62.
“It was a frustrating first game of the season on the road type of game,” Finkbeiner said. “Our opponent really defended the basket well and made nothing easy for us shot-wise. We had a very poor shooting night and when you can’t shoot on the road, that really compounds your problems.”
USU was led in scoring by senior Devyn Christensen who had 16 points despite shooting 6-21 from the field. UVU was led by senior Sammie Jensen who finished with 31 points to lead all scorers.
The Aggies began the game well and took an early 9-4 lead, but the Wolverines tied the game at nine and eventually took the lead and never looked back.
Midway through the first half with the teams tied at 11, USU went on a cold spell that lasted for nine minutes. During that time the Aggies attempted and missed 20 consecutive shots. Senior Jenna Johnson hit a 3-pointer to end the streak with five minutes remaining in the half.
Despite shooting 9-42 from the field and 2-15 from beyond the arc in the first half, USU went into the half down 26-43.
In the second half, the Aggies cut the UVU lead to two points on multiple occasions but never tied the game or took the lead. With five minutes remaining and USU down 56-63, UVU went on a 15-2 run to put the game away.
“We couldn’t make shots and it was an uphill battle all night long to try and get on the scoreboard,” Finkbeiner said.
USU finished the game shooting 29 percent from the field and tacked on 15 turnovers.
“Everything we are doing is new from how we talk in the locker room to taking the floor with lay-ups to halftime talks,” Finkbeiner said. “We battled hard tonight but we couldn’t get over the hump.”
The Aggies continue their road trip on Thursday when they take on UC Riverside at 3 p.m.
– jborba@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @JBorba15