The sweet taste of victory
Thursday night was one for the history books for the Utah State women’s basketball team.
The Aggies beat the Idaho Vandals 63-53. It is not only the first conference win at home for the ladies but also the first win against the Vandals since the program has been reinstated.
“It has been one of our goals to beat Idaho either at home or away,” senior Jessica Freeman said. “It’s a healthy competition.”
From the second the clock started, both teams battled to get the lead. Ashley Rutledge started the game off with a 3-pointer, the first but not her last. She had three in the first half.
The Vandals quickly answered back with a field goal but they could not stop Aggie freshman Danyelle Snelgro from making two back- to-back baskets bringing the score in favor of the Aggies at 7-4. Snelgro had a total of 10 points for the Aggies.
Although Idaho quickly caught up and took the lead, it didn’t last long.
A Freeman jumper once again gave the Aggies the lead, while another Rutledge 3-pointer pushed them even further ahead. Jenny Gross helped them out by not only stealing the ball away from the Vandals but scoring her team a 3-pointer on the other end.
Idaho not only put the pressure on the Aggies but also pressed for baskets and took the lead for a bit. But it wasn’t enough to stop the Aggies from going into the half with a 31-30 lead.
“It was just a great win for our team,” Utah State Head Coach Raegan Pebley said. “I was really proud of how we approached this game, how we executed in the game, our game plan and how we bounced back.”
The second half started just as quickly as the first, with the Aggies controlling the ball as they continued to push for the lead. However, the Vandals didn’t stand by and watch as they put on the full court pressure and double-teaming.
“We did a good job defending them but we did a great job of executing through their defense,” said Pebley. “He [Idaho Head Coach Mike Divilbiss] threw a lot of things defensively at us in the second half and tried to break us out of our rhythm and our kids showed great composure.”
It was just the beginning of the end for the Vandals a they continued to struggle against the Aggies. Utah State shot for 43.6 percent from the field compared the Idaho’s 39.3 percent.
“We’re hopefully turning a corner and feeling a bit more confident with ourselves,” said Pebley.
The team not only had five players in double-figures but 13 assists total and 20 turnovers.
“We knew we were going to win,” said Senior Ali Marchant. She helped out with 11 points. “We came out, we played hard. We had a lot of energy.”
The Aggie women’s next game will be against Hawai’i as part of a double-header with the men’s basketball team on Sat. Feb. 18 at 5 p.m.
As for Hawai’i, Marchant pretty well summed up the team’s feelings.
“Hawai’i talks a lot of trash so we’ll be looking forward to beating them at home, too,” she said.
-vramirez@cc.usu.edu