Aggie women fall in WAC semifinal to Fresno State
With their best-ever finish in the regular season, the Aggies earned the right to a bye into the second round of the tournament as a No. 3 seed. Sophomore guard Devyn Christensen finished with 19 points to lead the Utah State Aggies in a furious comeback over the New Mexico State Aggies, 72-67 in day two of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
Utah State women’s basketball hadn’t experienced much success in past Western Athletic Conference tournaments. Its last win came in 2009 with a 59-58 victory over the Idaho Vandals in Reno, Nev. The Aggies were able to win their first game, but that was as far as the Aggies’ journey would go.
“It was just grit that won that game out there,” Aggie head coach Raegan Pebley said. “It was a battle. Just really proud to see how our team responded, especially with the youth that we have, in intense situations.”
USU found itself down by eight at halftime, but came roaring back on offense and took advantage of stellar free-throw shooting to seal the victory.
“Gosh, 28-of-32, that’s what we aim for,” Pebley said. “I think our team has done a great job trying to get the line all year. I was just really proud to see that when we weren’t hitting our layups, we were hitting our free-throws.”
USU hit 20-of-22 free-throws in the second half alone.
Junior Ashlee Brown finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds and sophomore center Banna Diop added 15 points and eight boards.
USU (17-13) shot only 17 percent from the floor during the first half, but shot 60 percent from the floor during the second half.
The Aggies had several chances to get a victory against the Fresno State Bulldogs and advance to the WAC championship game, but they squandered those chances in the second half after building an early sizeable lead.
Sophomore Rosie Moult scored 23 points, 21 in the second half, to lead the Bulldogs over the Aggies, 86-76. The Aggies led by as much as 17 points in the first half, but squandered that lead as they allowed the Bulldogs to knock down a handful of perimeter jumpers.
“I’m proud of our team’s effort,” Pebley said. “I think Fresno State had to put their best game forward to beat us. I think this is game we are really going to learn from.”
Sophomore Devyn Christensen finished the game with 19 points while, junior forward Ashlee Brown finished with 17 points.
True freshman Jennifer Schlott hit one her three 3-pointers on the night to put the Aggies up 35-18 with 4:18 to play in the first half, but the Bulldogs responded with a 15-0 run to finish the first half.
“A little cliche, but it was a tale of two halves,” Pebley said. “We let them go on a big momentum run going into the half. With a team as experienced as Fresno, it was hard to stop.”
Christensen hit a pair of free-throws to give the Aggies a 48-46 lead with 16:22 remaining in the game, but back-to-back 3-point goals from senior guard Hayley Munro would spark a 12-0 run to put up the Bulldogs for good.
“What might stand out to a crowd is that they hit some 3s, but I feel like what really hurt more was our turnovers in the second half,” Pebley said.
The team now waits to see if they will receive a bid to the women’s National Invitational Tournament.
– ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu