First year finale
It may not have been the dream season the Utah State women’s basketball team was hoping for, but in their first year back, the young Ags exceeded many expectations.
After the program’s 17-year hiatus, USU women’s basketball Head Coach Raegan Pebley and her team wanted to show the skeptics why it was a good idea to reinstate women’s basketball. But it was an uphill battle.
Pebley had a lot of confidence in her team going into the season. She saw the potential and knew that if the team pulled it together they would do well. One of the goals for the season was to end it at least fourth place in the conference.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment for our program that we have been able to get to the Big West Tournament in our first year of play,” Pebley said. “I think this validates having women’s basketball at Utah State and shows that we are going to be competitive from the start. We have everyone coming back next season and this will give us something to build on.”
Youth proved to be a big factor over the course of the season for the new team. USU was one of the youngest women’s basketball teams in the nation this season. Many of the Aggie players were fresh out of high school, or junior college and only one player, Virginia Jennings, had any Division I playing experience.
Although they had high hopes for the season, the Aggie women had a tough time starting out. They lost 10 of their first 11 games, with their only win coming in an exhibition game against UVSC. The win, although not officially on the records, gave the Aggies a boost of confidence and something to build on.
The season picked up when USU won an incredible game here in the Spectrum against Cal Poly on a three-point buzzer shot from Christina Zdenek. Zdenek led the team to a win with 31 points. Ashley Anderson and Ali Aird each chipped in 12 points for the win.
The win boosted the momentum for the Aggies. Although they lost their next game at Pacific, they were able to get their first road win of the season against Cal State Northridge, defeating them 69-63. Virginia Jennings made her first field goal of the game, a three-point shot with one minute left, to break a 63-63 tie. Three players scored in double figures for the Aggies. Zdenek led with 16 points and Aird added 15 points and 10 rebounds in her second-straight double-double. Brittany Hagen gave the team a boost with 15 points.
The Aggies struggled with their next three games losing to Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside at home, and then losing to UC Irvine on the road. The losses put the Aggie women at 2-6 in conference play and 2-14 overall in the season.
But the Ags picked it up again on the road pulling out a win against Long Beach State. A layup from Brittany Hagen with 28 seconds left put the Aggies up 63-60. Brittany Tressler proved key for the Aggies, tallying up 19 points. Zdenek scored in double figures again for the first time since the win against Northridge. With her game-winning layup, Hagen ended the game with 10 points.
The Ags dropped two more games on the road to Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara before their next win. Zdenek once again led the Aggies with 19 points in their second win of the season against Cal State Northridge, 76-71. Four Aggies, along with Zdenek scored in double figures.
With the win the Aggies began to look forward to going to Anaheim for the Big West Conference tournament. The top eight teams go and USU was fighting with UC Irvine for the eighth seed. The Aggies lost their next four games and put thoughts of the tournament on hold.
The Aggies forced themselves into a must-win situation for several of their final games of the regular season. The Ags improved their chances with a decisive 61-46 win against Irvine. However, it didn’t look like the Aggie women would be heading to the tournament.
With a loss to Idaho at the end of the regular season, Utah State’s fate was left in the hands of others. But despite the enormous odds against them, the pieces fell into place with the help of other teams and the Aggie women found themselves playing in the Big West Conference tournament against Long Beach in the first round.
Although the Aggies lost to the 49ers 55-48, it gave them something to build on next season with all the players returning, and some new faces showing up.
-aedmunds@cc.usu.edu