Brown drops double-double to propel Ag women to win
Utah State’s Ashlee Brown had 21 points and 14 rebounds in a record-setting women’s basketball performance Thursday against the University of Hawaii. Brown recorded her eighth double-double of the season, passing the single season record held by Ali Marchant and securing her place in Utah State history in the 52-41 victory over the Rainbow Wahine.
Coming off a tough loss to New Mexico State, the Aggies looked to get back on track in their return to their home court after a two-game road trip.
Hawaii’s zone defense gave the Aggies problems from the opening possession, taking away opportunities to score. This allowed Hawaii to put the first points on the board with a jumper from Keisha Kanekoa.
A few possessions later, USU’s Alice Coddington drilled a three to put the Aggies up 3-2. After Coddington’s basket, Hawaii came back strong putting together a nine-point streak before Stacey Howard scored for the Aggies.
“That was the most zone we’ve seen all year,” Brown said of Utah State’s first-half struggles. “They took away our inside game.”
Hawaii used a 17-5 run to take control of the game with 6:50 left in the first half. But a three from Maddy Plunkett jump-started the Aggies offense. Utah State went on a 10-2 run with baskets from Brown and Jenna Johnson and a 3-pointer from Jennifer Schlott with eight seconds left in the half. This cut Hawaii’s lead to four at the buzzer.
The Aggies came ready to play in the second half, quickly cutting the lead to two with a layup from Brown. A foul on Utah State’s Banna Diop put Hawaii’s Allie Patterson on the line and brought Hawaii’s lead back to four.
After Patterson’s free throws, the Aggies went on an eight-point streak including two huge 3-pointers from Chelsea Burns to put the Aggies up by four with 15:36 left in the half.
“I’ve kind of been in a slump,” Burns said of her back to back threes. “Coach has been helping me with my form so it definitely worked.”
The Aggies kept control of the pace in the second half, something that according to Burns they weren’t able to do in the first.
“We were playing their pace and not ours,” she said. “We weren’t really playing our game to be honest.”
The game stayed close until the 9:45 mark when Schlott came out of nowhere and made a steal on a Hawaii inbounds play. She completed the play with a layup. The Aggies outscored the Wahine in points off turnovers 26-4 in the game.
Utah State led from the 11:38 mark in the second half, on. Their largest lead of the night came with 1:18 left, when Brown hit a free throw to put the Aggies up by 11.
The Utah State bench outscored Hawaii 15-4 in the second half. The Aggies had 10 different players score on the night, including Brown and Burns who both scored in double figures.
Utah State is back on the court Saturday when San Jose State comes to Logan. The Spartans bring with them a two-game winning streak the Aggies hope to break.
“We’re going to need to work really hard mentally to stay confident and focused,” USU head coach Raegan Pebley said.
Saturday night during the game, the Aggies will be holding a fundraiser to raise money for the Red Cross’s relief efforts in Australia. The country has recently been hit by devastating floods that have affected the families of three Utah State players: Stacy Howard, Maddy Plunkett and Alice Coddington. The team is giving half the proceeds from the game to the International Red Cross, and donations will also be accepted.
–meredith.kinney@aggiemail.usu.edu