Aggies advance to second round
Las Vegas — The Utah State women’s basketball team defeated the University of Nevada 75-66 in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Tournament on Wednesday. Junior guard Devyn Christensen finished with a team-high 18 points to lead four Aggies in double figures.
“Two teams played a really tough game,” USU head coach Ragean Pebley said, “two teams that respect each other a lot. There’s individual players on both teams that you can’t help but go into a game plan not underestimating.”
It was a rough start for the Aggies as Nevada dominated in the paint. The Aggies’ offense struggled, making three of their first 12 shots as the Wolf Pack jumped out to a 12-7 lead midway through the first half. Senior guard Brooke Jackson found a rhythm on offense and scored five straight points to tie the game at 12.
Utah State had no answer for the Nevada post play, however, as Emily Burns and Kate Kevorken combined for 18 points during the first 20 minutes, and the Wolf Pack outscored the Aggies 26-18 in the paint.
Junior guard Jenna Johnson kept the game close for the Aggies, scoring 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. Utah State led once in the first half despite the score being tied eight times, as USU was out-rebounded 21-15 in the first 20 minutes.
“It was definitely tough,” Christensen said. “(Nevada) has been getting better each time, and I think they wanted to play us. They came in with a good game plan. They were fired up and we had to bring our best effort to beat them.”
The Aggies made some adjustments at halftime and came out more aggressively on defense, using a full-court press to pressure the Wolf Pack. The tactic worked effectively as Nevada committed several turnovers and Utah State turned them into points.
Jackson gave USU its first lead since 2-0 on a 3-pointer, four minutes into the second half, during a 12-2 run. Four different Aggie players scored during the five-minute stretch that turned a three-point deficit into a seven-point lead.
Freshman forward Franny Vaaulu made several key plays for the Utah State defense in the second half. The 6-foot-3 California native slowed Nevada’s post play and finished with three blocks, three steals and six rebounds in a season-high 21 minutes of play.
Nevada didn’t quit and pulled within four on an old-fashioned 3-point play from Emily Burns, but it was as close as the Wolf Pack got. Senior forward Ashlee Brown overcame a rough first half and attacked the rim in the second, earning multiple trips to the free-throw line.
The WAC Defensive Player of the Year fell just shy of a triple-double for the third consecutive game, finishing with 17 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds.
“I play well with my teammates,” Brown said. “When I share the ball I feel like I’m at my best. I’m more happy that we got the win, and that’s what I’m looking forward to in the next round.”
Utah State won despite being out-rebounded 38-35 in the game and overcame the poor start on offense to finish shooting 48.2 percent from the field. USU also shot 16 of 20 from the free-throw line and dished out 20 assists — the Aggies’ third straight game of 20-plus assists.
“At halftime we had an identity check,” Pebley said. “‘Do you want to have Nevada beat you, or do you want to beat yourselves?’ Our team responded really well, and that’s why you saw our defense pick up in the second half.”
With the win, Utah State advances to face Louisiana Tech in the semifinal round of the tournament on Friday at noon.
“We split with (Louisiana Tech) during the regular season,” Pebley said. “Our side of the bracket has teams with tournament experience, and La. Tech is one of those teams.”
– curtis.lundstrum@aggiemail.usu.edu