Aggies blown away at home
Home-court advantage played no part in Wednesday night’s contest as the Utah State women’s basketball team was beat handily by Boise State 64-42. The Aggies are now 2-5 in Mountain West play.
The 42 points scored by the Aggies are the fewest they have scored all year.
“When you get in a hole like that it’s tough,” said USU head coach Jerry Finkbeiner. “It’s something that we’ve struggled with all year.”
The first quarter saw the Aggies looking up as Boise State doubled their score, 19-8. Utah State would struggle to find an answer to BSU’s zone defense, as it would take the Aggies four minutes before they put numbers on the board. That same defense forced 10 turnovers in just the first quarter, turning that into 13 points for the visitors.
The shooting struggles continued for Utah State as they finished out the first half shooting just 26 percent from the field (7-for-27). Boise State, however, would find their comfort from deep, going 5-for-10 from 3-point land. The Aggies would go into half time down 36-24.
Second half action seemed to swing into the Aggies favor, despite a close blocking foul called on junior Rachel Brewster.
“It’s those little plays that add up,” Finkbeiner said. “We chip away – down 12, down 10. Get it down to eight and then there’s always those plays that kind of get you.”
Utah State would string together a handful of buckets, but the closest they would get to Boise State would be 39-31 with more than six minutes left to play in the third quarter.
“It’s hard when you’re just trying to climb up,” said guard Victoria Price, who recorded a team-high 11 points.
The final ten minutes seemed like a formality as neither team seemed to push one another. Combined, the two rivals shot 4-for-26 from the field (USU shot 1-for-10). Utah State would score just three points in the last quarter, and their fate was sealed – a 64-42 buzzer-to-buzzer loss at home.
For his next game, Finkbeiner said he is going to start an “all-energy” lineup to try and combat his team’s first quarter struggles.
Utah State will play at Wyoming this Saturday and then in Colorado against Air force next Wednesday. They will return to the Spectrum January 27 to host Fresno State.