Aggie women defeat Nevada in double overtime thriller

The Utah State women’s basketball team kicked off Mountain West play with an exhilarating 79-76 double overtime win over Nevada, junior guard Olivia West led the Aggies with 22 points.

USU started strong in the first half, using a 12-4 run in the second quarter to take a 31-22 lead into the locker room. Senior guard Rachel Brewster led the charge for the Aggies with nine points in the first half on a perfect 4-4 shooting.

Utah State seemed to have the game in hand, leading the Wolf Pack 50-41 entering the fourth quarter, before an 8-0 Nevada run closed the gap and forced overtime. West and junior forward Shannon Dufficy took over for Utah State in the extra periods, scoring 17 of USU’s 19 points in the two overtimes, including four free throws from West in the final seconds to ice the victory for the Aggies.

Dufficy ended the game with 20 points and 13 rebounds to tally her sixth double-double of the season. Brewster ended with 13 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists, while junior forward Hailey Bassett-Meachem was the final Aggie in double figures with 12 points.

Senior forward Terae Briggs led Nevada with a career-high 30 points on 8-16 shooting, plus 12 rebounds. Jade Redmon and Essence Booker each finished with 11 points for the Wolf Pack.

The win was the Aggies’ fourth in five games, and pushes USU to 6-6 on the season and 1-0 in conference play. The Aggies will look to maintain their momentum on Saturday as they travel to take on Air Force. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. and can be heard on aggieradio.com.