USU WBB: Aggies brawl then fall to Wolf Pack

LOGAN — Utah State Women’s Basketball fought hard and outscored the Wolf Pack 46-24 in the second half but fell short by five points on Saturday in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The aggressive game ended 68-63 for Nevada, but the Aggies thought their effort was promising. 

“Today was a demonstration that we can do it — that we can win a game,” guard Maria Carvalho said. 

The Aggies started the game with the first two points. Nevada responded with an 11-point run, including multiple three-pointers, in the first three minutes of the game. Turnovers, fouls and missed shots left the score 25-7 at the end of the first quarter. 

Guard Isabella Tanedo started the second quarter with a 3-pointer, quickly followed by a three from Nevada and another from guard Olivia Wikstrom. 

Several fouls called on both teams left fans in an uproar. The aggressiveness was seen in the first half foul stats with 10 for USU and 12 for Nevada. 

USU left for the locker room at the half down 44-17.

The Aggies came into the second half ready to play as guard Tamiah Robinson made her first 3-pointer. Carvalho said the team finally got going after a slow start to the game and the day as well. 

“We finally woke up,” Carvalho said. “It all started with the shoot-around that wasn’t the greatest. We’ve been losing a lot of games, we can’t just go to shoot around and relax and pretend like everything is fine. We have to bring the energy every single time.”

The full-court press put on by USU led to an 11-point scoring run. Robinson scored two more three-pointers and the third quarter ended in favor of Nevas 54-35.

Twisted arms led to USU forward Ashya Klopfenstein and Nevada guard Audrey Roden on the ground in a fight. 

Fight at the Spectrum: The Aggies' Ashya Klopfenstein has been ejected as well as Nevada's leading scorer Audrey Roden and Lexie Givens. pic.twitter.com/gvfTT3puEQ

— The Statesman Sports Desk (@StatesmanSports) February 4, 2023

 Both teams surrounded the players and after a 10-minute official review, Klopfenstein, Roden, and Nevada’s Lexie Givens were ejected from the game. The crowd cheered as Klopfenstein waved goodbye.

“I’m actually surprised that more of us didn’t get kicked out,” Carvalho said. “We love her and that just brought the energy. It brought us more together and made us want to win more.”

USU head coach Kayla Ard was proud of her players for defending one another. The energy changed in The Spectrum after the fight. USU was ready to fight back.

“This team loves each other and cares about each other so to them, that was them defending Klopfenstein and really stepping up,” Ard said. “I would love for us to do that prior to the scuffle. Second half we were a really good basketball team so if we could do that for 40 minutes I think we could be a really good basketball team.”

The ejection of Nevada’s leading scorer and solid defender, Roden, proved beneficial to the Aggies as they went on to score 28 points in the fourth quarter.

Carvalho had new energy in the second half scoring 14 points. Her 3-pointer, layup, free throw, and a steal for another layup within the same few minutes gave the crowd new energy as well.

With just 37 seconds left, it was a three-point game. The ball continued to go back and forth. The Aggies outscored Nevada in the second half but fell short by just five points in the end, losing 68-63.

“We’ve had a lot of up and downs. It’s hard when you’re losing a lot of games to still stick together,” Carvalho said. “But we know that if we do it individually we’re not going to get anywhere. Today having a really close game — it brings us more together and gives us more energy…to hopefully get a win.”

Ard remained proud of the effort, especially considering the team’s circumstances.  

“We got low numbers, we got a ton of injuries, short on bodies and they won’t quit. They won’t give up,” she said. “It’s not coming in wins, I wish it was. But I’ll take this group of kids and go to battle with them anytime.”

With the loss, Utah State falls to 4-19 on the season and 1-11 in Mountain West play. The Aggies return to the court on Thursday when they visit Wyoming at 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Aggie Radio 92.3 FM. 

Featured image by Phil Weber.