USU women’s basketball falls to LMU 45-70 for its first loss of the season

The Utah State University women’s basketball team fell 45-70 to Loyola Marymount University Friday afternoon at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Turnovers and offensive rebounds became a problem for the Aggies, bringing USU’s overall record to 1-1 to start the season.  

“Obviously not the result we wanted; we did not play to our identity,” head coach Wesley Brooks said. “We cannot give up 17 offensive rebounds and turn the ball over 31 times and expect to win a basketball game.”  

Brooks said he has to find out how he can connect his team better and how to get them motivated.  

“We’re not playing good basketball right now, and I’ve got to figure out why,” Brooks said. “It’s disappointing; Utah State deserves better.” 

USU opened the game with a two-point lead; however, LMU caught up quickly and controlled the scoreboard for the rest of the game. 

“I told our girls, we’ve got to play better, and we’ve got to be better,” Brooks said. 

Brook continued to say that LMU is a good team.  

“Aarika does a good job, but that’s really disappointing about how that went today,” Brooks said.  

Part of the loss occurred due to the turnover battle. USU had a total of 31 turnovers. LMU turned around and profited off those turnovers, getting a total of 20 points.  

“They sped us up, and we did not respond to it. I have to help us create better habits because at the end of the day your habits are good when they can hold up against adversity,” Brooks said. “Obviously I’ve got to put a little bit more adversity in practice so our habits can hold up because they did not hold up today.”   

Although the Aggies won the rebounding battle 39-33, that win came with giving up 17 offensive rebounds. This marks the first time the team has won the rebound battle while giving up that many offensive rebounds. 

“You rarely see teams give up 17 offensive rebounds and you win the rebound battle,” Brooks said. “I think that’s a credit to Sami and Nicole, though; they rebound the ball well for us.”  

Sophomore center Sami Mancini and freshman forward Nicole Ogun both put eight points on the scoreboard. Mancini also recorded a total of nine rebounds, two steals and an assist. Ogun recorded eight rebounds as well as a block and a steal.  

Another standout player was senior guard Kylani Rookstool. She was the team’s top scorer, putting nine points on the board. She also recorded three rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal. Rookstool also scored the Aggies’ only three-pointer, despite a team total of 14 attempts.  

“I can’t say enough good things about Kylani,” Brooks said. “She works hard, she gets in the gym, does everything she’s supposed to do. She’s a leader on our team.”  

Besides the rebounding win, the Aggies also shot 43.5 percent, holding the Lions to 40.3 percent,  tied for 38 points scored from the paint and shot 66.7 percent in free throws compared to LMU’s 50 percent. 

“Obviously we have some people who are doing some good things, obviously the talent is there, but honestly I’m not meshing the talent well, and that’s on me,” Brooks said.  

USU’s next game is on the road against the University of Southern California Sunday night. 

“We’ll continue to improve,” Brooks said. “We’ll look at the film and see how we can be a better basketball team.”