Ag women lose third straight
Losing to the Montana State University Bobcats took Aggie women’s basketball to 2-5 for their season.
Concluding the game with a 71-53 score, the Aggies went down fast in the first half. Montana’s lead swelled quickly as they dominated over USU 11-2 until junior guard Jamelah Brown hit a jumper to take USU to 11-4 with 13:43 left to play in the opening half.
The Aggie field goal percentage was 33.9 percent, above the 32.1 percent the Bobcats hit on the court. Sophomore guard Danyelle Snelgro hit 16 points in the game along with 4 steals, tying her career high. Sophomore forward Lindsey Freeze offered 10 baskets to the team effort, and the two sophomores were the only team players to hit double figures.
“We’re just not throwing the first punch,” Freeze said in a post game radio interview. “The other team is getting out 10, 15 points ahead of us, and that just creates an uphill battle for the rest of the game, and it’s hard to fight back from that.”
Free throws made the game. Montana State out-shot the Aggies by 19 at the line. Senior center Whitney Connolly hit 12-15 free throws, most of her 16 points in the game for the Bobcats.
As the Aggies continued to fight through the second quarter, they could not gain the lead; halftime was called with a score of 31-24 in favor of Montana. Freeze brought USU within 5 with her back-to-back shooting as the second half started, but the Aggies would never have the chance to reach that point again in the game.
“Defensively, we can contain,” Assistant Coach Kristy Flores said, “but more than anything, it’s caused by our lack of ability to score right now. It’s putting a lot of pressure on our defense.”
Montana State’s Head Coach Tricia Binford is a former assistant coach for Head Coach Raegan Pebley and the Aggies. This match up brings play against the Bobcats to 2-7.
Offensive play for the Aggies will be focused on during future practices as the players are not paying attention to their options on the floor. Flores said. They rely too much on their teammates to put up the basket. With this being the third loss in a row for the Aggies, they will take their 11-day break to go back to the drawing board on offense and defense, she said.
“We need to toughen up on the road,” Flores said. “A big key for our team in its development in this program is being able to play the way we do at home on the road, and we’ll be fine if we can do that.”
After a few days off, the women will head to Laramie, Wyo., to face Coach Joe Legerski and the University of Wyoming Cowgirls. A loss to the University of Montana on Nov. 30 took Wyoming to 6-2 in their season.
Wyoming will conclude a five-game travel schedule for the Aggies. The Aggies will then return home on Dec. 20 to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum to play against the University of Portland.
– eawads@cc.usu.edu