Aggie women keep hold on third place with 72-61 win
Thursday night, with pink shirts and sleeves in abundance, the Utah State women’s basketball team took on New Mexico State in a battle of the Aggies in a Pink Zone Game in the Spectrum. Led by their front court tandem of junior Ashlee Brown and sophomore Banna Diop, the Utah State Aggies prevailed, winning by a score of 72-61.
“This time of year you just are dying for a win,” said head coach Raegan Pebley. “Every team is going to be hard to beat. I think we’re hard to beat and New Mexico State is hard to beat, so it’s going to be a grind and a battle and I’m proud of our team.”
The hometown Aggies got off to a fast start as Brown scored six of her 21 points in the first two minutes and Utah State jumped out to an early 8-2 lead. The quick start was short-lived however, as the early going featured a frenetic pace with plenty of missed shots and turnovers on both sides. USU, though, held a 16-8 lead midway through the first half, mainly because of their defense which held NMSU scoreless for more than five minutes.
“Defensively, staying aggressive is a big key,” Brown said. “They’re a good team and their offense really affects our defense, but we just stayed aggressive and came out on top.”
After the early struggles, Utah State finally found a rhythm, and with five minutes to go in the half they had a commanding 30-13 lead, mainly due to excellent ball movement and passing. The Aggies finished the game with 23 assists on 25 made baskets, and 11 of those came in the first half.
“Sharing the ball is a big key to this game and we did that,” Brown said, who had a career high eight assists. “When we share the ball, a lot of good things happen.”
Despite being down, though, New Mexico State wasn’t about to give up as they went on a quick 8-0 run to cut the lead back to single digits. After some back and forth action, the first half ended with New Mexico State getting a lay-up at the buzzer, but the hometown Aggies still held a 36-25 lead.
USU came out strong in the second half, going on a 5-0 run and pushing their lead to 16 in the first few minutes. New Mexico State quickly responded though, and for the next several minutes the game went back and forth as both teams traded baskets.
“Overall the whole team played well and prepared themselves well this week,” Pebley said. “When we can establish an inside presence and share the ball offensively, we’re giving ourselves a good chance.”
The half continued and so did the Aggies’ comfortable lead. USU maintained a double-digit lead for the entire second half, as well as never trailing for the entire game. The Aggies from New Mexico tried several times to mount a comeback, but were unable to do so as Utah State always responded with a big play. Diop’s 3-point play with four minutes to go gave the Aggies their largest lead of the night at 20, as they cruised to the win.
“We knew that to get this win we had to work and our team,” said senior guard Alice Coddington, who had a game high 11 rebounds. “I think we really put in the effort tonight to work defensively and when we work defensively that what’s gives us these wins.”
The Aggies now have only one home game remaining; a match-up with WAC-leading Louisiana Tech on Saturday, which will also be senior day. It will be a farewell to four seniors on the USU squad; Alice Coddington, Amber White, Stacey Howard, and LaCale Pringle-Buchanan, who will be playing their last game in the Spectrum.
“It will be mixed emotions,” Coddington said. “My last game in the Spectrum will be sad, but I’m also really excited at the same time.”
– mark.israelsen@aggiemail.usu.edu