Aggie women keep road momentum going strong at NAU
Any coach will tell you it is hard to win on the road. With their 80-75 overtime win against Northern Arizona, the Aggies have accomplished that feat in each of their last three opportunities.
After being down by as much as 12 in the second half, USU used defense and rebounding to force their way back into the game and get to within one with 14 seconds left in regulation. A steal and subsequent layup by Lumberjack guard Amy Patton put Utah State down by three points with just five seconds remaining. After a timeout, sophomore guard Devyn Christensen hit a 3-pointer to send the game into overtime.
Aggie head coach Raegan Pebley said Christensen’s trey had great impact on the game.
“She just came off a play we practice for special situations just like that,” Pebley said. “She was really aware of the time and ended up with space. She can hit deep threes.”
During overtime, the Lumberjacks jumped out to an early lead with a couple of field goals to go up 74-70 in the first 1:15 of overtime.
“(NAU) scored off of our turnovers in the first few minutes of the second half,” Pebley said. “They’d go on runs where they get like a 5-0 run and we were able to turn them over and go on a run ourselves. It felt like a game of runs.”
Freshman guard Jennifer Schlott got things going for the Aggies with a steal and a layup to cut the lead back to two points with three minutes remaining.
Utah State took its first lead in overtime two minutes later when Christensen made a layup to put the Aggies up by two. From there, Utah State was able to ice the game from the foul line.
“I think in general just our confidence that we can still score and get stops,” Pebley said of how her team managed the win. “We were able to follow through. We shot free throws and rebounded.”
Junior forward Ashlee Brown had a double-double and led all scorers with 26 points and 10 rebounds. She also had five of the final eight points in the game.
“A lot (of her points) came off foul shots hitting big free throws,” Pebley said. “That was a great effort on her part.”
USU went 15-24 from the charity stripe in the game, compared to NAU’s 11-21. During overtime, the Aggies hit 6-8 to the Lumberjacks’ 1-6.
Schlott had a career high with 13 points. The 5-foot-6 true freshman from Mesa, Ariz. added three steals, three rebounds and an assist.
“Jenn Schlott had her career high in like 15 minutes,” Pebley said. “We had big threes hit by guards off the bench.”
Schlott and Christensen combined to hit five 3-pointers, playing an average of 19 minutes of the game between the two.
Patton, who came into the game as NAU’s leading scorer, was held to 14 as Utah State forced the Lumberjacks to spread the ball around to their other players.
“Our kids believed,” Pebley said. “We knew with the type of offense and personnel they have that they were going to get quick shots no matter what.”
Pebley said the game definitely came down to who could rebound best. USU has won the battle of the boards for the second straight game, outrebounding the Lumberjacks 46-41, including 9-6 during the overtime.
“If you want to win on the road you have to rebound,” Pebley said. “It was an absolute grind. As a coach, you would love to have a game like this in the preseason to give your team confidence and experience for when you head into conference play.”
Utah State will begin a four-game homestand beginning with the University of San Francisco on Wednesday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m.
– tavin.stucki@aggiemail.usu.edu