Aggie women lose at Nevada
Utah State picked up another loss on the season, as it fell 75-57 to the University of Nevada at the Lawlor Event Center in Reno.
Unable to hold back high scorers for the Wolf Pack, the Aggies stepped down to 6-14 on the season and 2-6 in the Western Athletic Conference after their opening game in a four-away game schedule.
Senior center Jenny Gross led the fight for victory with 13 points, along with senior guard Taylor Richard’s 12 points. Out-rebounded and out-scored, the Aggies also battled with foul trouble throughout the game.
“You’re thinking, ‘Got to get ahead, got to get ahead,'” Gross said in a post-game radio interview. “But we’d rather just start ahead than have to keep fighting like that.”
The Wolf Pack broke loose early, speeding past the Aggies at every attempt. But it was the end-of-game free throws that sealed the deal. Junior guard Dellena Criner banked 25 points for Nevada; she would be one of two players in double figures for the Wolf Pack.
Aggie head coach Raegan Pebley said she looks to the defense as a reason for this loss to Nevada. The team has been unable to keep the opposing team down to a low field-goal percentage, she said.
“Our defense is putting so much pressure on our offense,” Pebley said. “That makes it pretty difficult to win games when teams shoot 57 percent on you. We’ve got to be more solid defensively if we’re going to start getting some wins.”
Nevada maintained its energy to gain and keep the lead, completing the first half with a 35-23 advantage. From there, the team went on to complete its 57.1 field-goal percentage with junior forward Cherlanda Franklin’s 16 points and nine rebounds.
The Aggies battled back to within eight points during the second half, but the Wolf Pack pulled away and regained control.
“There was effort, and Utah State always plays hard, I think,” Pebley said. “It’s been very rare in my (time) here that I’ve seen our team not play hard, no matter what the situation is.”
Richards and fellow guard junior Danyelle Snelgro attempted to pull the team out of the slump, helping in any way possible to gain a win, Pebley said. Despite multiple good shots, the Aggies could not turn the offense into a victory.
Utah State finished off the loss with a 41.2 field-goal percentage, including 70.6 percent from the free-throw line.
“It’s not one on one, it’s five on five,” Pebley said. “And we’ve got four other defenders that should be helping. Our team defense is not solid enough. It’s not consistent enough right now. We’ve got to get better on it if we want to win some games.”
Utah State will stay on the road to face the University of Hawaii on Feb. 7. California will be the next stop as the team will face Fresno State University and San Jose State University. The Aggies will be back on home turf Feb. 21 as they host Nevada in the Spectrum.
-erin.wadsworth@aggiemail.usu.edu