Aggie women on top of WAC
Senior guard Brooke Jackson scored 18 points as the Utah State women’s basketball team topped New Mexico State University 74-56 on Thursday.
“Brooke values her role,” head coach Raegan Pebley said. “She brings a great scoring mentality, and she’s improved immensely defensively.”
The battle of the Aggies opened Western Athletic Conference play for both schools, but neither team was able to establish any momentum early on. NMSU’s largest lead of the game was by two points, as the teams traded baskets during the first 10 minutes, and USU led by no more than three.
Utah State held a 16-15 advantage before it blew the game open with a 15-4 run over a span of four minutes. Senior forward Maddy Plunkett, who finished with 13 points, led the surge with eight points during the stretch, and the defense held New Mexico to four points, all of which came in a span of 30 seconds during the four-minute burst.
“The defense was very strong,” Pebley said. “That’s what won us the game. It helped get us some great open looks in transition, and we disrupted what they were trying to do offensively.”
Coming off the bench, Jackson gave USU its largest lead of the half on her only field goal of the half — a 3-pointer made with six seconds remaining before the break — at 40-26. The transfer from Arizona finished with five points on 1-of-3 shooting and was 2-2 from the free-throw line.
Then the floodgates opened.
Jackson didn’t miss a shot in the second half, hitting all six field goals, including a 3-pointer that put Utah State up by 17 with three minutes remaining. The lead increased to 20 before a New Mexico State basket pulled the final margin to 18.
Jackson was one of four USU players in double digits in scoring. Senior forward Ashlee Brown added 15 points and junior guard Devyn Christensen chipped in 12. Utah State finished the game shooting 44 percent, despite converting on 18.2 percent of its 3-point attempts.
“We didn’t start off the game very well,” Pebley said. “But we got a lot of contribution, and the focus of our team was sharp.”
New Mexico State was led by Jasmine Rutledge and Kelsie Rozendaal, who each finished with 12 points.
USU improves to 10-5 with the win and 1-0 in WAC play. NMSU falls to 3-13 on the season, including 0-1 in conference.
Up next for the Aggies is Louisiana Tech, a team they were winless against last season. The Lady Techsters came away with a 17-point win in Louisiana and then posted an eight-point win in Utah State’s final home game of the season. Louisiana Tech is led by seniors Jasmine Bendolph at 11.3 points per game and Shantale Donaldson at 10.0 points per game.
Louisiana Tech holds a 8-8 record and will host the Aggies Saturday, Jan. 14. The Lady Techsters have won six of their past eight games, and this will be their fourth-straight home game.
Louisiana Tech leads the WAC in several statistical categories, including field goal percentage at 43.0 percent and 3-point field goal percentage, hitting 36.4 percent from beyond the arc. The Lady Techsters also rank second in 3-point field goal defense at 27.8 percent and are third in the conference in scoring margin, despite a being outscored by an average of minus 0.6 percent.
“(Louisiana Tech) is really good at home,” Pebley said. “We need to bring another really good defensive effort on Saturday.
– curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail.usu.edu