Aggie women win at Colorado State for first time since 1980

The Aggies picked up a road win Saturday when they traveled to Fort Collins, beating the Rams, who entered the game 7-8, in Colorado for the first time since 1980, 72-53. With the win, USU moves to 5-1 against Mountain West opponents and 10-7 overall.

Utah State’s Hailey Bassett and Shannon Dufficy scored 18 and 14 points respectively, and each grabbed 12 rebounds. The game marked Dufficy’s seventh straight double-double. Teammate Eliza West added a game-high seven assists.

“I finally got that double-double!” Bassett said. “We really blew it away today.”

The Aggies led early in the first, 8-2, but then surrendered the advantage to a seven-point CSU run, the score 9-8 with 3:45 remaining. Utah State recaptured their momentum, however, and finished the quarter 17-11 with the final points of the period coming off an Eliza West three point jumper.

The game got out of hand for the Rams in the second, and what was a two-possession competition going into the quarter quickly became anything but, as back-to-back Emmie Harris three’s widened the margin to 33-19 with a little under half of the quarter remaining. The period ended with the Aggies on top, 45-23, after outscoring CSU 28-12 in the quarter.

“We had a super second quarter,” said USU head coach Jerry Finkbeiner.

The teams traded baskets throughout the third, and the margin beginning the quarter was unchanged at its conclusion, both teams scoring 14 points before the period ended, leaving the score 59-37.

The fourth featured more of the same, and the game remained out of reach for Colorado State, ending 72-53.

Utah State continued their hot shooting from last game against San Jose State with 50 percent shooting from the field and over 40 percent from three against the Rams. They also dominated CSU on the glass, grabbing 25 more rebounds than Colorado State and finishing with 45 on the day. Fifteen offensive rebounds led to 18 second-chance points as well.

“We just played with a lot of confidence, and we kind of set a standard for ourselves here as of late. Now, can we live up to it?” said Finkbeiner.

The Rams will have a chance to even up the season series on March 4th in the Spectrum in what will be the Aggies’ last regular season game. In the meantime, Utah State looks forward to returning to Logan to face New Mexico next Saturday at 2:00 p.m.