Aggies stay hot, beat SDSU on the road

The Utah State women’s basketball team used strong first and fourth quarters to beat San Diego State on the road on Wednesday, 65-52.

What looked to be a sure Aggie win after a lopsided 19-6 first quarter developed into a competitive contest after poor shooting in periods two and three from Utah State allowed the Aztecs to fight their way back into the game.

USU shot 50 percent from the field in the first period on 18 shots, 11 more than SDSU. The Aggies also benefited from six Aztec turnovers in the quarter.

“When everybody is on the same page, it’s just so much easier” said USU junior guard Eliza West.

Utah State made just four shots in the second period and scored ten points to San Diego State’s 15.

“We started off so well tonight and then we just got kind of gun-shy, really gun-shy, nobody wanted to shoot it, and nobody wanted to make the big play defensively,” said USU head coach Jerry Finkbeiner.

The third was much like the second, USU scoring 12 points to the Aztec’s 15, and SDSU entered the fourth quarter down by only five

USU’s offense bounced back in the fourth, though, and after struggling for most of the game, going 0-7 from the field in the first three quarters, Steph Gorman hit two threes late in the fourth period which helped extend USU’s lead and seal the game for Utah State, 65-52.

“She comes back in and hits two nice three-point shot swishes,” Finkbeiner said. “Big shots, big shots.”

West had 11 of the Aggies’ 21 total assists on 25 made Aggie baskets with Hailey Bassett adding 19 points for USU.

“It took Steph Gorman and Hailey Bassett to really bring us around in that third and fourth quarter and finish the game out,” Finkbeiner said.

The victory puts the Aggies at 13-14 overall and 8-8 in Mountain West Conference play. USU will play Nevada on the road next on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

“I’m a little bit disappointed with the totality [of the game],” Finkbeiner said, “but in the end, a win is a win, especially at this time of the year.