Aggies take down Cowgirls, improve to 3-1 in conference play
In its home matchup against Wyoming this season, the Utah State women’s basketball team defended the Spectrum and won its third Mountain West Conference game on Saturday afternoon, beating the Cowgirls 50-42.
Wyoming entered the game 9-3, and leading the nation in three-point shooting percentage and fewest turnovers per game. USU is now 8-7 overall and 3-1 in conference play.
Following her 14 point, 15 rebound performance against Fresno State, USU junior forward Shannon Dufficy continued rolling with another double-double, increasing her scoring output to 24 and adding 14 rebounds against Wyoming. The game marks her ninth double-double of the season, and she now has a double-double in each of the Aggies’ first four games against MW opponents.
“Shannon Dufficy had another monster game,” said USU head coach Jerry Finkbeiner, who had high praise for his star. “Right now she might be the best player in the league.”
Trailing after the first quarter 11-6, USU responded in a huge way in the second. The latter part of the half began with a seven-point run by the Aggies, and they finished the quarter leading by five, up 22-17.
A Wyoming three by senior guard Marta Gomez tied the score at 26 with 4:44 left in the third, however, and the rest of the quarter was tightly contested. The game was deadlocked at 34 entering the final period.
Utah State won by virtue of another strong finish to a half, and they held the Cowgirls scoreless for over six minutes of the fourth quarter. By the time Wyoming got on the board in the fourth, USU was leading 40-34, and they never ceded their advantage, winning the game by eight.
“This is a big win,” Finkbeiner said. “This is the first big win we’ve had this year.”
Utah State had eight blocks–four by junior forward Hailey Bassett-Meacham–as well as nine steals. The Aggies also outshot the Cowgirls from the field and both the three and free throw lines. USU held Wyoming to 32.7% shooting from the floor, under 20% from three, and 54.5% from the charity stripe.
“We had a great defensive effort,” Finkbeiner said. “We played pretty good defense, pretty good offense for 39 minutes.”
The Aggies stay at home Wednesday when they face the San Jose State Spartans at 11 a.m. before heading to Fort Collins, Colo., to face Colorado State next Saturday.