Aggies to battle Vandals in frigid North
Utah State women’s basketball heads to Moscow, Idaho, this weekend to face the University of Idaho. The Aggies are 12-6 on the season and 3-1 in the Western Athletic Conference.
Aggie junior guard Devyn Christensen leads the WAC in scoring at 19 points per game. USU has four players averaging double digits in conference play with the inclusion of seniors Ashlee Brown (13.3), Brooke Jackson (12.3) and Maddy Plunkett (10.3).
“We learned some things from the Fresno game,” Christensen said. “We’ve had a deep team all year, and we have an identity. We are successful with our chemistry, and we find people when they are open.”
In the past three games, Christensen has scored at least 20 points, during wins over Nevada and Louisiana Tech and a loss to Fresno State.
The Aggies are ranked No.1 in the WAC in field-goal percentage at 52.6 percent and No. 2 in free-throw percentage at 73 percent, behind Hawaii at 73.2 percent. USU comes off of a 23-point win at home against Nevada in which the offense had six players score at least 10 points, and the defense held the Wolf Pack to 27.8 percent from the 3-point line.
Brown, the WAC Preseason Player of the year, is ranked No. 6 in the WAC in rebounding at 8 per game and No. 7 in assists with 3 per game. She went 6 of 7 from the free-throw line in the Nevada game and scored 12 points in 25 minutes of action.
“I like the balance in our scoring,” head coach Raegan Pebley said. “It is going to help us as conference play continues. When we play great defense, it equates to high-percentage offense.”
Idaho is 5-15 on the year and 0-4 in WAC play and has lost each of its past seven games.
Sophomore Alyssa Charlston is tied for sixth in the WAC with an average of 15 points per game and third at 11 rebounds per game.
In a loss to Nevada on Jan. 23, Charlston finished with 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field.
The Vandals are currently last in the WAC and ranked seventh in field-goal percentage at 35.3 percent. But they are No. 1 in blocks with 6.8 per game and No. 3 in scoring field-goal percentage defense at 38.2 percent.
In a loss against Fresno State, freshman Krissy Karr finished with 11 points and six assists for the Vandals. Karr is ranked No. 6 in the WAC at 3.3 assists per game and fourth in free-throw percentage at 84.6 percent.
– curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail.usu.edu