Ags fall apart against UCSB
Utah State head coach Raegan Pebley said the Aggies “just fell apart” after 30 minutes of well-played basketball, losing 67-59 to UC Santa Barbara Saturday afternoon in the Spectrum.
After giving up a couple easy baskets to start the game Utah State went on an 8-0 run to make it 16-12 thanks to two Brittany Hagen 3-pointers.
From that point on, the Aggies and Gauchos traded baskets. The Aggies’ biggest lead was seven points a little before halftime.
Free throws were key to the Aggies’ first half lead as they made 12 of 13, outscoring the Gauchos from the line by 11.
Halfway through the second half the Gauchos took a 47-46 lead with 12 minutes to play. From then on the Aggies were outscored 20-13.
“They definitely stepped up their defense at the end,” Aggie Jessica Freeman said. “They really played hard defense, there were times when I couldn’t find any of my teammates open.”
Combined with the tough second half defense Utah State didn’t have a good flow to their offense, turning the ball over 10 times.
“No one wanted to make a mistake,” Hagen said. “So we played a lot tighter.”
While two Gauchos had four fouls each, the Aggies didn’t shoot a free throw in the last eight minutes of the game.
The Gauchos’ inside presence dominated their scoring. In the first half, only two shots were made outside the lane. This helped Santa Barbara shoot 53 percent in the half and 45.6 percent overall, while the Aggies shot 31 percent for the game.
Mia Fisher, the Gauchos second-leading scorer, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with eight points. The Gauchos starting forwards Kristen Mann and Autumn Nichols both finished with 21 points each and 17 rebounds among the two of them.
“They were out-physicalling us,” Freeman said. “Those girls are strong, not just physical but strong. You can tell by their arms.”
But when it came down to crunch time the Aggies said they just didn’t make their shots.
“When you’re focused on winning you hit those [shots],” Pebley said.
“At the end it was ours to take,” Freeman said. “We just weren’t finishing shots.”
Ali Aird missed two close shots in the final minutes of the game and the Aggies went scoreless for two of the last three minutes, including a shot clock violation. During that time the Gauchos pulled away extending their lead from three to eight.
Even with the disappointing loss Freeman said she was looking forward to playing on the road and getting back on the winning track.
The Aggies would have had a good chance to get the second seed in the conference tournament with a win Saturday. The Aggies will now play on the road against CS Northridge and Pacific.
-krn@cc.usu.edu