<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>Paige Cavaness, Author at The Utah Statesman</title> <atom:link href="https://usustatesman.com/author/ususportspaige/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://usustatesman.com/author/ususportspaige/</link> <description>USU's Student Newspaper</description> <lastBuildDate>Wed, 12 Apr 2017 21:28:56 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2</generator> <image> <url>https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/cropped-screen-shot-2017-10-19-at-4.33.29-pm-32x32.png</url> <title>Paige Cavaness, Author at The Utah Statesman</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/author/ususportspaige/</link> <width>32</width> <height>32</height> </image> <item> <title>Senior sendoff: Saying goodbye to ‘Toina</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/senior-sendoff-saying-goodbye-toina/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Paige Cavaness]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 12 Apr 2017 21:28:24 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Women's Basketball]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22013104</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Antoina Robinson — one of two graduating seniors from the Utah State women’s basketball team — has made leadership, passion…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/senior-sendoff-saying-goodbye-toina/">Senior sendoff: Saying goodbye to ‘Toina</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Antoina Robinson — one of two graduating seniors from the Utah State women’s basketball team — has made leadership, passion and encouragement a part of her college career.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Growing up in a family of athletes, Robinson always wanted to become a college athlete, but up until she was in middle school she thought track would be the sport to take her there.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Thanks to the influence of her older brother and his high school basketball career, she decided to start playing basketball and found success on a team in her hometown she said she was fortunate to be a part of.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But it wasn’t always easy for Robinson to find the playing time she wanted. It was times like these that led her to find strength in her mother’s advice. Advice that she later would realize made her into the leader she is today.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“My mom would tell me, ‘You can’t dwell in the past.’ She still tells me that to this day,” Robinson said of her mother. “She would say, ‘You have to keep your faith and everything will work out.’”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It wasn’t only her mother’s words but her sacrifice and hard work, along with that of her brother and father that motivated Robinson to persevere through struggles in high school and past that.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“My brother had a job, he was playing sports and he was in high school and he helped us around when my mom had to work,” Robinson said. “To me, they’re the toughest people I know. I’ve never had a job in my life, I just played sports and they did whatever they could to get me to practice, to help me with homework, staying up long nights. I love them so much for their support.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When she saw difficulties into her college basketball career, Robinson held to the advice of her mother and made it a goal to be an encouraging leader wherever she was.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“My mom always told me not to be a follower, I know I have to learn some things along the way, but I always have wanted to be a great leader,” she said. “I’m a little aggressive, I feel like I’m maybe too aggressive sometimes but I’m passionate about what I do, no matter what I’m doing. I try to bring that to everything I do, that’s helped me out in being a leader.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Robinson attended three different colleges in her first three years after high school, while working on development as an athlete and a leader. Ending up in Logan was not only a change of scenery for the Texas native, but also a change of perspective.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As one of four African American teammates, only 254 African American students at USU and a member of one of the least attended teams at the university, Robinson has dealt with being a minority in a variety of ways.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I could have moved back to Texas and stuck with the same old, all-black school and that, but being here has helped me grow as a person — especially as a minority here,” she said. “I loved the change of scenery, and being a minority. It was hard at first, but I have people here that supported me, and mentally I had to stay tough.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Angelica De Paulo, the Aggie’s other graduating senior is one of those people that was always there for Robinson.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The two met back at New Mexico Junior College, while De Paulo was in her sophomore year and Robinson was new to the program. Robinson said the help she received from her Brazilian teammate was what led her to work hard at NMJC and learn the skills that brought her to Utah State.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After De Paulo joined Robinson in Logan, their careers took very different turns. But their friendship remained unharmed even though Robinson saw the court far more than De Paulo.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Jelly and I have had some rough times together — she had her downfalls, I had mine” Robinson said, “but we try to keep encouraging each other. Jelly’s a Christian, I’m a Christian, so we try to keep God in our life and speak the word to each other and bring each other up.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The two remembered staying late after practice in New Mexico to work on Robinson’s dunking skills — which time payed off big time when Robinson threw down a dunk against conference opponent UNLV a week before tournament play.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I was so happy when she dunked it,” De Paulo said. “I wanted to go out onto the court to hug her but I had to stay at the bench and that was hard.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Aggies ended the season with the most home wins and overall wins ever in program history, finishing off a season of growth for everyone.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As one of only two upperclassmen on a sophomore and freshman-dominated team, Robinson has grown as a leader striving to help her younger teammates.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“At the beginning of the season, it was a little frustrating having a young team that has to learn the plays and all that,” Robinson said. “But I was telling myself I had to be patient, I remembered when I was a freshman I didn’t get it as well. I told myself to be patient and just encourage and encourage them. That’s the biggest thing coming into a Division I college is having encouragement from your teammates. Bringing that confidence to such young players was my biggest goal.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Encouragement for her teammates is not all she brought to Utah State. Cadi Sande and Jasmine Lee from the Black Student Union are known for their diligent attendance at Aggie women’s basketball games and say that their fandom is a result of Robinson’s support for their organization.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Being with women’s basketball, I know we don’t get as much support as men’s sports and stuff like that,” she said. “So I think it’s important — especially for women’s teams — to just show support and let your fellow student-athletes know you’re there for them. I know I want support from my fellow student-athletes on campus and my classmates, so if I don’t do it I can’t expect them to do it. I think that’s very important.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Robinson lives by a motto of encouragement that she will take with her past this last season of college basketball and leave her legacy with the university.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Sometimes it’s hard to be positive because some things happen in life,” she said. “But I try to bring my teammates up because it’s not about me, it’s about the people around me.”</span></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/senior-sendoff-saying-goodbye-toina/">Senior sendoff: Saying goodbye to ‘Toina</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>USU volleyball set for three spring tournaments</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/usu-volleyball-set-three-spring-tournaments/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Paige Cavaness]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sat, 01 Apr 2017 00:10:46 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Volleyball]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22012813</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Utah State’s volleyball team will see competition in three tournaments this spring. The team will start up on April 1…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/usu-volleyball-set-three-spring-tournaments/">USU volleyball set for three spring tournaments</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Utah State’s volleyball team will see competition in three tournaments this spring. The team will start up on April 1 at the University of Utah for a small two-pool tournament with a total of eight teams. The next weekend the team will travel to Orem for a tournament at Utah Valley University that will be similar to the first at Utah.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Then the team will welcome Dixie State University, Salt Lake Community College and Weber State to the Wayne Estes Center on Saturday, April 15 for a four to five match tournament.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We’ve always gone to Utah, we’ve always gone to Utah Valley just over the course of the years,” DuBose said. “Then we’ve brought in a team here in the past, just to get some competition going but to try different things. But this year we decided to have a little tournament.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">DuBose said the tournament was easy to organize after Dixie State reached out to him and he was then able to contact a long-time friend, the head coach at Weber State. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The spring tournaments will act as a sort of checkpoint for DuBose and his team, showing them just how much what they’ve been working on has improved through the first part of the offeason.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We need to be a better blocking team,” DuBose said. “Our offense was pretty good last year, but we need to block more balls. We’re also trying to figure out if we can kill more first ball opportunities.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">DuBose said there are currently nine healthy women on the team that practice with DuBose and those numbers don’t suffice for a real scrimmage or competition. These tournaments will allow him a chance to see if what they’ve been practicing measures up to other teams.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The team will be playing for the first time in four years without graduating </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">seniors </span><a href="http://www.utahstateaggies.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/kaylie_kamalu_smith_830335.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kaylie Kamalu-Smith</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="http://www.utahstateaggies.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/erica_moscoso_830337.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Erica Moscoso</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="http://www.utahstateaggies.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/maddie_day_larsen_845049.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Maddie Day-Larsen</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><a href="http://www.utahstateaggies.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/hannah_gleason_845052.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hannah Gleaso</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">n which will open up some big spots on the back row, outside hitter and setter. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, Lauren Andersen, who led the team in kills last season at 377 will return, along with the team’s top blockers — Carly Lenzen and Lauren O’Brien.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It’s a fun opportunity,” DuBose said. “Right now it’s super low-key, let’s not worry about conference standings or any of that stuff. Let’s just go compete and see if we got any better.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The tournament will be in Logan on April 15 and admission is free to the public.</span></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/usu-volleyball-set-three-spring-tournaments/">USU volleyball set for three spring tournaments</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>All in the family: Meet father and son coaches Jerry and Ben Finkbeiner</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/family-meet-father-son-coaches-jerry-ben-finkbeiner/</link> <comments>https://usustatesman.com/family-meet-father-son-coaches-jerry-ben-finkbeiner/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Paige Cavaness]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 23 Mar 2017 19:33:20 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Women's Basketball]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22012668</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Ben Finkbeiner was the coach’s kid. When Ben was in third grade, his father, Jerry, coached at Southern Nazarene University.…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/family-meet-father-son-coaches-jerry-ben-finkbeiner/">All in the family: Meet father and son coaches Jerry and Ben Finkbeiner</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ben Finkbeiner was the coach’s kid. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When Ben was in third grade, his father, Jerry, coached at Southern Nazarene University. As Jerry oversaw the Redskin’s practices, Ben would hang on his father’s pants pocket as the two marched around the court. He observed the schemes and the systems. The rotations and plays. The defensive and offensive gameplans.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When asked, and even when not, Ben would offer his own coaching advice from time to time.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“One of my earliest memories was at SNU,” Jerry Finkbeiner said. “He was pretty young, but he sat on the bench with me then. I remember there was a couple times during games when he would say, ‘Dad, that’s the wrong sub to make,’ or ‘You should run this play.’”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To this day, Ben still offers the same kind of advice, but now he does it as Jerry’s assistant coach at Utah State University.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Over the years, the two have grown accustomed to sharing the same sideline.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At Jerry’s third head-coaching stop — Oral Roberts University — the bench discussions that initially began in Ben’s childhood, proved to be crucial.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In Tulsa, Oklahoma, Ben had assumed the director of basketball operations position for the Golden Eagles’ women’s basketball team, the very same team his father now coached.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The two now sat on the same bench for Jerry’s first year at the Golden Eagles’ helm. In that year, the team made its first NCAA Tournament appearance in the school’s history.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After graduating from ORU in 2006, Ben went on to the University of Central Oklahoma to earn his master’s degree and work as a graduate assistant for the men’s basketball team there. He then joined the staff at the New Mexico Junior College women’s basketball team where he worked as an assistant coach. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Following his time at NMJC, he spent three seasons at conference opponent to USU, Boise State University. He coached several Broncos to postseason All-Mountain West honors while coaching there. When the job position opened up at Utah State under his father, Ben wasn’t in a position to look for a job, but realized an opportunity greater than a career move for both him and his family.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“There’s no doubt about it,” Ben Finkbeiner said. “I had a great thing going on at Boise State, but it was definitely an opportunity to have my boys here around grandparents and to be able to work with my dad.” </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That was 2014, just two years after Jerry was hired as head coach.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I really appreciate him leaving a really stable situation to come to a program that’s in building stages,” Jerry Finkbeiner said. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">John Hartwell, the athletics director of Utah State, sees a rare value in this father-son coaching combination</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“While family combinations don’t always work from a coaching perspective,” Hartwell said, “I think their relationship really brings an overall family feel to our women’s basketball program which I think is really helpful.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The two have found an interesting dynamic in working together, where they are learning from each other’s past coaching opportunities.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For Ben, his father’s temperament has rubbed off on him through the years, which is something he said is priceless.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Usually your coaching temperament can be set by who you learn from early in your career,” Ben said. “But long before I started my career mine was already set because I have observed him as a coach my whole life.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jerry has seen an equally influential difference in his coaching from his son.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I’m typically a zone guy,” Jerry said. “But I’ve sold out our zone and we’ve committed to man and that’s really a reflection of Ben’s ability to teach it.” </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Both of their adjustments seem to be working.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This past season marks the third year the father and son have coached together for Utah State. The team set a new record for most overall and home wins in school history. Jerry said the success they’ve witnessed was in large part due to recruitment — the function overseen by his son.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Aggies started the season with the youngest roster and starting lineup in the conference. It was comprised of the athletes recruited by Ben Finkbeiner. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“College coaching is all about talent around you, you can only coach-up so much,” Jerry said. “You’ve got to have kids who can make shots and make good decisions. So it’s a testament to the quality of recruiting that Ben has shown leadership in.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hartwell said it’s much more than just skill that Ben and the recruitment staff he oversees have brought to the program.</span></p> <p>“Ultimately coaches are judged on their wins and losses on the court,” Hartwell said. “But what they’ve been able to do in terms of the high character of young women they’ve recruited into this program is a reflection of the entire staff. I think they’re real assets, not just for Utah State athletics but for Cache Valley as well.”</p> <p>Between recruitment, individual games, practices and building up a winning program, both Finkbeiners find enough time for family.</p> <p>When they get together as a family, Jerry said it’s all about the kids. The conversation revolves around the grandkids — as long as the team is winning.</p> <p>One grandkid in particular — Ben’s oldest son — shows potential to continue to Finkbeiner coaching legacy through a fourth generation.</p> <p>“He’s kind of like I was as a kid,” Ben said. “He just loves to be at the basketball games and following me around the court.”</p> <p>Whether or not it will continue into a fourth generation, the time the Finkbeiners have together with the Aggie women’s basketball team is an opportunity of a lifetime, as respected coaches and family, one they’re happy to take while they still have the time.</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I’ve heard that when you’re on your deathbed you don’t wish you made more money, you wish you had spent more time with somebody,” Jerry said. “We both make a living that supports our family, but that’s the value of this living right now — between father and son.”</span></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/family-meet-father-son-coaches-jerry-ben-finkbeiner/">All in the family: Meet father and son coaches Jerry and Ben Finkbeiner</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://usustatesman.com/family-meet-father-son-coaches-jerry-ben-finkbeiner/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>2</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>USU track and field grabs three golds at MW indoor championships</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/usu-track-field-grabs-three-golds-mw-indoor-championships/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Paige Cavaness]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 28 Feb 2017 05:40:10 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Track and Field]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22012315</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Photo from USU Athletic Media Relations USU track and field grabs the gold three times at the Mountain West indoor…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/usu-track-field-grabs-three-golds-mw-indoor-championships/">USU track and field grabs three golds at MW indoor championships</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div> <div dir="ltr"> <div style="text-align: right;">Photo from USU Athletic Media Relations</div> <div style="text-align: left;">USU track and field grabs the gold three times at the Mountain West indoor championships last week in Albequerque, NM.</div> </div> </div> <div> <div dir="ltr"> <div style="text-align: left;">The first gold came from senior AJ Boully’s 46.48 time in the 400m race. That time also put him second in all-time school history.</div> <div style="text-align: left;">Boully continued the gold streak with Michael Bluth, Brady Martin and Joshua Gordon in the 4X400m relay.</div> <div style="text-align: left;">The third first place athlete was junior Clay Lambourne in the 800m. His gold in this event completed a three-peat and recorded the second of all time ranking in school history.</div> <div style="text-align: left;">“He ran like a veteran,” head coach Gregg Gensel said of Lambourne. “That isn’t surprising though, because he is a veteran. He understood what was going to take place and he made his plan off of that, coming up with a big win.”</div> <div style="text-align: left;">The women’s side of the meet for USU improved its score from last season’s 2 points to 22. Brenn Flint placed second in shot put, Cierra Simmons and Tylee Newman placed third and fourth respectively in the mile.</div> <div style="text-align: left;">Overall the women’s team finished ninth of eleven in the conference and the men finished in third of six.</div> </div> </div> <div> <div dir="ltr"> <div style="text-align: left;">The NCAA indoor championships will be held in College Station, TX, <span class="aBn" tabindex="0" data-term="goog_1893679465"><span class="aQJ">March 10-11.</span></span></div> </div> </div> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/usu-track-field-grabs-three-golds-mw-indoor-championships/">USU track and field grabs three golds at MW indoor championships</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>USU women’s basketball grabs home victory against SJSU</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/usu-womens-basketball-grabs-home-victory-sdsu/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Paige Cavaness]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 23 Feb 2017 04:45:06 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Women's Basketball]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22012171</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Utah State women’s basketball defeated the San Jose State Spartans Wednesday night 82-78 in Logan. Just one home game away…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/usu-womens-basketball-grabs-home-victory-sdsu/">USU women’s basketball grabs home victory against SJSU</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Utah State women’s basketball defeated the San Jose State Spartans Wednesday night 82-78 in Logan. Just one home game away from the conference tournament, the Aggies extended their home record to 11-4, fifth in the conference.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The game was close until an Aggie run opened a 20-point lead with four minutes left in the first half. Credit for that lead goes mostly to Deja Mason, who scored 10 points and tallied six rebounds, and Rachel Brewster, who had 16 points in the opening half. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The biggest threat to the Aggies on the night was the Spartans’ Dezz Ramos, who scored 20 of her team’s 33 first-half points. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Aggies saw the first signs of trouble in the third quarter when a strong Spartan performance on the board forced a two-and-a-half minute scoring drought. That dry spell allowed the USU lead to dwindle to just 10 at the end of the third quarter. San Jose State completed the comeback around the six-minute mark of the final stanza thanks to a 3-pointer from Ramos.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The score wobbled between a one and two point difference for the next three minutes until two hook shots from under the basket from freshman Hailey Bassett gave the Aggies to a 73-68 lead. During those three minutes and following, the Spartans saw a 4:33 scoring drought, highlighted by leading scorer Ramos’s 0-4 shooting performance in that time.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With under a minute to go, it remained a two-possession game until Olivia West made it to the foul line and sunk both shots to give the Aggies a 77-69 lead.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A Spartan 3-pointer brought it to 77-72 with 41 seconds to go. Olivia West got to the line in a bonus situation and made both her shots, but SJSU’s Taylor Turney followed up with a made jump shot and extra point due to a foul by Eliza West.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brewster got to the line shortly after and made both her shots, bringing the lead to 81-75, but Ramos cut that to 81-78 with a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left in the game.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Eliza West scored the last point of the game at the line and solidified a USU victory 82-78.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Overall the Aggies out-rebounded San Jose State 52-39. Brewster led the team with 22 points and Ramos led the game with 37 points.</span></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/usu-womens-basketball-grabs-home-victory-sdsu/">USU women’s basketball grabs home victory against SJSU</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>HURD aims to boost men’s basketball attendance with free Spectrum-colored T-shirts</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/hurd-aims-to-boost-mens-basketball-attendance-with-free-spectrum-colored-t-shirts/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Paige Cavaness]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jan 2017 21:02:16 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Basketball]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Men's Basketball]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22011449</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>The Utah State HURD released a promotional picture Tuesday displaying orange, yellow and beige T-shirts to be given away freely at Saturday’s basketball…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/hurd-aims-to-boost-mens-basketball-attendance-with-free-spectrum-colored-t-shirts/">HURD aims to boost men’s basketball attendance with free Spectrum-colored T-shirts</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Utah State HURD released a promotional picture Tuesday displaying orange, yellow and beige T-shirts to be given away freely at Saturday’s basketball game.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The shirts are not USU colors, but hold a strong connection to Aggie athletics — particularly to the Dee Glen Spectrum.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We were trying to think of great ways to try and energize the fans to bring back bigger numbers,” said Blake Lyman, HURD president. “It’s an idea I’ve had since November, I love the seats in the Spectrum arena.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lyman said his decision to print shirts the color of the non-traditional seats in the Spectrum has been a long process, but he thinks it is working out with perfect timing. Saturday’s home basketball game is the first game back from fall break.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“They are ugly and gross and seventies-weird and that’s what makes them so great to me — they’re part of Aggie history,” Lyman said. “We could just rebrand and look like fifty other arenas in the nation, or we could keep this kind of quirkiness.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The HURD released a video Monday that recapped “Spectrum Magic” in past years, including legendary athletes and crowd sizes. Lyman said this is all in an attempt to get game attendance back up to what he remembers it was his freshman year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I remember no empty seats in the Spectrum,” Lyman said. “I don’t think we’ve lost our ability to be a good crowd, we just need numbers.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nefi Ramirez, an Aggie fan and USU student, said he thinks the promotion is a cover for the lack of attendance, since the gameday shirts are blue and the lack of attendance stands out more when the shirts don’t match anything.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I almost feel like it’s a cover up for the lack of attendance,” Ramirez said. “I can see how the shirts can be nostalgic but I don’t think they are going for that.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lyman said that the promotions are not only to increase attendance but to reinforce the idea that every student is a member of the HURD, not just the committee that works with him.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We want the students to be the ones who decide how these events go,” Lyman said. “I think the students create the magic, not me.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Later promotions this season from the HURD will include Farmer Night on Feb. 11 against Wyoming and a potential post-game dance party on Feb. 25 to celebrate the end of the season.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Spectrum Magic promotion will be Saturday at 7 p.m. and the first 2,000 students to arrive will get their very own Spectrum-colored shirt.</span></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/hurd-aims-to-boost-mens-basketball-attendance-with-free-spectrum-colored-t-shirts/">HURD aims to boost men’s basketball attendance with free Spectrum-colored T-shirts</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Toina’s “bru-haha:” ESPN fails to tell both sides of USU-UNLV brawl</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/toinas-bru-haha-espn-fails-to-tell-both-sides-of-usu-unlv-brawl/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Paige Cavaness]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 12 Jan 2017 02:47:34 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sports Columns]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Women's Basketball]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22011379</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>For a small school like Utah State University, an ESPN appearance is a big deal. At the beginning of the…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/toinas-bru-haha-espn-fails-to-tell-both-sides-of-usu-unlv-brawl/">Toina’s “bru-haha:” ESPN fails to tell both sides of USU-UNLV brawl</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For a small school like Utah State University, an ESPN appearance is a big deal. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At the beginning of the season, women’s coach Jerry Finkbeiner saw a potential Top 10 SportsCenter highlight in senior Antoina Robinson’s dunking ability.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He wasn’t wrong that Robinson would bring the publicity, but I can imagine he didn’t intend for it to come the way it did Saturday night.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After a drive beneath the hoop from UNLV’s Brooke Johnson ended in a foul, Katie Powell was walking over to help her up when her shoulder happened to meet Robinson’s chest. Robinson’s hands then grabbed Powell’s shoulders — shoving and punching and all sorts of havoc ensued. Other players joined in to separate the two, but only one bench cleared — a fact that seemed to have been conveniently absent from the ESPN story. In watching the video, it’s clear the Rebels cleared their bench because the last one to leave is an injured player hobbling across the court on one leg. Utah State’s assistant coaches rushed to stop the fight while only one of the UNLV coaches attempted the same and the rest stood and watched from the sideline. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While we’re on the topic of conveniently misplaced facts of this story, let me address two more. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One more from the written version was the fact only UNLV athletes and coaches were cited. Not only does that make for half of a story, but it breaks a rule even kindergarten journalists know. You don’t color outside the lines, and you always get at least two sides to a story. Here we only saw one side.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Then, not to mention, the audio version of this story where the fight was referred to as a “bruhaha” which is defined in the Urban Dictionary as </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">“a fight or some kind of argument between more than just two people. This specific kind of fight is usually just verbal because when it’s physical, it becomes a bruhehe.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I just want to know if there are any incidents when a men’s basketball game fight has been referred to as a “bruhaha” or if ever in men’s sports that term has been used.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Finkbeiner never intended for Robinson to be in the national spotlight for a scuffle like this, much less a “bruhaha.” But the least ESPN could have done was give the story fair coverage.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Four players were ejected from each team that night and, unfortunately, the Rebels finished that game on top.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Robinson was suspended for Wednesday night’s game and Utah State fought the initial ruling that no UNLV players would receive the same punishment and won.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I don’t know how or if it will affect the way the rest of the college basketball world sees our school, and I don’t really think that has a long-lasting effect or any effect at all on how the women’s basketball team will play, other than the one night without Robinson on the floor.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But I do think that this spotlight can be used to their advantage. If nothing else, the Spectrum is going to fill to the brim when UNLV comes to town at the end of February. That will be something for ESPN to write about.</span></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/toinas-bru-haha-espn-fails-to-tell-both-sides-of-usu-unlv-brawl/">Toina’s “bru-haha:” ESPN fails to tell both sides of USU-UNLV brawl</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Aggies fall short from the free-throw line, lose heartbreaker to Indiana State 62-61</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/aggies-fall-short-from-the-free-throw-line-fall-to-indiana-state-62-61/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Paige Cavaness]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sun, 04 Dec 2016 05:33:15 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Basketball]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Men's Basketball]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22011011</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>The free-throw line at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum has never carried so much weight as it did Saturday night…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/aggies-fall-short-from-the-free-throw-line-fall-to-indiana-state-62-61/">Aggies fall short from the free-throw line, lose heartbreaker to Indiana State 62-61</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The free-throw line at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum has never carried so much weight as it did Saturday night as the Utah State men’s basketball team faced the Indiana State Sycamores.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A one-point game ended in the Sycamores’ favor at 62-61 after a heartbreaking change of pace in the second half.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Head coach Tim Duryea said it would have been a “whole different ball game” had the team just made free-throws.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“In today’s college basketball you can’t score 60 points and expect to win,” Duryea said. “To shoot 7-13 in the second half form the line – free-throws forever have won college basketball games, and we’re not getting the job done.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though the game ended with heartbreak, USU’s performance in the first half didn’t allude to that.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Aggies got into a comfortable 15-point lead midway through the first half and a led in the rebounds game as well (in contrast with Wednesday’s battle of the boards which they lost). At the half, the Aggies were up 35-21 and leading in every statistic possible – most notable being the 83 percent shooting from the foul-line.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> “We were together on the defensive end and we were making shots on the offensive end,” said freshman guard Koby McEwen of the team’s first half performance.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> “At halftime our plan was to come out and do the same thing we did in the first half,” said senior wing Jalen Moore.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But that’s not at all what happened.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nine minutes into the second half the Aggies put up four points followed by a seven-minute scoring drought, cutting their lead to two.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The drought was due to an unexpected 2-3 zone from Indiana State Aggie coaches didn’t see coming.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I’ll take the blame for that,” Duryea said. “I never would have dreamed that Indiana State would through a 2-3 zone at us with the way they’ve played this year.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Senior guard Shane Rector stopped that scoring drought with a deep 3-pointer, but the Utah State’s lead remained close due to some controversial fouls called against USU – the most influential being a foul called on Moore behind the arc which led to four more points for the Sycamores that tied the game.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Indiana State pulled ahead 60-59 with 1:02 left in the game.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Two missed Aggie shots kept the Sycamores up by one point, and gave them a chance to increase that lead to three with their leading scorer, freshman guard Brenton Scott, at the line for a bonus 1-and-1.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After an air-ball miss from Scott, the Aggies were within one with twenty seconds to go.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A drive beneath the basket brought McEwen to the free-throw line at the 20 second mark.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Spectrum was still as McEwen’s first shot sunk through the net, tying the game and guaranteeing the Aggies would still be in the game.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The second shot sunk and with it went the silence. The crowd erupted just in time to watch as Indiana State got the ball quickly to its leading scorer who got under the hoop.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Three USU defenders went to guard Scott, who dished it out to freshman forward TJ Bell to make an easy layup with two seconds remaining on the clock.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The ball was inbounded to Moore, who attempted but missed a deep 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It just came down to that last play,” McEwen said. “It’s unfortunate. There’s nothing you can do about that. But if we would have just made our free-throws before all that happened we wouldn’t be in that situation.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Coming from a four-game losing streak, the Aggies will face Great Falls on Tuesday night at the Spectrum at 7 p.m.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We will not get down,” said McEwen of the team’s now four-game losing streak. “We’re in desperation mode right now — we need a win. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Next game we will win.”</span></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/aggies-fall-short-from-the-free-throw-line-fall-to-indiana-state-62-61/">Aggies fall short from the free-throw line, lose heartbreaker to Indiana State 62-61</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Kelsie Kruger’s bullheaded personality new to Aggie women’s basketball</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/kelsie-krugers-bullheaded-personality-new-to-aggie-womens-basketball/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Paige Cavaness]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 23 Nov 2016 05:52:25 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Women's Basketball]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22010728</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Kelsie Kruger is the newest addition to the women’s basketball coaching staff, but she’s far from new to college basketball…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/kelsie-krugers-bullheaded-personality-new-to-aggie-womens-basketball/">Kelsie Kruger’s bullheaded personality new to Aggie women’s basketball</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kelsie Kruger is the newest addition to the women’s basketball coaching staff, but she’s far from new to college basketball and has the grit needed to be a part of it all.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Since Kruger was a little girl, she has been around college basketball players due to the fact that her father, Kelly Kruger, has coached women’s basketball in the midwest for as long as she can remember.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It’s a specific thing to a kid being the coach’s kid. You get that sisterhood, you’re immediately part of them,” said Kruger of her experience as a child while her father coached for 16 years at Southern Minnesota State University.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kruger quickly picked up on playing the sport she was surrounded by. She also developed what her father calls a very bull-headed personality.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“She called the cops on her mother and me twice as a kid,” Kelly Kruger said. “She didn’t like something we told her she couldn’t do so she called the cops on us.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That stubborn attitude of hers helped her develop a sense of perseverance that her father said has turned her into a go-getter.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After scoring more than 1,000 career points in high school ball, Kruger decided to play for her father at the Division II school he then coached at, Adams State University in Colorado, where her persistence was her biggest asset.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I was never overly athletic or quick,” Kelsie Kruger said. “So I had to be a fundamental player to match people’s athleticism.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kelly Kruger said his experience coaching his daughter was a unique one because he tried to make sure she was treated equally. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kelsie Kruger and her teammates made back-to-back NCAA Division II postseason appearances and she averaged 11.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game as a senior, but, even with those numbers, her father said she didn’t get as much playing time as she deserved.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I didn’t want anyone to think she got her playing time because she’s my daughter,” Kelly Kruger said. “In hindsight, I probably didn’t play her as much as I should have. She was really good.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kelsie Kruger persevered through that and was assigned as assistant director of the high school basketball summer camp she had helped at through college just one year after her senior season. She was working on her masters degree in educational policy studies from Iowa Lakes College as well as working there as an undergraduate instructor for volleyball and basketball at the time. She then returned for a year to work at Adams State as an assistant before she headed to work in that same position at Cal State East Bay. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After finishing at Cal, Kelsie Kruger was planning on going to work with her father at Ashford University. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Two days before the job would have started for her, Kruger’s father received a phone call notifying him that the basketball season would not happen due to the school shutting down. “Kelsie asked me ‘dad, why do things like this happen to us?’” Kelly Kruger said. “I just told her that I didn’t really know why, but that I knew God has a plan, and that everything would be okay. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“She was pretty discouraged, but two days later after South Dakota State had found out about the school shutting down, they called and offered her a job.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kelly Kruger said that is a lesson he has tried to teach his daughter and one that guides the way they do things in their family.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After working with South Dakota State as the director of basketball operations, Kelsie Kruger was recruited by Jerry Finkbeiner to join the Aggie women’s basketball staff.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“As coaches, we keep a list of names in the bottom drawer just in case,” Finkbeiner said. “I had met Kelsie on a recruiting trip about four years ago, I’ve always been impressed by her.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Both Finkbeiner and Kelly Kruger are sure that Kelsie Kruger will strengthen the team with her tenacity and persistence the same way she has with each team in the past.</span></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/kelsie-krugers-bullheaded-personality-new-to-aggie-womens-basketball/">Kelsie Kruger’s bullheaded personality new to Aggie women’s basketball</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Aggie hoops cruises to 3-0</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/aggie-hoops-cruises-to-4-0/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Paige Cavaness]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sun, 20 Nov 2016 06:19:07 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Basketball]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Blogs]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Men's Basketball]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Spectrum shoot around]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22010678</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>“3-0 baby,” – the phrase written on the board of the Utah State men’s basketball meeting room. It was written…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/aggie-hoops-cruises-to-4-0/">Aggie hoops cruises to 3-0</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>“3-0 baby,” – the phrase written on the board of the Utah State men’s basketball meeting room.<br /> It was written prior to the game Saturday night against Idaho State University.<br /> It’s now been fulfilled<br /> The Aggies beat the Bengals, 85-51, in front of the 8,923 in attendance at the Spectrum.<br /> The first half started off well enough for USU. They shot 51% from the field and junior Ngor Barnaba led the team with eight points, while Koby McEwen led in boards with six. The team went into the half with a 40-27 advantage.<br /> Head coach Tim Duryea said he thought his guys may have helped too much with the Bengals’ pick and roll in the first half, but that overall the strong defensive effort from the first half is what feed into the offensive performance throughout the game.<br /> The Aggies came out strong in the second half, something they’ve struggled to do in the past.<br /> Senior Jalen Moore said coming out of the break tough was a goal for the team tonight.<br /> “We knew we had to go out there and not let them think they could hang with us,” Moore said. “We had to go out and step on their throats a little. I think they got frustrated, we were making shots and they were turning the ball over.”<br /> That frustration showed in Idaho State’s Ethan Telfair, who received a technical foul after complaining about a call he thought the officials missed under the basket.<br /> This game hit close to home for Shane Rector, a senior from the Bronx, New York. Telfair, a New York native himself, and Rector have been playing against each other since they were nine years old.<br /> “It always feels good to get the better side of a friendly rivalry,” Rector said. Head coach Tim Duryea said Rector – who finished with 17 points, seven assists and five steals on the night – took it personally to defend Telfair and stop him the way he did.<br /> Moore also had a personal benchmark in the this game.<br /> His father, Jimmy Moore was surpassed by his son tonight in career points.<br /> Jimmy Moore recorded 1,164 career points and Jalen Moore is now at 1,173 after tonight’s game.<br /> “I told him I was going to beat him when I came here,” Moore said.<br /> Since he has come here, Moore has contributed a lot more than a family record.<br /> “This is my fourth year coaching Jalen Moore as an assistant or head coach,” said Duryea of Moore and his contribution to the team. “And we haven’t had to say one word to him about lack of effort. He’s a leader more by example than vocally. Jalen has meant a lot to us on the floor and as far as getting good players to the program.”<br /> Deep in the second half, Duryea rotated in four bench players, Abel Porter, Connor Garner, Alexis Dargenton, and Diogo Brito. Taylor stayed on the court with those four to close out the game.<br /> “These guys play the way I would want to play,” said Duryea of the team’s aggressiveness and overall performance. “I tell them all the time that I like to watch them play.”</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/aggie-hoops-cruises-to-4-0/">Aggie hoops cruises to 3-0</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> </channel> </rss>