Big-shot Bassett sends USU women to quarterfinals with 81-79 win
Hailey Bassett made sure that Sunday wouldn’t be the last game of her collegiate career.
Not only did she lead the team with a career-high 29 points, she battled foul trouble the entire game and managed to keep her composure enough to sink four crucial, clutch free throws to extend the team’s lead late in the game and hit the game-winning jumper with two seconds left.
“Honestly, it was really scary,” Bassett said. “Coach always says I wind because I want to block it. So this time I had to kind of control myself. And I had Steph here controlling me, grabbing my jersey, saying Hailey, no, stop. So I just kind of — it was more of a mental thing. So I tried to stay in the game for as long as I could and tried to do my best.”
Utah State University women’s basketball stunned the Aztecs in an overtime thriller and pulled off the upset with a final score of 81-79, making it the first time in conference history an 11-seed has advanced to the quarterfinals.
Seven times the game was tied, and at one point the Aggies led 40-25, their largest of the game, but the Aztecs were never able to find a lead. Still, San Diego State managed to fight its way back in the contest and forced overtime through guards Taylor Kalmer and Sophia Ramos. Kalmer started out with the majority of the scoring load and ended the game with a team-high 22 points, while Ramos turned it on toward the end and made a handful of important baskets in overtime and at the end of regulation.
However, despite being the 11-seed and underdog, this game was the Aggies’ from the start. From the tip, it was played at a fast pace and both teams allowed the other to grab defensive rebounds and get going in transition. This played into the Aggies’ favor at times and also allowed the Aztecs to convert some easy looks on their end of the court. Rebounds were up for grabs and San Diego State committed eight turnovers in the first half. Utah State’s defense was locked in.
Emmie Harris dribbles the ball at USU Women’s Basketball’s game against San Diego in the Mountain West Tournament. USU Women’s Basketball beat SDSU 81-79 in overtime at the team’s first game in the Mountain West Conference Tournament. The game was held in the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on March 1, 2020.
One of the catalysts in the team’s stingy play was junior guard Emmie Harris. Truthfully, Harris was instrumental in more areas than one — and finished the game having played 44:54 minutes — and her play didn’t go unnoticed by Utah State head coach Ben Finkbeiner.
“She played multiple positions and she hit shots in the first half that were huge for us,” he said. “ Emmie hit shots when we needed her to because instead of playing tight and instead of coming in and not performing very well, I thought Emmie kind of led the charge from the start in that area of toughness.”
Utah State pushed its lead to 40-25 by the third quarter but started to falter slightly as the quarter progressed. With 3:09 left in the third quarter, Bassett picked up her fourth foul and San Diego State used that to narrow the margin to seven points by the end of the quarter.
The Aztecs’ late push didn’t stop Utah State from playing its game, and the Aggies kept applying pressure on their opponents. As most wins of this magnitude are, it was an effort that nearly every player on the court had a part in for the team to advance. Sophomore forward Taylor Franson was a constant factor in the paint, pulling down nine rebounds along with seven points. Freshman Elli Emrich had five points in a row in the first half to extend the team’s lead. Both senior Lindsey Jensen-Baker and sophomore Steph Gorman made big shots in the game and were two players who helped the Aggies shoot 11-26 from three. This was a familiar site to those who watched the team shoot 8-19 against San Diego State the first time out this season, but also a pleasant surprise after some of Utah State’s poor shooting performances of late.
“It’s always a confidence booster when the first one goes,” Gorman said. “It definitely helped my confidence just being able to shoot them and having that trust in the team and the coaches to be able to shoot them, knowing if I do miss we have phenomenal offensive rebounders down there ready to put it back.”
With just under two minutes left, the Aztecs made a layup to tie the game at 65, and not too long after that, Bassett took a hard hit and was sent to the floor, sending her also to the line to attempt two free throws. She sunk both and the game was forced into overtime after San Diego State converted on its end. Utah State surged ahead with small runs throughout the period, but never grabbed a significant lead. Bassett came down and sunk another two free throws to stretch the lead to 79-76, but very calmly Kalmer hit on a three-point attempt to tie the game for San Diego State.
Utah State had the ball, tied, with the shot clock turned off. Bassett set a screen, rolled off, spotted up and sent the ball smoothly through the net, thus extending Utah State’s season by one more game and making history in the process.
QUEEN‼️‼️‼️
🔥 @bassetthound12 🔥#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/AM5BNZsoTR
— USU Women's Hoops (@USUWBasketball) March 2, 2020
The team is back in action Monday night with a quarterfinal game against Wyoming. Tip-off is set for 9:30 MST.
Twitter: @dren_sports
Featured image by Chantelle McCall