Fans provide a spark of energy in Aggie victory
BY: Ben Fordham
Utah State improved to 4-3 in conference play and 9-10 overall with a 72-59 win over San Diego State at home on Saturday.
“I love our women’s team,” said Blake Lyman. “The whole experience is a little different than other Aggie games but being in the Spectrum still gives you that ‘I believe’ feeling. The whole game was surprisingly fun for a Saturday afternoon.”
Utah State’s average home attendance this season has been 418. On Saturday, The Hurd’s promotion for the game boosted attendance up to 677, still not even a tenth of the 10,000 capacity Spectrum.
Sophomore center Hannah Hutchins had a career night for the Aggies with twelve points and eleven rebounds. Hutchins gave credit to the fans in attendance for “providing the team with intensity.”
“I love having fans and I’m really glad we had more than, like, five people show up,” Hutchins said. “Especially The Hurd, we’ve heard so much about them cheering at the guy’s games. It was a great advantage to have them cheer when we couldn’t.”
Students in attendance wore outfits inspired by the 1980s to distract San Diego State. USU’s athletic department provided a Nintendo 64, a retro John Stockton jersey, Utah Jazz tickets and a record player as an incentive to show up in retro apparel.
“We go to New Mexico and they have 6,000 fans,” said USU head coach Jerry Finkbeiner. “It’s big. We’re missing that but we don’t have the tradition either. It’s tough on the road in the Mountain West and tonight was a big lift. They can make an impact on the game.”
Sophomore guard Funda Nakkasoglu entered the game as the twelfth highest scoring player in the country and finished the game with 28 points to lead all scorers.
“Funda is the player for us right now,” Finkbeiner said. “I think she had a quiet 28. She started kind of slow in the first quarter but their defense tonight was to stop Funda and she had 28.”
USU shot 50 percent from behind the three-point line and out-rebounded the Aztecs 34-23. The Aggies limited SDSU to only nine points in the second quarter.
“The shots are finally coming back to us,” Nakkasoglu said. “Our shooters are getting their touch again and that’s going to guide us in other games in the future. Everyone definitely wanted this game. Everyone knew their roles and played them well tonight. That’s what we need as a team.”
Saturday’s win ended a two-game losing streak for the Aggies. USU’s next game will be played on the road in Reno against the Wolfpack on Jan. 30. The Aggies return to the Spectrum on Feb. 3 to host Boise State.
— bfordhamsix@gmail.com
Twitter: @bfordham6