First win for USU women basketball
“We wanted it too bad, worked too hard and waited too long,” said Utah State freshman guard Christina Zdenek after the Aggies’ 76-73 win over Cal Poly Saturday at the Spectrum.
With the score tied, Zdenek buried a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Aggies their first win of the season.
Even though the referees seemed to get more playing time than the women did, calling fouls left and right, the Utah State women managed to hold onto their 35-32 lead at the half and win for the first time in the Big West as well.
“We are addicted to winning,” said freshman Camille Brox, who forced numerous turnovers from the Mustangs during the game.
The game was a pretty rough and sloppy one, with turnovers and fouls coming from both sides in just the first few minutes of the game.
“We had a hard time getting into a flow,” said Utah State Head Coach Raegan Pebley. “It was a really uncontrolled game and with so many fouls we weren’t able to get a rhythm.”
The refs seemed to want to give the players plenty of rest, calling a foul nearly every time the ball changed possession. Jessica Freeman and Ali Aird were on the bench for most of the first half, getting two fouls each in the first six minutes of the game. By the end of the game, two players from Cal Poly fouled out, including their leading scorer, Sparkle Anderson.
Despite the numerous calls, Utah State was able to get some points up on the board. During the first half, with their post players on the bench, the Aggies took the ball outside, making three 3-pointers.
However, the Aggies got several points from the line, shooting 17 free throws in the first half and making 14.
Zdenek led all the players off the court at the half with 16 points, most of them coming from the line.
The Aggies were ready to come out strong and win the game after the half, but Cal Poly turned it into a tough, foul-filled second half.
Aird and Freeman were able to come back in and play most of the second half and make their presence known. Aird seemed unstoppable, missing only one shot the whole half to put 12 points up on the board. Freeman was pulling down rebounds and forcing the Mustangs to turnover the ball. Zdenek continued to fly over the court making shots everywhere and leading all scorers with a season-high 31 points.
The second half turned into a battle, with the lead changing hands and both teams playing well. The game got intense in the last minute though, almost turning into a repeat of the game against Northern Colorado and nearly going into overtime.
The game should have ended when Aird made two free throws with 1:05 left in the game and put the Aggies up 70-65. However, Cal Poly’s Jennifer Dooley put thoughts of win on hold as she went down and made a three with 54 seconds left in the game and brought the Mustangs to within two.
Virginia Jennings was fouled the next time down the court and missed one of her free throws, allowing the Mustangs to get within one with a layup by Davis with 19 seconds left and the score 71-70.
Zdenek should have settled the game when she made both of her free throws with 12 seconds left and took the Aggies up 73-70. But Dooley again put thoughts of a win away, making a near impossible three-pointer with seven seconds left in the game.
With overtime in sight Zdenek took the ball down the court and downed a three-pointer with four-tenths of a second left on the clock and winning the game.
“We were ready for overtime,” Pebley said. “But we got the job done and when we look back at this game, we are just going to see the win.”
The Aggies will now head on the road to face Pacific Thursday.
-aedmunds@cc.usu.edu
Virginia Jennings hugs teammate Jessica Freeman after the Aggies defeated Cal Poly 76-73 Saturday in the Spectrum. (Photo by Jamie Crane)