Fresno stops Utah State from starting a streak
As Fresno State University’s Deajanae Harvey stole her fifth pass out of the air, the Bulldogs scored another easy layup with just over two minutes left to play. All Utah State University basketball head coach Kayla Ard could do was hang her head in confusion and frustration.
Saturday’s matchup in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum ended 70-50 in favor of the Bulldogs.
“It didn’t seem like we were here,” Ard said. “We were not locked in. We were not executing the game plan.”
After winning their first conference game back on Wednesday against the University of Nevada, the Aggies took on a physical Bulldogs team that outplayed them from the beginning. Cheyenne Stubbs was held to only nine points after having scored 32 points in the 65-62 win against Nevada.
The reason for Ard’s confusion comes from some positive practice sessions the Aggies have been having. Ard said all the game’s problems were things they worked on specifically in practice.
The Aggies showed a lot of promise at first as they scored on their first three possessions, but fell into old habits and began committing unforced errors and turning the ball over. The problems boiled down to not following what Ard called the keys of the game — limit the turnovers, be strong on rebounding.
“We gave them 26 points off of 23 turnovers,” Ard said. “We can’t give somebody 17 offensive boards. Those were the keys to our game, and we just did not execute them.”
Utah State was slow moving into the offense; they passed the ball multiple times within their own side of the court before advancing. This allowed the Bulldogs to set up their defense and capitalize on the slow build up by the Aggies many times throughout the afternoon.
An example of this was in the second quarter. Stubbs and Isabella Tañedo had no defenders in front of them, but they opted to pass the ball back and forth on their way across midcourt. The defense pressed forward, cutting off the passing lane, Tañedo then threw the ball out of bounds, expecting Stubbs to be there.
Samiana Suguturaga had a strong second period after she scored six of her eight points. The junior forward capped the quarter with a strong block that echoed throughout the Spectrum.
“At halftime, I thought our energy was better coming out,” Ard said. “But I still don’t think we played very well.”
For Utah State, the same problems with turnovers and scoring echoed in the second half.
Ivory Finley scored the Aggie’s first 3-pointer five minutes into the third quarter, putting aside what had been a difficult game from the arc.
Suguturaga had a second strong block in the third quarter that sent the ball out of bounds. It was a great defensive play, but it resulted in an unforced loose ball turnover off the foot of Bridget Mullings.
The Bulldogs inbounded with a threat on the basket. Sydney Dethman caught her third offensive rebound and found Mia Jacobs for a 3-pointer.
The Aggies’ scoring issues showed their worst in the fourth quarter, however. The Aggies did not find the net until the final two minutes of the game when Stubbs scored a 3-pointer from deep behind the line.
The Utah State bench erupted, finally having an answer for the Bulldogs.
The Aggies finished the game by going on a 12-4 scoring run.
It’s the small victories that can be the most savored, and though it was a tough showing for the Aggies, they were still supporting each other with enthusiasm to the end.
“We have to take care of the basketball,” Ard said. “It’s the same conversation after every game. Even in the last game, we won, but we still turned the ball over quite a bit. We have to take care of the ball.”
The Aggies will hit the road and take on the Wyoming Cowgirls on Wednesday, Feb. 7.