Lady Ags take on northern neighbors
Women’s basketball started regular-season play with a loss to Utah Valley State Colege 68-60 at the David O. McKay Event Center.
The Aggies started the year with two exhibition wins. Now in the regular season, Head Coach Raegan Pebley said she sees a jumping-off point, nothing to be worried about.
“I’m not in a panic at all,” Pebley said in a post-game radio interview. “I think Utah Valley is a good team. I think they also had to play really well to beat us.”
The Aggies started off the game strong finishing the half with a score of 36-35 in their favor. Second-half play for the women was a struggle, as UVSC dominated with a 26-12 run. Still down by 10 with 2:07 to go, the Aggies attempted to work their way back into the lead, but could never grab it.
“I knew this was going to be a challenge,” Pebley said. “We’d be pressured like we were against Mesa, but we’re going to be pressured by more skilled players.” Danyelle Snelgro, sophomore guard, hit this opener hard as she scored 18 field goals in her 31 minutes of play, a career high for Snelgro. The only other players hitting double digits were junior forward Jenny Gross and senior forward Brittany Phillips. As a whole, the team had a 32.8 field goal percentage.
Among the many things that went wrong was the stopping of the game due to fouling, and giving the other team ample time rest. Differences in venue also came into play, the shooting done by the Aggies was off in this venue, Pebley said.
“I hope when people come to the Spectrum they don’t shoot as well as they do at their court,” Pebley said.
Execution was not at a level that could have given the Aggies the edge they needed to win. Defense follow-through by UVSC hindered the necessary steps of execution that might have been a factor in domination for USU, Pebley said.
UVSC guard/forward Julie McMurray brought 11 field goals into the total score helping with the win over USU. But, it was sophomore center Robyn Fairbanks who blew past the Aggies multiple times to get 31 points in the game, 19 of those in the first half.
“She’s a very good player,” Pebley said of Fairbanks. “We did a very poor job defensively on her, not [only] individually, but also as a team.”
Toward the end of the second half, the players were being bogged down by the thought of losing again, as they did so often last season, but they stayed pumped through the last minutes of the game, hitting a number of good shots, Pebley said.
“It’s going to take time for them to just build that mentality of establishing a new identity,” Pebley said. “It’s something that can’t happen overnight if it’s going to be true.”
Play against Idaho State University is up next for the Aggies, in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Nov. 17 at 7 pm. This will be the second season game for the 0-1 USU women’s basketball team.
Season play for ISU began with an exhibition win over Northwest Sports, 104-88, and a 23-point loss to Brigham Young University, 73-50. Travel to Logan will be their second stop on a four-game away schedule for the Bengals.
Junior center for ISU, Natalie Doma, who was recently named Big Sky Conference Player of the week, will lead the Bengals against USU. Doma is similar in stature and playing style to Fairbanks of UVSC, Pebley said.
“Idaho State is really building a good solid program around her,” Pebley said. “What they do, I think, is perfect for the personnel that they have.”
The Aggies will stay home after the ISU game with a Nov. 21, 7 pm tip-off against Weber State University. Next up is travel time for five games starting in Moraga, Calif. with Saint Mary’s College. Their return home will be on Dec. 20 when they face-off against the University of Portland.