League-leading Colorado State grabs two wins from USU women’s hoops
Utah State women’s basketball visited the league-leaders in Fort Collins this past week, dropping two games to Colorado State 90-59 and 88-73, respectively.
In the first meeting, the Aggies were held to a season-low 59 points, despite going up 21 to 18 after the first period. USU shot 45.0 percent (9 of 20) from the field early on, however, the team was unable to continue its good shooting; the three-ball was most notably missing, as the team shot 3 of 19 (15.8) percent.
Colorado State found its rhythm in the second period and went on to outscore Utah State 72-38 the rest of the way. Colorado State’s 90 points was the most points allowed by USU this season, and was the most points scored by CSU in conference play.
Most of Utah State’s contributed to the scoring — nine different players made the scoresheet, led by junior forward Bre Mathews who had 10 points; Mathews was the only player to reach double digits, however, in the Aggies’ season-low performance. Freshman guard/forward Halle Nelson and junior guard Paris Williams each had career-high scoring nights, going for nine and seven points, respectively.
The Rams were led by graduate forward Karly Murphy who finished with a double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds, both of which were game-highs.
As a team, Colorado State ended the game with above-average shooting figures, going 34 of 76 (44.7 percent) from the field and 11 of 27 (40.7 percent) from deep.
The Aggies and Rams took one day off before meeting again Jan. 22 in a game that the home team was able to win 88-73 and close out the two-game series.
Yet again, the Aggies had a high-scoring burst in the first half, this time with a 25-point second quarter which brought them within five points at halftime, 43-38. Utah State brought the game as close as three points, but Colorado State shot 12 of 16 for 32 points in the third quarter, the highest-scoring quarter by a USU opponent this season. The Aggies faced as much as a 29-point deficit early in the fourth quarter, but were able to outscore their opponents 21 to 13 in the final frame.
Freshman guard Meagan Mendazona led USU’s scoring efforts with 16 points on 7-13 shooting, to go along with four rebounds, two steals and two assists. Senior guard Emmie Harris earned the second double-double of her career as she had 12 points to go along with a game-high 11 rebounds, a mark which ties her career high.
Contrary to the first game, in which just one Aggie made it to double figures scoring, four players reached that feat in the final game. Sophomore guard Faith Brantley and redshirt sophomore guard Shyla Latone each reached double figures in the scoring column as well, going for 14 and 13 points, respectively. This was just the second time this season USU has had four players score 10-plus points.
The Rams were led by freshman forward Cali Clark who finished with 14 points. CSU had six different players score in double figures.
As a team, Utah State shot 40.3 percent (27-of-67) from the field, 34.6 percent (9-of-26) from 3-point range and 71.4 percent (10-of-14) from the free throw line. Colorado State shot 48.5 percent (33-of-68) from the field, while shooting 36.4 percent (8-of-22) from the 3-point line and 77.8 percent (14-of-18) from the charity stripe.
Following the final game, Utah State head coach Kayla Ard had positive things to say about her team’s play on her Twitter account.
“Today is the proudest I’ve been of this team yet! Their heart, fight, effort, & togetherness was so good,” Ard wrote. “They put the team above themselves today & fought for each other. CSU is a very good team, but that was really fun to Coach today. We will keep working to improve.”
The Aggies now return home for back-to-back home series against MW opponents, starting with a two-game series against UNLV on Monday, Jan. 25, and again on Wednesday, Jan. 27, inside of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
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—sports@usustatesman.com