Pride humbled
Aggie women’s basketball won its season opener in the Spectrum Wednesday night over the Utah Pride, 92-53.
Senior forward Jamelah Brown banked a game-high 17 points, leading the team to victory. Junior guard Danyelle Snelgro and senior forward Jenny Gross both netted 12 points.
This exhibition game was meant to allow USU a chance to see rookie and returning players in action prior to the official season, Pebley said. The game offered freshman guard Alice Coddington time to score seven points coming off the bench.
“We definitely were able to get some kids out there with some experience,” Head Coach Raegan Pebley said. “Everybody played.”
USU came out scoring in the opening quarter, netting six points within six minutes. Brown brought experience and leadership to the floor with 11 first-quarter points.
USU junior guard Ana Perez was first off the bench for the Aggies. From there, Pebley was able to utilize the time to identify the team’s strengths, she said.
“I was really happy with everybody,” Pebley said. “We saw some mistakes out there, but we saw some good things and a place we know we can start from and where we can build from. I feel like it’s a higher place than where we were last year.”
A team of former Utah college basketball players, the Utah Pride picked up in the last 10 minutes of the first half by cutting the Aggie’s lead to five at one point, but they would not be able to maintain the momentum.
The Aggies led 40-21 at halftime. In the first half, the Pride shot 30.8 percent from the field compared to the Aggies’ 43.2 percent. With double the amount of players to rotate, Pebley said she was able to keep her team’s energy going throughout the game.
“I feel like we played well, but I think there’s always room for improvement,” junior forward Lindsey Shipley said. “Now we know the areas we really need to focus on. Obviously this gives us more confidence. We can take where we left off last year and build from there. We’re not starting over again.”
Utah Pride is made up of two of USU Shipley’s sisters, Emily Walbruch and Cami Kesler.
Halfway into the second half, the Aggies led 53-28. From then, the Utah Pride was never able to cut the lead to less than 29.
Shipley scored early, aiding the win with nine points. All but one Aggie scored.
Junior forward Shawnta Pope gave the team a strong showing off the bench, Shipley said, saying all players were able to contribute something to the overall success of the team.
“It’s a good way to open up our season,” said USU senior guard Taylor Richards, who recorded nine points and three assists. “We needed something like that to give the whole team confidence with all the new girls we have. Seeing how we work together, we’ll have to make some adjustments. Now we know what to build on.”
USU will host the College of Idaho Saturday in the Spectrum for its second and final exhibition game. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Division II team finished last season 19-10.
The lady Yotes run 40 minutes of trapping and full-court defense, Pebley said. Defensive strategies will be the main focus of the team while getting ready for Saturday’s game, she said.
“We’re not going to be able to take a lot that we applied to this game into our next exhibition game,” Pebley said. “It’s going to be a lot of testing of our experience, decision making and composure.”
Aggie regular season play kicks off on Nov. 9 when the Tigers of the University of the Pacific head to Logan. Nov. 16 marks the team’s first away game, as USU travels to Portland State University.
“We’re looking for wins,” Brown said. “No losses. Wins. That’s it. We’re trying to go big this year.”
– erin.wadsworth@aggiemail.usu.edu