Turnovers doom Lady Aggies in loss at Air Force
COLORADO SPRINGS — Utah State Women’s Basketball came into Saturday’s affair seeking revenge from the loss Air Force handed them on Dec. 31. Turnovers and offensive rebounding; however, derailed the Aggies efforts. They fell to the Falcons 67-56.
The Aggies were led by Adryana Quezada, who recorded 27 points and 10 rebounds. The effort was Quezada’s fifth double-double since conference play began. Coming off a Mountain West Player of the Week honor, Quezada kept her foot on the gas.
The Falcons were able to receive contributions from many different players on the team. Air Force had four players register double-digit points. They also had four players record five or more rebounds, a statistic that ended up costing the Aggies. And Falcon freshman Jo Huntimer was a handful.
On Air Force’s senior day, their fourth-years showed up. Senior Cierra Winters had her way during the first quarter. Six straight points from Winters to open the game dug the Aggies in an early hole. By the first media timeout, USU had still not scored. That cold spell was broken quickly by Adryana Quezada who hit a three-point field goal to get the Aggies on the board. The rest of the quarter was mostly controlled by Air Force, although USU stayed in striking distance. USU committed four first-quarter turnovers which resulted in six points for the Falcons.
USU came out stronger in the second quarter. Led by the spark plug of Taylor Franson off the bench, the Aggies defense was performed well in the paint. Franson registered 4 second-quarter blocks, and help AFA to just 4 points in the paint in the second. Even though USU tightened up its defense, turnovers still doomed the Aggie offense. The Falcons forced seven turnovers in the quarter, resulting in 11 points. The Aggies trailed by two at halftime.
After the first half, the same problems of turnovers and rebounding haunted the Aggies. The Aggies committed 11 second-half turnovers and allowed 10 offensive boards to the Falcons.
“I think that Air Force played harder than us,” Coach Ard said when asked about the offensive rebounding differential.
USU got worked on the glass. The Aggies only mustered 8 offensive rebounds, compared to Air Force’s 21.
Air Force touts the best turnover margin in the conference, and that was well on display today. Air Force’s full-court defense forced the Aggies into 23 turnovers. The Falcons were able to convert off these errors by USU, recording 29 points off of turnovers.
“It’s been a problem for us all year, taking care of the basketball,” Coach Ard said.
The Aggies will look to get back to their winning ways before the end of the season as they play host to the Nevada Wolfpack on Saturday, Feb. 26.