Unlucky 13: Aggies lose their 13th game in a row to SDSU
The Utah State University women’s basketball team lost to San Diego State 76-62 last night.
The game opened with SDSU winning the tipoff, but Aggie Cheyenne Stubbs made the first layup of the night. Stubbs also drained a 3-pointer early in the first period, giving the Aggies their the first five points.
Stubbs played some incredible offense, according to head coach Kayla Ard.
“If you take away her 3, she’s going to get to the rim. If you take away her getting to the rim, she’s going to hit the three. If you take away both of those, she’s going to hit the mid-range jumper,” Ard said. “She’s just awesome; I just love having her here.”
Aggie Samiana Suguturaga made a layup, Ivory Finley shot 2 free throws and Macy Smith made a 3-point jumper. This left the Aggies leading 14-11 at the end of the first period.
#33 Livia Knapp takes and scores a 3-point shot at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Jan. 17.
Suguturaga, Finley, Stubbs and Smith continued earning points for the team, along with Livia Knapp, in the second period. Their offensive flow got into a rhythm, with the score being 28-26 in favor of the Aggies.
“I’m really proud of the team in the first half,” Ard said. “I thought we played very, very good basketball for probably about 27-28 minutes. Unfortunately, that’s not 40.”
In the third and fourth periods, the team lost steam. Ard said their guard wasn’t up, and the flow got thrown off.
“I think we got tired,” Ard said. “I’m not really sure it’s adjustments. I think we just kind of got worn out. They didn’t quit by any means, but it just kind of seemed like it got away from us.”
The Aztecs started to get some shots in, and the energy of the Aggies started to deflate.
SDSU’s Mia Davis made a 3-pointer, and Kim Villalobos, Abby Prohaska and Adryana Quezada all contributed to the Aztec scoreboard as well.
The Aggies were still able to get some points in, with Stubbs making two 3-pointers and two free throws late in the third period.
“We have some kids that can play offense. Now, I don’t know if the fans know that yet. I’m not even sure they know that yet,” Ard said.
Late in the fourth period, Stubbs stole the ball and made a jumper shot to the crowd’s delight. Finley then made two free throws, and Suguturaga got in the game’s final shot.
Still, it wasn’t enough for an Aggie victory. This is the team’s 13th loss in a row, but Ard said they put everything into practice and games.
“I’m really proud of our kids,” Ard said. “If you came to one of our practices, you would not know that we were losing. They come in here with a smile on their face.”
Ard believes the team is progressing, even if the game record doesn’t always reflect that.
“We keep talking about progress over perfection,” Ard said. “I thought we made some progress tonight. It didn’t result in a win, unfortunately, but I thought the kids made some progress tonight.”
The team’s next game is in Reno against Nevada on Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m.
“We got to get back healthy,” Ard said. “Honestly, we’re focused on ourselves right now. It is not about the other teams.”
Ard noted that the women’s basketball team will eventually have their hard work show through.
“We have some good players on here,” Ard said. “It’s not showing in the games right now. But I think if they come in every day the way they’re coming in, they’ll get the results they want.”