USU senior provides spark in loss
Utah State women’s basketball lost to Fresno State after getting down by 14 in the first quarter.
“We’re really having issues right now with starting halves,” said USU head coach Jerry Finkbeiner. “We’re not starting with aggression or good decision making.”
In Finkbeiner’s search for an answer, fifth-year senior Mariah Miles played a key 12 minutes in the loss, nearly three times her season average of 4.5 minutes per game.
“She’s a hustler,” said sophomore guard Funda Nakkasoglu. “You know she’s going to try her best and give 110 percent every play, every situation on the court. She helped a huge amount.”
In the loss, Miles came in and provided a much needed spark to get the Aggies back into the game.
“I take pride in defense,” Miles said. “I want to make plays like taking charges, diving on the ball; that’s my mentality when I go into the game.”
Miles did just that as she came up with two steals, one of which she dove on the floor to retrieve. She also had a team-high three assists, grabbed two rebounds, took an offensive foul and got a tie up that led to a change of possession.
“I know my role on this team,” Miles said. “I’m surrounded by so many great players like Funda, Hannah, Rachel and Katie. I know I’m in to get defensive stops and take care of the ball.”
During the first half, Miles played only one minute but played over half of the second half and was in the game for the run which cut the FS lead to two with under two minutes in the game.
“Between the ears, she’s probably No. 1,” said USU coach Jerry Finkbeiner. “She knew exactly what we needed. She didn’t shoot the ball because she knew what we needed.”
Miles set a career high in assists and tied her career high in steals. Her performance and playing style could earn her more minutes in upcoming games as Finkbeiner looks for ways to close out the season with wins.
“I need to find ways to play Mariah more, to tell you the truth,” Finkbeiner said. “It’s her savviness of the game, her decision making and understanding of the game.”
Utah State’s next game is Wednesday against Nevada in the Spectrum. The game tips off at 7 p.m. After that, the Aggies have only three more games before the Mountain West tournament which begins on Mar. 7.
— kalen.s.taylor@gmail.com
Twitter: @kalen_taylor