USU women drops first game in basketball double-header
The Aggies have never beaten the Lady Techsters in Logan.
That statement stayed true Friday evening as junior guard Devyn Christensen finished with 22 points, but rebounds proved costly, and the Aggies fell to Louisiana Tech 82-76.
“The rebounding was a big key in this loss,” said head coach Raegan Pebley. “We didn’t give ourselves second-chance opportunities. We didn’t finish well.”
Utah State controlled the game at the start, jumping out to a 7-3 lead before the Lady Techsters went on a run to seize a 10-9 lead at the first media timeout. Senior forward Maddy Plunkett scored seven points in the first 10 minutes of play and finished with 12 on the night.
The Aggies pushed their lead to six on a 3-pointer from Plunkett, but, with a little more than three minutes before halftime, Louisiana Tech went on a 9-0 run and went into the break with a 32-29 lead.
“We didnt get the stops that we needed when we were scoring,” Pebley said. “We had our chances, but the lack of stops led to the (Louisiana Tech) run.”
Christensen gave spark to the Aggies and recorded the first five points to give USU a two-point edge. The teams battled back and forth in a tight second half, and, each time Utah State pulled ahead, Louisiana Tech responded at the other end.
After a four-point first half, senior forward Ashlee Brown found a rhythm and eight points for the Aggies in a five-minute span to keep the score close. The Lady Techsters effectively crashed the boards, which resulted in second-chance points, and Louisiana Tech led by four with eight minutes to play.
Senior guard Brooke Jackson checked into the game, and the Aggies went on an 11-4 run to reclaim the lead. After Jackson hit a 3-pointer, the momentum was on USU’s side. Moments later, the Lady Techsters’ leading scorer, Shantale Bramble-Donaldson, fouled out and Utah State stretched its lead to six with four minutes to play.
The Lady Techsters went back to the boards.
“They rebounded, we didn’t,” Jackson said. “It was frustrating. We let up when we had the lead. It was a lack of mental toughness.”
The Aggies were unable to corral the rebounds, and Louisiana Tech cut the deficit on second-chance shots. A jumper from Whitney Frazier gave the Lady Techsters the lead at 75-74 with 40 seconds to play.
Christensen missed a 3-point attempt on the ensuing possession and Louisiana Tech hit 12 of 13 free throws in the second half to close it out.
Utah State finished with 24 rebounds to Louisiana Tech’s 37. The Lady Techsters finished with 13 offensive rebounds and had an 18-0 advantage in second-chance points.
With the loss, Utah State fell to 15-7 overall and 6-2 in WAC play. The Lady Techsters pulled to within a game of USU in conference play at 5-3 and climbed above .500 on the year at 12-11.
Utah State hosts New Mexico State in its next game Saturday at 4 p.m.
“We’re going to take care of business,” Christensen said. “We’re still a motivated team, and all of our goals are in sight. We’re going to learn from this and get back on the boat.”
– curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail.usu.edu