USU women get first conference win of season
Behind career-high scoring from freshmen Taylor Richards and Jenny Gross the Utah State women’s basketball team was able to get its first conference win of the season against Cal Poly 71-60 in California Saturday.
Richards had 20 points, six from behind the arc. Gross tallied 14 points as well as pulling down nine boards.
With the win, the Ags now have more wins this season than they had all of last season with six.
A 14-6 run toward the end of the half put the Ags up 38-33 at the buzzer. In the second half, the Aggies led until the Mustangs posted a 14-4 run to tie the game at 53 with just over eight minutes left to play in the game.
However, Utah State was able to step up on both ends of the court and held out for a win.
Katy Paterson led the Mustangs with 18 points.
USU 41, UCSB 61
Playing against an undermanned UC Santa Barbara team, with only seven players, Utah State should have been able to keep the game close and pull out a win.
But the seven players left for the Gauchos proved too much for the Ags as they fell 61-41 in California to the defending Big West champions Jan. 6.
Senior Kristen Mann, a nationally recognized player and the leading scorer for the Gauchos, along with Brandy Richardson, leading in boards, and sophomore Erin O’Bryan were suspended for the game against Utah State for a violation of team rules.
Three other UCSB players were out with knee injuries as well.
If Mia Fisher had been suspended along with her other teammates, it would have been an easy win for the Aggies. But her 24 points, over half came in the first 20 minutes of play, proved too much for the Ags.
For the night, Utah State shot only 27 percent from the floor.
USU 58, MSU 52
Although Montana State scored first against Utah State on Dec. 31 in Logan, it didn’t score again for almost eight minutes. During that time, the Ags were able to jump out to a 22-2 lead over the Bobcats.
However, the Bobcats finally started to find the basket. A 5-0 run at the end of the half cut into the Ags’ lead and the teams went into the locker room with USU only up by 12, 34-22.
Montana State continued to eat into Utah State’s lead during the second half and tied the game at 52 with 2:28 left to play. But the Aggies were able to shut down the Bobcats in the final minutes and won the game 58-52.
Tressler came off the bench to lead the Aggies with a season high 12 points. Aird also had double figures with 10 points.
Montana State was led by Hillary Scott with 18 points.
With the win the Ags improved to 5-5 on the season. Their five wins so far have totaled the number of wins they had all last season.
USU 62, Idaho 63
Sophomore Brittany Tressler had 16 points in Utah State’s game against the Idaho Vandals but it wasn’t enough for the Aggies as they fell 63-62 in Logan on Dec. 29. With the loss the Ags fell to 0-1 in the conference.
With just over five minutes left in the first half, both teams started to find the basket. A 3-pointer from Emily Halliday with only 10 seconds left to play looked like the Ags would end the half behind the Vandals. But, at the buzzer Richards shot one from behind the arc that tied the game at 34.
Throughout the second half the teams traded the lead, but it looked like the Aggies were going to pull ahead. But the Ags had trouble scoring during the last five minutes, and gave up the game to the Vandals 63-62.
USU 67, ISU 61
Aird led four Aggies in double-digits in Utah State’s win over Idaho State 67-61 Monday Dec. 19.
Up by as much as 11 during the first half against Idaho State, the Aggies had trouble controlling the ball and allowed ISU a 17-6 run to tie the game at 25.
Aird led the Aggies with her ninth career double-double with a career-high 15 boards to go along with 17 points.
Led by Molley Hays, the Bengals came out strong in the second half and were up by five with just over 10 minutes left on the game. But two quick baskets from Christina Zdenek and Freeman, along with a 3-pointer from Richards tied the game at 45.
The Aggies were able to hold the lead for the rest of the game and defeated Idaho State 67-61.
-aedmunds@cc.usu.edu