USU women’s hoops drops game at BYU
The Utah State women’s basketball team fell on the road to the Brigham Young University Cougars Tuesday afternoon 67-50 -dropping the Aggies to 2-4 on the season. It was kids day at the Marriott Center; 47 busloads of children flooded the seats, and then they flooded the stadium with the sound of screams so shrill they can only be compared to the death throes of some prehistoric animal. The kids seemed to enjoy themselves.
If you couldn’t make it out for kids day, here’s what you missed. #GoCougs #BYUWBB pic.twitter.com/zhRqMJp08K
— BYU Women's Hoops (@byuwbb) November 26, 2019
The beginning of the first quarter looked good for the Aggies, they were able to draw a charge and on the following possession, senior forward Hailey Bassett scored a put-back jumper, opening the game with a 2-0 lead. The following three-and-a-half minutes, however, belonged to Brigham Young. The Cougars went on an 11-to-0 run fueled by solid post play and the Aggies’ inability to create good shots. Utah State called a timeout and came out of it with a renewed sense of purpose. They began moving the ball and setting screens to free up shooters. The Aggies also increased the defensive intensity, stealing the ball twice and scoring a quick five points off of turnovers; the fluid movement and stringent defense would continue throughout the quarter, allowing the Aggies to trim the nine-point deficit to three points. They would enter the second quarter trailing the Cougars 16-13.
The second quarter began much like the first, the Cougars opened up on a nine-to-two run. The Aggies were able to stop some of the bleeding when they held the Cougars scoreless for nearly four minutes in the middle of the quarter, but despite the solid defense, they made up little ground, only scoring four points in that stretch. Despite the inability to make shots, the Aggies did have a distinct advantage in that stretch. Senior forward Marlene Aniambossou hustled, and though it didn’t translate to many counting stats -she only grabbed one rebound- she was able to make a distinct impact tipping the ball and diving after loose balls; however, The Cougars would begin scoring again and the Aggies weren’t able to do much to counter. The Aggies would go into the half trailing the Cougars 32-22.
The second half started out slowly; neither team scored until BYU’s senior forward Shalae Salmon was able to make an interior jump shot with eight minutes left in the quarter. Aniambossou answered back with three points for the Aggies, a made layup and a free throw and The Aggies’ sophomore guard Steph Gorman would nail a three on the next possession, giving the Aggies a 6-to-0 run. The Cougars would then score, and the Aggies’ run turned into a series of traded baskets, with the Cougars gaining a slight edge as the Aggies went cold. Utah State went into the fourth quarter with a 46-to-32 deficit.
Both teams traded blows at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The teams alternated scoring on five straight possessions before Utah State finally blinked and missed a shot. However, the Aggies still fought for the quarter. They hustled and held on to the ball, but they were just unable to outscore the Cougars, losing the quarter 21-to-18 and the game 67-50.
The Aggies shot a low 32.7 percent on the game, with a 28.6 percentage from behind the three, not as efficient as they would have liked going into the game and it showed in the results.
The Aggies’ next game will be at home on Monday, December 2nd when they face off against Dixie State.
Twitter: @Crooked_sports