USU women’s hoops drops road contest to Wyoming
Saturday’s trip to Laramie for the Utah State women’s basketball team didn’t end all that well for the Aggies.
A failure to execute on both sides of the court — especially on the defensive end where the team gave up 17 three-pointers — resulted in an ugly 79-42 defeat at the hands of Wyoming in the final game of the weekend series. It’s the ninth straight loss for the 4-13 Aggies, who had a promising start to their campaign.
The physical tenacity necessary to slow down the hot-handed Cowgirls was lacking all game long. The Aggie defenders were continually impeded by screens set at the high post to open up shooters and failed to play tight on-ball defense. Both issues resulted in open shots for UW, which took full advantage, shooting 17-32 (53.1 percent) from beyond the arc.
Utah State put itself in a deep hole to start the game, shooting just 1-11 from the field and giving up eight turnovers in the first quarter of play. They trailed 17-3 after the first ten minutes. Wyoming set the tone, capitalizing on turnovers and finding a rhythm scoring the ball.
Ball movement in the first half was ineffective for USU, with several possessions ending in a steal from Wyoming or forcing up a difficult shot. The team looked rushed and out of sorts, posting a jarring assist to turnover ratio of 13-0 to end the half.
The Aggies especially struggled to find their best playmaker Jessica Chapman — who scored 21 points in the game on Thursday. She was held to just 2-of-8 shooting for five points, in addition to five turnovers on the night.
Unfortunately for the Aggies, the defensive side of the ball wasn’t much better. Led by McKinley Bradshaw — who finished 8-10 from the field (5-7 from 3PT) for 23 points — and Quinn Weidemann — who finished 8-11 from the field (5 of 6 from 3PT) — the Cowgirls had their way on offense.
USU looked to be making some serious halftime adjustments and they seemed to pay off initially. The Aggies scored three straight buckets to start the third quarter, including an Emmie Harris layup that was the product of a savvy back cut. Harris, a senior, was one of the bright spots on the day, scoring a team-high 11 points.
But the Cowgirls remained unfazed, continually reigning three-pointers in the eyes of Aggie defenders. They shot 6 of 10 from beyond the arc in the third quarter and extended their lead to 63-32. The Aggies, who found success playing zone defense in Thursday’s bout, failed to do anything different, sticking with the man and continuing to give up open shots.
In the fourth quarter, Utah State head coach Kayla Ard realized the game was probably lost and opened up her bench, giving freshmen Kinley Falslev, Emily Jarrell, and Amit Lustgarten opportunities to play solid minutes.
Utah State returns to the Spectrum to take on Boise State on February 18 and 20.
@jacobnielson12
—sports@usustatesman.com