USU Women’s hoops end season with loss to Wyoming

It was an abrupt end to the season for the Utah State women’s basketball team as they fell to Wyoming 69 to 41 in the opening round of the Mountain West tournament Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas.

The Aggies struggled to make baskets all game long, shooting just 13 of 60 (21.7 percent) from the field and 2 of 16 (12.5 percent) from three. Freshman Kinley Falslev led the way, scoring 10 points on 3 of 10 shooting. Senior Emmie Harris had a team-high 7 rebounds and 4 points. Sophomore Faith Bradley had a team-high 2 assists to go with 5 points. Senior Jessica Chapman, the Aggies second-leading scorer (11.3 points per game), had just two points, shooting 1 of 8 from the field. 

Wyoming opened the game with two quick buckets from junior Alba Sanchez Ramos to go up 5 to 0 and never relinquished the lead. The Aggies would score just six points in the opening quarter, and go on a scoring drought from the 4:06 mark of the first quarter to the 8:38 mark of the second quarter when junior Monique Pruitt spun and hit a jumper to make it 19 to 8. 

Cowgirl sophomore McKinley Bradshaw proved troublesome for the Aggies, as she came off the bench and was able to get easy looks at the rim, finishing the half with 10 points. At halftime, the Aggies would trail 32 to 17. 

In the third quarter, Wyoming turned the game into a full-on blowout, outscoring USU 28 to 15 to extend the lead 60 to 33. In the 4th quarter, the Cowgirls benched their starters, so the Aggies managed to hold them to just nine points. But the offense never got going. USU scored just eight points in the final quarter. 

Head Coach Kayle Ard’s first year as Utah State’s coach started promising – they won four of their first eight games – including two conference wins over Air Force. But then the Aggies went on a 16-game losing streak in conference play to finish the season with a 4-20 record. 

Ard tweeted after the game, “Thank you for you’re unwavering support throughout our season. We will be better next year.”

Thank you for you’re unwavering support throughout our season. We will be better next year. 🤘🏽

— Kayla Ard (@Kayla_Ard) March 8, 2021

Harris and Chapman are the only seniors on the roster, both will have the option to come back next year due to the NCAA granting a free year of eligibility to winter sports athletes.