USU Women’s Hoops nab first conference win
LOGAN — Utah State Women’s basketball picked up their first Mountain West win against the visiting Wyoming Cowgirls on Saturday afternoon by a score of 76-66. Hot 3-point shooting and tenacious defense in the paint proved to be the catalyst for the Aggies first win since Dec. 8.
Led by E’Lease Stafford who went 3-of-4 from behind the line in the first quarter, USU came out of the gates running. Kaylin Randhawa also joined the three-point barrage during the first quarter going 2-of-2 from behind the line to add to her eventual game-high of 20 points.
The game plan of driving the ball to the basket and then kicking made for open shooters for the Aggies. They were able to rack up an impressive seven first-quarter assists, which was mostly attributed to the long ball.
The Cowgirls refused to go away quietly, however. Led by the strong offensive rebounding of Allyson Fertig, Wyoming was able to cut the deficit to just 5 right before the halftime horn sounded. Emmie Harris posted an impressive six first-half assists, while the Aggies shot an outstanding 58% from behind the line. The team went into the locker room with that elusive first conference win well in reach.
The Aggies emerged from the locker room amped up. At the start of the 3rd quarter, the USU lead soon doubled to 10, thanks to two fadeaway buckets by Quezada and a 3-point jumper by Stafford. The Aggies lead then grew to as much as 15 thanks to the team’s continued hot three-point shooting, as well as their perfect effort from the charity stripe. Adryana Quezada added to her already impressive week, totaling a double-double in just the third quarter. As the horn sounded and the third period ended, the Aggies were well on their way to their first conference win.
Utah State came out of the huddle and started the fourth quarter to a little Cowgirl run. The Cowgirls were able to bring the game to just 6 points almost halfway through the fourth quarter. But the Aggies red hot three-point shooting extended their lead to as much as 12.
Wyoming showed some signs of a comeback due to the impressive post play of Allyson Fertig and good free-throw shooting from guard McKinley Bradshaw. But in the end, USU’s tremendous shooting from both the free-throw line and three-point line proved to be too much for the Cowgirls. Emmie Harris, breaking the record of most games played in Utah State women’s basketball, posted an impressive eight assists.
Named the player of the game, Adryana Quezada posted an impressive double-double and was one of the main reasons the team was able to capture that first conference win. When asked about her recent outpour of scoring, Quezada said her “teammates have done a great job at getting me the ball.”
The game-ending as an Aggie win can be credited to many different things, but perhaps none more than the three-point shooting of the team. Coach Ard agreed with this saying, “our kids have really been in the gym this week.”
The Aggies will look to add to their conference win as they take on the San Jose Spartans this Thursday in San Jose.