Aggies handled by Wyoming in MW quarterfinal
LAS VEGAS (The Utah Statesman) — Monday night saw the Aggies fall to Wyoming 64-41, ending their tournament run in the quarterfinals.
Right out of the gates, Wyoming wanted to make sure that the game didn’t result in a low scoring affair like the previous two meetings between these two teams this season. Within five minutes the Cowgirls were already off to a great start shooting the ball, continuing the form that got the team in the top-five nationally in three point percentage. Wyoming made seven of its first 10 shots, including 2-of-4 from deep.
By the end of the quarter Utah State was faced with an 18-9 deficit and not seeing a lot of options offensively.
“I think Wyoming is the best in the conference in the half
Savi Knapp Shannon Dufficy drives to the basket against Wyoming – Photo by Savi Knapp
court,” said Utah State head coach Jerry Finkbeiner. “They executed offensively really well. A lot of back screens, a lot of cuts and back doors.”
Junior forward Shannon Dufficy was doing her best to keep the Aggies in the game by putting up 11 points at the half along with five rebounds. The all-conference forward would end up leading the team with 17 points and finishing one rebound shy of her 19th double-double of the season. Unfortunately for Utah State, one player contributing wasn’t enough and Wyoming held a 37-21 lead at the half.
Wyoming was not only out-shooting the Aggies, but also was making its presence felt under the basket by cleaning up on the glass. Wyoming pulled down 18 rebounds in the first half, 10 more than Utah State, all while shooting 59 percent from the field.
“Defensively they’re not the quickest group in the conference, but they’re long and they anticipate well and they’re always in your face,” Finkbeiner said. “We just couldn’t shake them tonight. You know, if the game was to start off a little differently if they wouldn’t have been as hot, if we we would have made a couple more shots the reflection of the game could have been different.”
A 13-to-2 run to start the third quarter put Utah State into an even deeper hole just five minutes into the second half. Wyoming showed no signs of slowing down from the field and there even started to become a feeling of invincibility radiating from its side of the court.
The Cowgirls were once again led by its two all-conference senior forwards Marta Gomez and Bailee Cotton. Gomez led the team with 19 points and Cotton wasn’t far behind with 14 herself. All-in-all Wyoming finished with four players in double figures and 53 percent shooting.
The fourth quarter wouldn’t matter much in the grand scheme of the game as Wyoming scored just 12 points to the Aggies’ 10, ending the game 64-41 and sending the Cowgirls to the semifinals and Utah State back to Logan.
This ended up being the final game for a few Aggie seniors, Rachel Brewster and Deja Mason. Brewster was a major contributor to the Aggies winning four straight games to close out the season, averaging 16.6 points per game over the first three games. But after a 16-point performance against Nevada she would go on to score just 18 points over her next three games.
Mason finished the regular season second in blocks for the Mountain West and was a key figure coming off the bench, but struggled to find ways to contribute in Utah State’s final few games.
Junior guard Eliza West became visibly emotional when asked what ending the season like this meant for the seniors.
“I wish I could have done better for them,” she said.
Although the Aggies didn’t make it past the second round of the tournament, the season can still be looked at rose colored glasses in comparison to recent history. Utah State finished conference play with a 16-15 record, only the second time the Aggies have finished with a winning record since joining the Mountain West Conference six seasons ago.
While an NCAA tournament berth isn’t a possibility for USU, the Aggies still could be in the running for a number of other postseason tournaments. Finkbeiner alluded that the Aggies could still potentially receive an invitation to the Women’s Invitational Tournament.
Dalton Renshaw – @dren_sports