Utah State beats Nevada at home
Junior guard Devyn Christensen recorded a team-high 22 points as the Utah State women’s basketball team defeated the University of Nevada 91-69 on Saturday, Jan. 21.
“(Christensen) has been eating her Wheaties,” head coach Raegan Pebley said. “It is great when she can score, but it is even better when she plays this kind of defense. She is an emotional leader for us.”
After conceding the first basket of the game, the Aggies scored 11-straight points and never looked back. Five different USU players scored in the first six minutes, and defense led to offense as Utah State scored 26 points off of 19 Wolf Pack turnovers.
Christensen scored 16 points in the first half, and the Aggies nearly had three players score in double digits before intermission. Seniors Ashlee Brown and Maddy Plunkett had 10 and 8 points, respectively, before halftime.
USU went on a 12-0 run and pushed its lead to 44-22 with three minutes left before halftime. Christensen hit back-to-back 3-pointers to spark the run, and junior center Banna Diop scored on three consecutive layups to cap it off.
Utah State scored 51 points on 60 percent shooting en route to a 21-point lead at halftime. Nevada was led by senior Katie Kevorken, who scored a game-high 23 points, including 18 in the first half.
Christensen said the Aggies were focused on rebounding from their last loss.
“We talked about bouncing back and that is what we did,” Christensen said. “We came out focused, and we put a good game together.”
Sophomore guard Jennifer Schlott scored eight-straight points for the Aggies in a span of two minutes. Christensen, ranked No. 2 in the Western Athletic Conference in free-throw percentage, hit two free throws to give USU its largest lead of the game 77-48 with under eight minutes to play.
Six different players scored at least 10 points for the Aggies, including Schlott, who finished with 11. Diop and freshman center Franny Vaaulu each added 10. Plunkett finished with 11 and Brown had 12.
“We have a deep team,” Christensen said, “we knew that coming in; and Nevada is a good team. To see that production against that solid of a team is fun.”
Nevada struggled in the paint against a taller Aggie lineup and was out-rebounded 30-36. The Wolf Pack was without its leading rebounder in senior forward Kayla Williams, who did not make the trip to Logan due to illness.
Utah State finished the game shooting 58.6 percent from the field, including 46.2 percent from the 3-point line.
With the win, USU improved to 12-6 overall and 3-1 in WAC play. Nevada fell to 4-13 and 0-2 after its game against Idaho on Thursday was postponed.
“It was a way better performance tonight,” Pebley said. “I liked our balance in scoring, and I was proud of our ability to focus and bounce back.”
The Aggies next face Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, on Saturday, Jan 28 at 7 p.m.
– curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail.usu.edu