Utah State gets routed by UNLV, loses third straight
On Saturday, in their lone matchup with UNLV this season, the Aggies suffered a 21-point loss to the Lady Rebels, 77-56, in Las Vegas, Nev.
Throughout the game, UNLV’s high-tempo offense left the Aggies looking a step slow.
UNLV quickly put their transition offense on display, and in the first quarter, a blitzkrieg of a 15-point run put them up, 19-9, with 1:49 left to play in the period. USU would trail for the rest of the game. The quarter ended with UNLV up, 24-11.
“We turned the ball over way too much in the first quarter,” head coach Jerry Finkbeiner said.
The Aggies remained resilient, however, and an Emmie Harris free throw with 6:31 left in the second period brought USU within seven-points, 26-19. The latter half of the quarter was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams, and UNLV finished the half up, 40-28.
Utah State kept the deficit around 10 for much of the third period, and with 1:23 remaining, cut the lead to just six, but a dominant fourth quarter run by the Lady Rebels widened the margin to 20-points with 2:55 remaining in the game. From there, UNLV cruised to the victory, 77-56.
“We won two quarters, and they won two quarters, just their two quarters overwhelmed us in the first quarter and the fourth quarter,” Finkbeiner said.
Utah State finished with 20 turnovers in the game, up from their 15.5 per game average. Ten of the turnovers were UNLV steals. USU was also outrebounded, 38-24, by the Lady Rebels. The combination of the two factors led to UNLV taking 12 more shots than the Aggies in the contest.
“Turnovers just killed us,” Finkbeiner said.
Senior guard Nikki Wheatley spearheaded the Lady Rebels’ effort, penetrating the USU defense with forays to the basket which consistently led to points for herself or her teammates. She finished the night with 20 points and five assists.
On the visiting team, Shannon Dufficy, again, played a vital role in the Aggie offense. She finished with 26 points and seven rebounds, totals which would have been higher if foul trouble hadn’t prevented her from playing stretches in the second half.
The Aggies will look forward to returning to the Spectrum Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. to play Fresno State after an unsuccessful two-game stint on the road. The Aggies are now 5-4 in conference play and 10-10 overall.
“We’re okay, it’s been a long trip,” Finkbeiner said, “This is probably our toughest road trip of the season.”