Women Ags fall apart in second half
The Utah State women’s basketball team wasn’t about to let the past come back to haunt it in the Aggies’ game against Long Beach Thursday night in California.
Although it may not have been the dismal showing USU had before against the 49ers, LBSU still proved too much for the Ags as they fell 75-59.
“We’ve got to believe that we are able to beat this team,” Utah State Head Coach Raegan Pebley said. “We have to believe it soon because we could very likely see this team again in the tournament.”
Behind 11 first-half points from freshman guard Taylor Richards, the Ags hung tough with Long Beach and actually had an eight-point lead at the half, 35-27.
“We had that lead not because they missed shots,” Pebley said. “We had that lead because we were playing well.”
But Long Beach wasn’t going to give up a win easily.
After going scoreless in the first half, Jessica Freeman stopped a 5-0 run by the 49ers in the second half by scoring two early baskets for the Ags. She finished the game with nine points.
But it wasn’t enough. With 15 minutes left, Long Beach cut away the halftime lead and tied the game at 42. On its next possession, LBSU took the lead for the second time in the game.
For the next five minutes, the teams stayed tight. Neither team was ever more than two baskets behind the other. But it wasn’t long before Long Beach pulled ahead of the Ags.
A scoring slump halfway through the second period also gave LBSU a chance to take control of the game. It took it.
“In the second half, we kind of stopped playing,” Brittany Tressler said. “We felt like Long Beach was going to had us the win.”
“They shot 60 percent [in the second half] and really put the ball on the floor and attacked the basket,” Pebley said.
With 1:30 left to play in the game, a foul from Kahlie Quinones sent Long Beach’s Crystal McCutcheon to the line and gave the Niners a 20-point lead. LBSU went to the line 16 times in the second half while USU visited it only once.
Each of the Aggies playing in the post, Ali Aird and Freeman, were saddled with four fouls, making it difficult for Utah State to defend inside.
In the second half, the Ags were out-scored by the Niners 48-24.
“I told the team I’m going to take responsibility for this loss,” Pebley said. “I should have found a way to let them know they don’t need them to miss shots to win. They can compete with them.”
The Aggies are now competing for fourth place in the Big West tournament. They will face off against UC Irvine Saturday night in California in their second to last regular season game this season.
-aedmunds@cc.usu.edu