Women fall to Fresno Bulldogs
The Utah State women’s basketball team had its six-game winning streak snapped Thursday, falling 90-67 to Fresno State University.
“We were not an aggressive team,” head coach Raegan Pebley said. “Our defense was not sufficient — definitely not in the second half. We lost poise and composure tonight.”
Junior Guard Devyn Christensen led the Aggies with 22 points.
Christensen started the scoring with a jump shot 20 seconds in, and neither team found a rhythm on offense early in the first half. The Bulldogs’ offense eventually got going and built a 10-point lead midway through the first half.
Sophomore Ki-Ki Moore led the Bulldogs with 10 first-half points, including two 3-pointers. The 5-foot-8 guard finished with 17 points and eight rebounds and was one of four Fresno State players who scored in double digits.
The Aggies fought back and turned a 25-15 deficit into a 27-25, by way of a 12-0 run sparked by a Christensen layup. Back-to-back 3-pointers tied the game before senior forward Ashlee Brown put USU on top with a layup with three minutes left in the half.
The second half belonged to Fresno State.
The Bulldogs started the second half on a 12-0 run in the first two minutes to push the lead to 13. The Aggies were unable to hit shots and did not come any closer than within nine points the rest of the game.
Christensen said Fresno’s dribble penetration troubled the Aggies.
“Dribble drives beat us,” Christensen said. “That is unacceptable. We weren’t mentally tough tonight.”
Sophomore guard Taylor Thompson finished with 17 points for the Bulldogs as Fresno’s passing allowed the Bulldogs uncontested shots. FSU converted on 50 percent of its 3-pointers in the second half and 59 percent from the field.
As a team, the Aggies made 42 percent of their field goals and committed 18 turnovers — 13 in the second half. Utah State was out-scored 58-36 in the paint, and was out-rebounded 45-34.
With the loss, USU fell to 11-6 on the season, including 2-1 in WAC play. Fresno improved to 14-4 on the year and 2-0 in the WAC.
The Aggies’ next game is against the University of Nevada on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Spectrum.
Nevada is 4-12 this season and 0-1 in conference play after a loss to Fresno State on Jan. 14. The Wolf Pack is led by Kate Kevorken, who has averaged 16.8 points in 15 games. Kevorken has converted on 47.5 percent of her field-goal attempts, including 39.5 percent from the 3-point line.
Nevada ranks No. 1 in the Western Athletic Conference in blocks with 76, No. 2 in field-goal percentage at 41.9 percent and No. 2 in rebounds with 41.2 per game. Forward Kayla Williams leads the WAC with 34 blocks and is No. 1 in field-goal percentage at 51 percent.
“I am sure (Nevada) will be prepared,” Pebley said. “We are going to focus on bouncing back. They are rested, and they’ve been scoring a lot of points.”
– curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail.usu.edu