Women’s basketball falls to Eastern Washington in home opener

The Utah State women’s basketball team played host to Eastern Washington Friday night in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, losing 75-39. It was the first chance for Utah State fans to get a look at the Aggies new roster, including 12 newcomers which is tied for the most of any Division One team. 

EWU entered the contest 1-0 coming off a defeat of Southern Utah University. The Eagles posted a 19-11 record a year ago and returned 11 of 12 of last year’s letter-winners. 

For the Aggies, it was the second consecutive loss to begin the campaign, having dropped the season opener to California State Northridge.

“We had two good days of prep, and I thought the kids did a really good job buying into the game plan,” head coach Kayla Ard said. “We had a very unique game plan that kind of goes against our style and the way we play. And I thought we did a really good job executing that in the first and in the third.

The Aggies went in with a game plan to attempt to slow the pace of the game. They waited until late in the shot clock to get into their offense and prolonged possessions defensively. This strategy goes against Ard’s typical coaching style, which encourages pushing the ball up the court for more transition opportunities.

Ard believes they were able to execute this plan in the first and third quarters, and cited the second and fourth quarters as reasons for the 36-point loss.

“They’re a very good basketball team and in the first quarter we executed and we gave up 10, and we scored 10. In the third quarter, we gave up 14 and we scored nine, that was the kind of ballgame we wanted,” she said.

One bright spot for the Aggies was junior point guard Cheyenne Stubbs. Stubbs posted 14 points, six rebounds and four assists in 37 minutes of floor time. 

“She has a very poised personality and so we like her up there. We like her at the point, controlling things for us. I thought she did a really good job,” Ard said. “She’s one of the smallest people on the floor and she had six rebounds. Played thirty-seven minutes, only had two turnovers. She’s a player, she competes every single day.”

The Aggies will hit the road, returning to action on Nov. 14 when they play at Kansas City University.