Women’s basketball falls to New Mexico 101-79, defensive woes continue
Three days before the Tuesday matchup against New Mexico, Aggies head coach Wesley Brooks expressed his disappointment with the team’s defensive effort.
“Defense is going to be the emphasis the next two days in practice,” Brooks said following Saturday’s blowout loss. “Until we’re better defensively, it’s going to be a hard road to climb.”
After two days of practices devoted exclusively to defense, Utah State still allowed the Lobos to shoot 58% from the field and 44% from three, ultimately losing the game 101-79. Brooks expressed his disappointment in the lack of improvement following the loss.
“We have to defend better,” Brooks said. “It’s a little frustrating defensively because I know the girls are working hard, but we’re still late on rotations. We’ll continue to work on it, but that’s the thing we have to clean up.”
It’s been the same story all year. Utah State typically plays a zone defense and presses full court. The front side of the press has been effective at forcing turnovers and slowing opponents down, but once the opposing offense breaks through to the back side of the press, the Aggies struggle to recover, allowing opponents to capitalize with easy buckets.
Utah State recorded 10 steals and forced 19 turnovers against New Mexico, showcasing their ability to pressure ball handlers in the press and trap the ball in the half court. However, the Lobos are one of the fastest-paced teams in the Mountain West, so when they were able to beat the press, the results proved catastrophic for the Aggies defense.
As a fast-paced team themselves, Utah State managed to stay competitive for about three and a half quarters, but then they struggled to generate quality shots on offense while New Mexico found their offensive rhythm.
The Aggies couldn’t match the Lobos physicality inside. New Mexico’s 43 rebounds dwarfed Utah State’s 25, and the Lobos scored 48 of their 101 points in the paint. Brooks expressed particular concern about the lack of rebounding, making it a key focus during the postgame press conference.
“Rebounds are just running out of our hands — fifty-fifty balls we’ve got to get,” Brooks said. “Clean up the rebounding and then clean up some missed assignments, and then we’re right there.”
The Aggies’ defense remains inconsistent, but their offense has shown significant improvement since the start of the season.
Guard Cheyenne Stubbs delivered her best performance in conference play, scoring 24 points on 7-of-17 shooting while also contributing 4 assists. Guard Elise Livingston had her second-best scoring game of her young career with 14 points.
Forward Jamisyn Heaton was the most physically assertive player on the Aggies side. She stuffed the stat sheet and finished with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block. Heaton was the only player on the team able to work the low post, drawing fouls and breaking down the interior wall of Lobo defenders.
“If we can keep getting those tough buckets in the paint and figure out those missing pieces on defense, I know we can break through the slump we’re in right now,” Heaton said.
If there was ever a time for Utah State to overcome their slump of 15 straight losses, it would be this upcoming road trip. They will head off to San Jose State on Jan. 25 and then to Colorado Springs to face Air Force on Jan. 29, two teams ranked at the bottom of the Mountain West standings.
Since conference play began, the Aggies have ranked higher than San Jose State in both offense and defense, and they’ve also ranked higher than Air Force in offense.
Until then, Brooks and his team will return to the practice gym to focus on rebounding, aggressiveness and communication on defense.
“We’re getting there,” Brooks said. “It’s just maturity. It’s just a young team, and we have to continue to grow.”