Women’s basketball wins big on senior night
Utah State women’s basketball seniors Mariah Miles, Julianne Anchling and Tijana Djukic went out on top by Air Force 64-40 on senior night in Logan on Tuesday.
“It’s all about the memories,” said USU coach Jerry Finkbeiner. “As a student athlete you tend to remember the last one. I don’t care who you play, if you get a win it’s a good memory.”
Miles had three points and four rebounds and Djukic contributed two points and 13 rebounds.
“We have some big shoes to fill,” said freshman guard Lizzy Klinker. “Juju’s (Anchling) enthusiasm, Mariah’s awesome leadership and T’s (Djukic) passion for the game. We’ll all have to step up without them.”
With the win, the Aggies moved to 8-9 in the Mountain West and 13-15 overall on the year. Air Force dropped to 1-16 in MW play and just 1-27 overall.
Sophomore guard Funda Nakkasoglu paced USU with 20 points. Freshman Rachel Brewster was Utah State’s next leading scorer with 14. She also added a game-high tying three assists and eight rebounds.
“We always look for Funda, she’s our leading scorer,” Brewster said. “She makes most of the shots she puts up. We always try to look for her but when she’s being guarded so tough, it really opens a lot of spots for me.”
Air Force played physically at the start of the game and held Nakkasolgu to just two points in the first quarter, but Brewster picked up the slack with 10. After one, Air Force held a 15-14 lead but Utah State’s defense picked up in the second and third quarters.
“Air Force was very physical with us tonight,” Finkbeiner said. “It was a game plan where they forced the referees to make calls. It wasn’t dirty, they just overwhelmed us with the physicality of the game. As the game progressed our talent gave us some breathing room.”
The Falcons broke through for only seven points in the second quarter and just six in the third which allowed to the Aggies to lead comfortably 46-28 heading into the fourth.
Utah native Cortney Porter scored 17 points for AF and was the team’s only player in double figures. The Utah State bench played increased minutes and outscored the Air Force bench 32-10. Klinker played a career high 15 minutes off the bench and had four points, six rebounds, a steal and an assist.
“I’m thankful for the opportunities he has been giving me,” Klinker said. “I know I have a responsibility to uphold. I think that’s why I’m in, to get some stops on defense. I’ve got to work hard and just keep doing it.”
The Aggies play on the road at Fresno State on Saturday before the MW tournament begins on March 7. In the conference standings, USU is ranked No. 7, the top five teams get a first-round bye.
“If we beat Fresno State, we’ve got a really good shot at that first-round bye,” Finkbeiner said. “If we lose, we’ll probably be in six or seven and we may play Air Force again on Monday.”
– kalen.s.taylor@gmail.com
Twitter: @kalen_taylor