Women’s basketball’s losing streak continues after falling to SDSU
There has been much discussion recently within the Utah State Women’s Basketball program about the team’s growth and improvement, but head coach Wesley Brooks urged his players to step it up after a lackluster 85-66 loss to San Diego State.
“I think we’ve played with more of a juice in some other games, and we didn’t place with that juice tonight, for whatever reason,” Brooks said. “I have to examine and find out what it is.”
The Aggies have now lost 15 consecutive games, bringing their overall record to 1-17. Even more frustratingly, while their offense is improving, their defense continues to decline.
For a team that isn’t shy to shoot the three-ball, their consistency in knocking them down has been lacking. Meanwhile, their opponents have been excelling from distance, and the disparity in shooting numbers between the two teams in this game was striking.
Utah State attempted 19 more three-pointers than San Diego State, yet the Aztecs still made three more threes than the Aggies. It’s rare to see a team shoot 60% from three for an entire game, but Brooks has grown accustomed to his opponents’ hot shooting.
“We have literally lost every game because of people beating us in threes,” Brooks said. “I want us to be the team shooting threes, and everybody is shooting threes against us.”
Beyond the issue of shooting threes, the team has also struggled to dominate inside. After Friday’s practice, Brooks emphasized his search for a reliable big to handle the bulk of the minutes, and he continued to experiment with Gracie Johnson, Karlie Banks and Sophie Sene during this game.
Sene delivered the best performance of the three in this one, finishing with 10 points, seven rebounds and one block in only 15 minutes of play. In Fresno, it was Banks who led the bigs, while in Nevada, it was Johnson. As of now, the leader at the position remains unresolved.
“Tonight, we had a size advantage,” Brooks said. “And tonight, Sophie finished. There’s been games where we go to Sophie, and she’s missed a lot of layups, but she did a great job of finishing tonight.”
After the game, Sene said the fluctuating minutes among the bigs haven’t bothered her, though she was brutally honest in evaluating her own performance on the team.
“I haven’t been helping my team much since the season started,” Sene said. “Today, I just came with the mindset that I want to win. I want to do whatever it takes to win.”
It hasn’t helped that the Aggies have also had to deal with several of their top players being sidelined due to injuries. Guards Mia Tarver and Isabella Tanedo missed this game with lower leg injuries, but both are expected to return soon. Forward Taliyah Logwood is still out with a high-ankle sprain, and her return is expected in a few weeks.
Freshman guard Ava Smith, who had barely played all season, was given significant minutes in this game due to the mounting injuries, and she showed promise. Smith finished with nine points on three-of-six shooting from beyond the arc and also added some physicality on the defensive end.
“We’ll continue to evaluate [Ava], but she played tremendous tonight, and she definitely earned some more minutes,” Brooks said.
The losses continue to pile up, but all is not lost for this team. The Aggies moved the ball well against the Aztecs, recording 17 assists, their highest total in that category since March 2022. Their 14 offensive rebounds also set a new season high, suggesting the team’s offense is beginning to align more with their coach’s vision.
Defense, on the other hand, will be a major point of emphasis for the team moving forward.
“The next two days, we’re just going to do defensive practices,” Brooks said. “Until we start playing better defense, we’re not going to be able to win games.”
The Aggies will have their next opportunity to test their defense on Jan. 21 when they face New Mexico at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.