The USU season opener for the Aggies came down to the final seconds in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Utah State women’s basketball first-nighter came down to the nail-biting last minute. USU looked good with three and a half minutes to go in the game, leading by seven points when Kansas City stole the momentum and took the win 80-77. With head coach Wes Brooks at the helm, the Aggies played hard in a talented effort but lacked execution. This showed most in the late-game situation. Kansas City started strong, leading most of the game, and came back after a short lull for the win.
USU Highpoints
After senior guard Cheyenne Stubbs opened the game with a spinning drive for a layup, the Roos took an early lead with an early 6-0 run. They maintained their advantage, heading to an 18-12 lead at the end of the opening frame. The Aggies clawed within three points after a Stubbs 3 and a layup from freshman guard Elise Livingston but could not erase Kansas City’s edge. After the Roos’ lead grew as large as nine, Utah State closed the quarter on a 10-4 run to enter halftime trailing only by three at 44-41.
Halftime Rollout
Coming out of halftime, USU emphasized its 3-point shooting as the Aggies tallied seven second-half 3-pointers after going 3-of-9 from behind the arc in the first half. Stubbs and freshman guard Denae Skelton hit a pair of triples in the third quarter as Utah State came within a single point of the Roos on multiple occasions. The Aggies finally took the lead, the first since the opening minutes, at the start of the fourth quarter off a fastbreak layup from junior guard Jamisyn Heaton. Skelton and junior guard Mia Tarver hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give USU a seven-point lead with seven minutes remaining.
After a 7-0 run from Kansas City tied the game at 69 apiece, the Aggies offense again heated up. Heaton scored another layup to restore USU’s lead before Stubbs hit a layup of her own and buried another 3-pointer to again put the Aggies up by seven.
Roos Do the Impossible
The Roos erased the deficit with another 7-0 run to tie the game at 76 with less than a minute left. With 32 clicks on the clock, Stubbs hit a free throw to give USU a one-point lead before Kansas City scored on a layup with 21 seconds remaining, adding a pair of FTs for insurance. The Aggies’ last-ditch efforts to tie the game were short, giving the visitors the 80-77 win.
Stubbs led the effort for USU, totaling 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including a 5-8 mark from 3-point territory. Junior guards Tarver and Heaton also scored in double figures, finishing with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Heaton also led the Aggies with seven boards.
Not Bad
Utah State shot 30-for-64 (46.9 percent) from the field for the full game, including a 10-30 (33.3 percent) mark from beyond the arc. Kansas City shot 31-of-61 (50.8 percent) from the floor and 4-of-11 (36.4 percent) from 3, plus a 14-of-15 (93.3 percent) performance from the FT line. The Aggies won the turnover battle, forcing 23 turnovers from the Roos and scoring 29 points of those turnovers while allowing only 20 points to Kansas City off of 19 turnovers.
Alayna Contreras led the Roos with a game-high 29 points on 12-of-23 shooting, while Tamia Ugass recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Aggies will continue their three-game homestand to begin the season by hosting California State University on Friday, Nov. 8, at 6 pm, at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
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