Dec. 13, 2008

Box Score

PROVO, Utah - Despite holding Brigham Young to 28.2 percent (20-of-71) from the field shooting, Utah State women's basketball lost a double overtime heartbreaker, 61-60, at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah on Saturday. BYU moves to 7-2 with the win, while Utah State is now 4-4 with the loss.

Senior guard Danyelle Snelgro was one of three Aggies to score in double figures with a game-leading 16 points. Fellow senior and Provo native, Ana Pares scored 10 points. Sophomore Alice Coddington tied a career high with 11 points. She also scored 11 points against Saint Marys on Dec. 22, 2007.

Coriann Wood led the Cougars in scoring with 13 points. Five different BYU players had at least five rebounds, including Jazmine Foreman, Shawnee Slade and Keilani Moeaki who all had eight rebounds.

BYU started strong taking as big a lead as five points before the Aggie offense woke up. The Cougars dominated the boards in the first half, especially the offensive rebounds. BYU out-rebounded Utah State 20-11 in the first half, including 11 offensive rebounds. USU did not have its first offensive rebound until 6.5 minutes left in the first half.

The Aggies began to cut down the Cougar lead with the help of senior Ndoubme Diop's four points in four minutes as USU would eventually tie the score 12-12. USU would extend its lead to 18-14 off a fast break layup from Danyelle Snelgro, but a 6-0 run by BYU would give the Cougars back the lead. BYU would hold on to the two-point lead with a 24-22 halftime lead.

It was a tough shooting half for both teams in the first half as the Aggies shot 43.5 percent (10-of-23) and the Cougars 37.0 percent (10-27) shot. BYU was shut out from the three-point line (0-of-12). The USU offense had trouble finding its rhythm with three shot clock violations in the first half.

In the second half, both teams started slowly. Utah State scored four point in the first 10 minutes, while the Cougars did not connect a field goal until a Mindy Nielson layup with 10:39 remaining in the second half.

The Aggies took a six-point lead, its biggest of the game, off a Nicole Johnson jumper to take a 36-30 lead with 5:23 remaining in the second stanza. BYU would cut into the lead after a Foreman jumper and two free throws by Slade. The Cougars tied the score at 42-42 with their first three-pointer of the game from Coriann Wood with 1.7 seconds remaining in regulation. BYU had been 0-for-26 from behind the arc before for the make by Wood, sending the Aggies into overtime for the third time this season and the first time on the road.

In the first overtime, the game had its 12 tie and no team had bigger than a three-point lead. With one minute remaining, Cassie King nailed two free throws to tie the score and send the game to double overtime. This was the first double overtime game in the Aggies 21-year history.

The Aggies scored first in the second overtime before the Cougars once again tied it up. BYU took control taking a four-point lead with seven seconds remaining in the second overtime. Pares scored a three to get the Aggies within one, but it was as close as the Aggies would get.

For the game, USU shot 38.5 percent (19-of-56) from the field and 65.5 percent from the free throw line (19-of-29). The Aggies also struggled from behind the arc, shooting only 18.8 percent (3-of-16). The Aggie defense was once again strong as BYU shot only 28.2 percent for the game (20-of-71) and a season low 3.3 percent from the three-point line (1-of-30).

After the quick road trip, USU returns home to take on Portland State on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. Following the game with the Vikings, USU will host Southern Utah on Saturday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m.

Live stats will be available for all home Utah State women's basketball games through the women's basketball page on www.utahstateaggies.com, by clicking on GameTracker in the current events box. All home games can be viewed by clicking on "Watch Live", while they can be heard by clicking on "Listen Live." Both can be accessed on www.utahstateaggies.com on the front page or the women's basketball page.