Nov. 28, 2009

Box Score | Photo Gallery

LOGAN, Utah - Behind career nights from red-shirt freshman Banna Diop and junior Stacey Howard, the USU women's basketball team halted a one-game losing skid with a convincing 71-34 win over Montana Western at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, USU improves to 3-1 overall. This team is the fastest to three wins since the 1978-79 squad that won its first five games. The game was an exhibition for the NAIA's Montana Western who hold with a 4-6 record.

Diop scored a career-high 13 points, while junior guard Amber White led all scorers with 16 points. White has now scored in double figures in three of the Aggies' four games. Several other Aggies had career scoring nights, including senior guard Tahara Williams (6) and junior guard LaCale Pringle-Buchanan (7). Freshman guard Devyn Christensen also scored her first collegiate points with a second-half three pointer. Howard had a career-high nine rebounds to lead both teams.

The Aggies led from start to finish jumping out to an 11-4 advantage in the first six minutes of the game. USU used a 7-0 run to take a 15-4 lead at the 13:51 mark of the first half. The Aggies would use another run, 10-0, to extend its lead to 27-9. USU would extend its lead to 20, 31-11, with less than seven minutes left in the half on LaCale Pringle-Buchanan's first three-pointer as an Aggie.

The teams would head into the locker room with Utah State holding a commanding 25 point lead. The Aggies scored 17 bench points in the first half alone.

The second half was similar to the first half. The Bulldogs scored 17 points in each half. USU would only out scored Montana Western by 12 in the second half. With 1:59 left in the game, Pringle-Buchanan made a layup to give USU its biggest lead of the game, 37 points. The 37-point lead, 71-34, would be the final score of the game.

For the game, USU shot 41.5 percent (27-of-65) from the field. The free throw line continues to be a tough spot for the Aggies, shooting 64.3 percent (9-of-14) for the game. From the three-point line, USU shot 30.8 percent (8-of-26). Montana Western shot 27.8 percent (10-of-36) from the field, while shooting 65.0 percent from the free throw line (13-of-20). The Bulldogs shot 20 percent from three (1-of-5).

After a quick one-game homestand, the Aggies hit the road for the Arizona State Tournament in Temp, Ariz. USU will face its third West Coast Conference team, Pepperdine, on Friday, Dec. 4 at 8:30 p.m. (MT). USU is currently 1-1 against the WCC with a win against Portland and a loss to San Francisco.