OGDEN, Utah - With the calendar turning the page to December, Utah State women's basketball also turned the page on its five-game skid, returning to the win column with a 74-69 win over Weber State inside the Dee Events Center on Thursday evening.
 
The Aggies started slow as the Wildcats jumped out to a 16-11 lead after the first quarter. The Aggies trailed by as many as nine points on multiple occasions in the second quarter before outscoring the Wildcats 13-7 in the final 5:58 of the first half to cut the deficit to 30-27 entering halftime.
 
"We were terrible in the first half," said third year head coach Kayla Ard. "But our girls showed toughness and grit, and we made some adjustments in the second half which changed the game thankfully."
 
Weber State re-extended its lead to eight points at the start of the third quarter before the Aggies stormed back to take their first lead of the game at 43-41 following two free throws from junior guard Tamiah Robinson. Junior guard Olivia Wikstrom powered USU's run with two 3-pointers, part of a team-high 19 points on 7-12 shooting, including a 4-6 mark from 3-point range on the night. WSU recaptured the lead to take a 47-46 advantage into the final frame.
 
The Wildcats again threatened to build a lead as USU trailed by as much as six points in the fourth quarter's opening minutes. A barrage of 3-pointers kept the Aggies in the game as Wikstrom, Robinson and graduate forward Prima Chellis each buried a tray to bring Utah State to a 64-64 tie with 2:41 remaining. Then it was graduate guard Maria Carvalho who took control of the game, draining her only two 3-point attempts of the night as part of a personal 7-0 run to give the Aggies a 71-64 lead with less than a minute to play and allowing USU to ice the game at the FT line. 
 
"It feels great to get a win on the road", Carvalho said. "We played great in the fourth quarter, and we played as a team."
 
Carvalho finished with 17 points on 6-12 shooting alongside seven rebounds and five assists, both team highs. Robinson ended with 12 points, also tying for the team lead with seven rebounds. Wikstroms added five rebounds to go with her team-best 19 points. Chellis made it four Aggies in double figures, chipping in 10 points with two steals. Graduate guard Mayson Kimball also added a team-best three steals. 
 
As a team, Utah State shot 42.6 (26-of-61) from the field, 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from the arc and 80 percent (12-of-15) at the line. The Aggies also scored 20 points off of 16 Wildcat turnovers and accumulated 17 fastbreak points for the game. 
 
Up Next
Utah State (2-5, 0-0 MW) heads back to Logan for a mini two-game homestand beginning with Utah Valley (1-4, 0-0 WAC) on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 2 p.m. (MT).
 
Fans can follow USU women's basketball on Twitter, @USUWBasketball, on Instagram, @USUWBasketball, as well as on Facebook, at /USUWBB. Aggie fans can also follow Utah State Athletics on Twitter, @USUAthletics, on Instagram, @USUAthletics and on Facebook at /USUAthletics. 
  
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