NORTHRIDGE, California — Utah State women's basketball fell in its season opener, suffering a 79-64 loss to CSUN Monday night at the Premier America Credit Union Arena.
The Aggies got off to a solid start, bringing down six offensive boards while playing a back-and-forth first quarter. Early on in the contest it was junior forward
Bridget Mullings providing a spark for the Aggies, as she came off the bench to provide six points and four boards in five first-quarter minutes. Mullings went on to post a near first-half double-double, finishing the first 20 minutes with 10 points and seven rebounds, leading the squad in each category.
Despite a strong performance in the paint, where the Aggies scored 20 of their first 26 points, USU struggled to keep pace with the hot-shooting Matadors, who finished the first half shooting 46 percent from the floor.
After seeing the CSUN lead stretch to as many as 20 points midway through the third quarter, the Aggies were able to capture some offensive rhythm, using a 20-point quarter to cut the deficit to just 10 heading into the final stretch. This was as close as the game would get, though, as the Matadors
The Aggies were led by Mullings, who had a double-double with team-highs of 15 points and 10 boards, while shooting an efficient 5-of-7 from the field. Those marks were also career-highs for the transfer, playing her first game in an Aggie uniform. Junior guard
Skye Miller also had a notable performance, going for 13 points, seven rebounds and a team-high-tying four assists in her Aggie debut.
Utah State won the rebounding battle, 43-39, and out-scored the Matadors in the paint 44-34, but committed 23 turnovers and were held without a made 3-pointer in the contest.
Utah State finished the game shooting 41.7 percent (25-of-60) from the field, 56.0 percent (14-of-25) from the free throw line and 0.0 percent (0-of-14) from behind the 3-point arc. CSUN shot 42.6 percent (29-of-68) from the floor, 60.0 percent (12-of-20) at the charity stripe and 42.6 (9-of-31) from 3-point range.
Up Next
Utah State (0-1, 0-0 MW) will play its home opener as it hosts Eastern Washington on Friday, Nov. 10, at 5 p.m., inside of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The match will be streamed on Mountain West Network, with links to live stream and stats available on utahstateaggies.com.
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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