PROVO, Utah — Utah State women's basketball saw a comeback attempt fall short against in-state foe BYU Tuesday afternoon at the Marriott Center, as the Aggies were unable to overcome an early deficit in a 72-66 loss.
After trailing by as many as 14 points early in the second quarter, the Aggies were tasked with playing from behind throughout the entirety of the contest. Following a 20-8 first quarter, Utah State out-scored the Cougars 58-52 the rest of the way but were doomed by the slow start.
The Aggie offense came to life in the second quarter with 21 points in the frame behind 57.1 percent (8-of-14) shooting from the field. The team used an 11-3 run midway through the quarter to whittle away at the deficit, including the first career buckets for the freshman duo of guard
Ali Wetta and forward
Lauren Crocker. At the half, it was a 10-point game with BYU holding a 39-29 advantage.
Utah State continued to battle back in the third quarter, chipping away at the BYU lead and narrowing a 10-point deficit to just a five-point Cougar lead as it was a 50-45 contest heading into the final 10 minutes. They went on to pull within a single possession midway through the final quarter, but were unable to regain control.
Cheyenne Stubbs continued her hot scoring streak for USU as the junior guard led the team in scoring for the seventh-consecutive game and fell just two points shy of her season-high as she went for 21 points along with three boards, two assists and a pair of steals. Stubbs was joined in double-figures by junior guards
Ivory Finley and
Skye Miller, who went for 10 points apiece. Miller also led the Aggies on the glass as she brought down seven rebounds.
Defensively, Utah State forced 20 BYU turnovers, scoring 14 points off of those turnovers. The Aggies out-scored the Cougars in the paint 32-28 and got 20 points from its bench, including a seven-point performance from senior forward
Allyzee Verdan.
Utah State finished the contest shooting 39.0 percent (23-of-59) from the floor, 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from 3-point range and 65.0 percent (13-of-20) at the charity stripe. BYU shot 45.1 percent (23-of-51) from the field, including 27.8 percent (5-of-18) from deep and 60.0 percent (21-of-35) from the free throw line.
Up Next
Utah State (3-5, 0-0 MW) plays another game in Utah County this weekend as it faces Utah Valley (3-4, 0-2 Big Sky) on Saturday, Dec. 9, at 2 p.m. (MT). The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with links to the 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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