LOGAN, Utah – Utah State women's basketball fell in another close contest, 69-65, to CSUN on Friday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
 
Head coach Wesley Brooks
"Disappointing result. The game was definitely different than the other night. The other night, we didn't hit any of our process goals. Tonight, we actually hit five of our process goals. But at the end of the day, the game is called basketball. You have to make baskets and we didn't make enough of them. The two things that got us tonight were that we didn't make enough threes and then we put them at the line 30 times and they went 22-for-30. As I told the girls downstairs, we did a pretty good job guarding them, holding them to 21 percent from 3 and 36 percent from the field. But guess where you can't guard? At the free throw line. So we have to do a better job at defending without fouling and we'll coach that better."
 
Junior guard Jamisyn Heaton
"Obviously, coach (Brooks) has a style of play and I felt like we could have executed it better tonight. Our shooting obviously was not amazing. Our defense is what I feel like is keeping us back from being the best team we could be, and then giving up offensive rebounds as well. We have our game plan going in the game. I feel like if we could execute that a little bit better, we could be that team that coach Wes is implementing. Obviously, we can learn from this game and there's things we can do, myself and my team. Once we can figure out those things, we'll be the team that everyone knows that we can be."
 
The Aggies opened up the game on a hot streak, going on an 11-3 run to begin the game. Junior guard Mia Tarver scored seven straight points during the run, hitting two 3-pointers and a free throw. After a 3-pointer from freshman guard/forward Taliyah Logwood again pushed USU's lead to eight, the Matadors mounted a comeback with an 8-0 run spanning the first and second quarters. Utah State maintained the lead with a quick 5-0 burst before CSUN again closed the distance, this time retaking the lead with less than a minute remaining. On the final possession before halftime, the Aggies forced a miss in the paint and executed the fastbreak with senior guard Cheyenne Stubbs finding Tarver for the layup to cut the deficit to 27-26 heading into halftime.
 
After freshman guard Denae Skelton opened the second half with a 3-pointer, CSUN responded with a 10-0 run to take their largest lead of the game at 37-29. The Aggies then showed their mettle, immediately erasing the deficit with an 8-0 burst with the first seven points all coming off Matador turnovers. The two sides jostled for the lead over the remainder of the quarter, ultimately heading into the final frame tied at 45.
 
In the fourth quarter, Utah State jumped in front when Logwood drove the lane for two and converted the and-one opportunity. A Stubbs layup on the next possession put USU up 54-49. The Matadors responded, however, with a 10-2 stretch to retake the lead. CSUN led by five with under two minutes remaining before Stubbs drained a pair of unassisted 3-pointers to bring the Aggies back within one, but the Matadors were able to ice the game at the FT line to take the 69-65 win.
 
Stubbs again led the Aggies in scoring with 16 points, also recording her third career double-double with a team-high 11 rebounds. Junior guard Jamisyn Heaton also reached double figures for the second-straight contest, finishing with 14 points and seven rebounds. Logwood was USU's final scorer in double digits with 10 points, while Tarver narrowly missed the plateau with nine points. 
 
Tarver also led the Aggies with seven steals, tying for 14th all-time for a single game at USU. Utah State recorded 12 steals as a team, part of forcing 22 turnovers while surrendering only 15 turnovers. Sophomore center Gracie Johnson again led USU with three blocks on the night.
 
UP NEXT
The Aggies conclude their season-opening three-game homestand against Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday, Nov. 14, at 11 am, at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. 
 
Season Tickets
Season tickets for the 2024-25 schedule are available now. Fans can make a deposit to save their seat here or by calling the USU Ticket Office at (435) 797-0305.
 
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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