PHOENIX – Utah State women's basketball fought back from multiple double-digit deficits but ultimately fell on the road at Grand Canyon, 76-62, on Sunday afternoon at Global Credit Union Arena.
Shorthanded due to injury, the Aggies showed remarkable fight in the first half. After falling behind by double digits in the opening quarter, Utah State stormed back with a 14-0 run in the second to cut the deficit to five points. Freshman guard
Denae Skelton drained a pair of 3s near the end of the run, half of her four 3-pointers in the first half. Skelton hit her final 3-pointer of the half in the final minute to cut GCU's lead to 36-28 entering halftime.
The Antelopes rebuilt their lead early in the second half, leading by as many as 15 before the Aggies again clawed their way back. Junior guards
Jamisyn Heaton and Isabella Tañedo both made layups to begin an 11-0 run for USU. Skelton also hit a layup before junior guard
Mia Tarver nailed a straight-away 3-pointer to make it 49-43 entering the fourth quarter. Heaton scored the opening basket of the final frame to bring Utah State within four points. After Grand Canyon again stretched the lead back to double digits, freshman guard
Carlie Latta hit a trio of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to keep the Aggies in the game, but the Lopes' lead proved too much to overcome in the final frame.
Skelton led USU with a career-high 16 points, going 4-of-9 from behind the 3-point line. Tarver added 13 points while shooting 5-of-10 from the field and adding three assists and a team-high two steals. Latta finished with 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting, all from 3-point territory, and tied for the team lead in assists alongside Tarver with three each. Heaton made it four Aggies in double figures with 10 points, also leading the team in rebounds with seven. Tañedo chipped in with a career-high-tying eight points off the bench.
The Aggies shot 9-of-16 (34.6 percent) on 3-point attempts, their seventh game this season making at least nine 3-pointers. USU also shot 22-of-46 (47.8 percent) from the field overall. The Utah State bench outscored the GCU bench in the game, 24-18.
UP NEXT
Utah State wraps up its eight-game road trip next week at Idaho on Sunday, Dec. 15, at 1 p.m., before finally returning to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum to face UC Riverside on Wednesday, Dec. 18, at 6 p.m.
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.
- USU -