SAN JOSE, Calif. — Utah State women's basketball (5-21, 2-12 MW) won in a down-to-the-wire thriller Wednesday evening at the Provident Credit Union Event Center, taking down San José State (6-20, 1-13 MW) 71-70.
The Aggies found success on both ends early in this one, taking an 18-15 advantage after the first quarter. After Utah State established a four-point lead early in the second quarter, the Spartans used an 8-0 run to flip positions and take a four-point lead of their own. The teams then exchanged leads for the remainder of the half, SJSU eventually taking a 31-29 lead into the break. Neither team led by more than four at any point in the first half.
After entering the fourth quarter with a 50-48 advantage, the Aggies scored six of the first eight points of the final quarter to open up the largest lead of the night by either side, a six-point advantage.
While Utah State held control for the majority of the second half, an 8-0 Spartan run midway through the fourth quarter put the hosts back on top with just under four minutes to play. With the Aggies down by two with around three minutes remaining, a huge sequence by junior guard
Cheyenne Stubbs put USU back on top as Stubbs hit a jumper, picked up a steal, then hit a layup in a matter of seconds to put the team back in front.
With 45 seconds remaining and the game tied at 68-apiece, the Spartans hit a long jumper to take a two-point advantage. Following a timeout, the Aggies had a front-court inbound which found junior guard/forward
Samiana Suguturaga outside the arc, who hit a 3-pointer to regain the lead with just 33.5 on the clock. San José State got a pair of opportunities on the other end, but were unable to connect as the USU defense came up big to secure the win.
Utah State hit a season-high 12 3-pointers in the contest, including three apiece from Stubbs and junior guard
Ivory Finley. Stubbs was the team's top scorer with 17 points, while also recording two rebounds, a a pair of assists and four steals. She was joined in double-figures by Finley and Suguturaga, who went for 11 and 10 points, respectively. Suguturaga also finished the night with a team-best eight rebounds, along with three steals and three blocks.
24 of USU's 71 points came from its bench, led by a nine-point, seven-rebound performance by junior forward
Bridget Mullings.
Utah State finished the contest shooting 41.5 percent (27-of-65) from the floor, 41.4 percent (12-of-29) from 3-point range and 62.5 percent (5-of-8) at the charity stripe. San José State shot 39.1 percent (27-of-69) from the field, including 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from deep and 69.2 percent (9-of-13) from the free throw line.
The Spartans were paced by Sabrina Ma, who finished with a team-high of 23 points.
Up Next
Utah State (5-21, 2-12 MW) now returns home to host Colorado State this weekend on Saturday, Feb. 24, at 2 p.m., inside of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The game will be streamed on Mountain West Network, 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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