Ali Aird recorded her fourth double-double of
the season with a team-high 15 points and 11 rebounds and Utah State overcame
a 16-point first-half deficit to defeat Cal State Fullerton, 72-64, here
Saturday night in women's basketball action. The win was USU's first against
the Titans in school history as it improved to 1-6 all-time against Fullerton.
The win was also the Aggies' third straight, which matched its longest
winning streak of the season as they improved to 14-10 overall and 9-6
in the Big West. Fullerton dropped to 5-18 and 3-11 with the loss. One
more Aggie win will triple their win total from last season.
USU opened the game with a casual 6-0 lead before Fullerton exploded on
a 29-7 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 5:37 remaining in the
opening half. Back-to-back three-pointers by Brittany Hagen would then
spark a modest 12-4 USU run that pulled them to within eight at the intermission,
33-25.
The Titans shot a blistering 62.5 percent (5-8) from beyond the arc in
the half to help their cause, while the Aggies had 13 first period miscues
to hinder theirs.
In the second half, USU found its stride as it scored 47 points, just
three shy of doubling its first half total. The Aggies were helped by
improved shooting and fewer turnovers as they shot 55.6 percent from the
field, including 71.4 percent from three-point land (5-7) and committed
just five turnovers.
The Aggies slowly chipped away at the Fullerton lead in the opening minutes
of the second period, tying the game at 37 with 15:46 on the clock. However,
Utah State wouldn't hold its first lead of the second half until a Taylor
Richards jumper put the Aggies up 42-41 at the 13:25 mark.
The two teams would then exchange the lead three more times in the next
five-plus minutes before USU took the lead for good (55-54) on a Brittany
Hagen lay-up with 6:30 left in the game. The Aggies then outscored the
Titans 17-10 in the final six minutes of the game to capture their third
straight victory.
For the second straight game the Aggies had four players in double figures
as Jessica Freeman, Richards and Brittany Tressler joined Aird in the
double-digit scoring column. Freeman tallied 14, grabbed seven boards
and dished-out a career-high five assists. Richards and Tressler each
had 13 points.
Also for the second consecutive game, the Aggies pulled down the exact
same number of rebounds as its opponent with 43. USU finished shooting
a season-best percentage from both the field (47.8) and from beyond the
arc (63.6).
Fullerton finished with a 31.4 percent mark from the field and went to
the line just 22 times compared to 31 for USU.
The Titans also had a quartet of players in double-figures, led by 16
points from Andrea Adams. Melanie Mosley was the game's top rebounder
with 16.
