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Show Monday, Nov. 22, 2010 StateSManSpOrtS Page 9 Aggie women fall apart in second half, lose to Montana By MARK ISRAELSEN staff writer UTAH STATE CENTER BANNA DIOP goes up for a shot during Saturday's 65-62 loss to Montana. Diop chipped in with 17 points, nine rebounds and two blocks but was unable to lead her team through a poor shooting performance in the second half. CARL R. WILSON photo The search for its first regular season win is still on for the Utah State women's basketball team. The Aggies dropped to 0-3 on the season after losing 65-62 against Montana on Saturday. USU led by 11 at halftime, but struggled to keep Montana off the offensive glass and let the Lady Griz come back and snag a three-point win. "Rebounding and us not converting from the free throw was why they were able to get back into that game," USU coach Raegan Pebley said. "They flat outworked us and I don't ever want to see that out of our team again." For most of the game, Utah State had trouble boxing out and oftentimes was outhustled to the ball, which led to a 2721 rebounding advantage for Montana at halftime, with 14 of those rebounds coming on the offensive end. However, despite the rebounding differential, this game was déjà vu from a week ago. The Aggies played well early on and jumped out to 13-4 lead. USU held the lead throughout the first half, mainly due to impressive passing and a good first half by sophomore center Banna Diop. USU totaled 13 assists to just 6 by Montana in the first half, and Diop led all scorers at halftime with 14 points to give the Aggies a 35-24 lead. "Our offense was good," said Diop, who finished the game with a career-high 17 points. "We all know what our teammates can do and we just give them the ball." The second half started, and the momentum of the game began to shift. USU maintained their lead early in the second half, but the Lady Griz kept fighting and started to chip away at the lead. After a 7-0 run, Montana got within one, and the game was on. With nine minutes to go, Montana took their first lead of the game, 47-45, but the Aggies responded as the action went back and forth. "The momentum shifted to their side in the second half, and that helped them quite a bit," Pebley said. We played better defense, but defense isn't defense if you don't rebound." The Aggies Achilles' heel this season has definitely been their free-throw shooting, and in Saturday's game, that was apparent once again. In a tight second half battle where every point was important, the Aggies only shot 9-17 from the charity stripe, and finished the game 13-25, barely over 50 percent. "We've been having that problem a lot," Diop said. "We need to focus more on our free throws. We have to work on it, because we've been missing too many." Pebley said she is concerned about her team's lack of free throw success, not just because they are losing easy points, but because of the way it can change an opponent's gameplan. "We got ourselves to the foul line with a lot of those higher percentage shots," Pebley said. "(But) we need to convert from the free throw line. They'll stop fouling you if they are getting hurt from the line." Despite their rebounding and free throw problems, the Aggies kept themselves in the game thanks in large part to the play of forward Ashlee Brown. Brown scored 12 points in the second half, and finished with the game with an impressive stat line of 16 points, 9 boards, and 6 assists. Utah State's bench though, was outscored 33-13 by Montana, which ultimately proved too much for the Aggies to overcome. With 44 seconds to go, Montana had a five-point lead and were able to hold on to the 65-62 victory. Montana hit their free throws down the stretch and it was just enough to fend off the Aggies despite Utah State having several good chances in the last minute. When asked about what changes they'll make, the answers were pretty obvious for Pebley. "Continuing to get better defensively, finishing it with rebounds, and not getting outworked to the defensive boards and loose balls." The Aggies now turn their focus to in-state rival BYU, who they will play Nov. 23. — mark.israelsen@aggiemad. usu.edn Football debrief The good, Preview: Aggies looking for revenge the bad and the ugly of Idaho continued from page 8 Utes probably won't go quietly. By JAKE IPSON staff writer In the Utah State versus University of Idaho game on Saturday, there were plenty of the bad and the ugly throughout the game. The game started off ugly due to bad weather that became even worse. As the snow began to drop, so did the Aggie passes. The Good: Looking for something good in the game, one play stood out from the first quarter. The Aggies ran a fake punt play on a fourth-and-seven from the Idaho 29-yard line. Kicker Peter Caldwell tossed the ball to quarterback Diondre Borel who was lined up as a receiver. Borel then completed an 11-yard pass to linebacker Bobby Wagner for a Utah State first down. The Aggies came out of the gate playing aggressive football. In the first quarter, the Aggies were two-for-two on fourth down attempts. Kicker Peter Caldwell went 2-2 on field goals in the game. The Aggies running game looked good at a combined 139 yards. Utah State's rushing attack was led by running back Derrvin Speight with 80 yards, but it was a team effort on Saturday. Running back Kerwynn Williams rushed for 17 yards in the game but also contributed 74 yards in punt and kick returns and added eight yards receiving on three catches. Both Utah State and Idaho ran the ball 37 times. The Aggies were more successful on the ground and outgained the Vandals in rushing by 27 more yards. The Bad: Throughout this game there was plenty of bad, which is usually the case when the only scoring is two field goals in the first half. Utah State was held scoreless in the second half. USU's passing game struggled. The snow did not start falling until the second half, yet Borel was 7-of-15 in passing for a total of 37 yards in the first half. Granted, the weather was cold but that didn't stop Idaho QB Nathan Enderle from going 12-15 for 140 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Both touchdowns thrown for Idaho were against the defense of Curtis Marsh, although he did have one pick that saved another score. The passing game would have excelled if the receivers had held on to the passes. There were several pass plays that saw the ball fall through the hands of the receivers. Borel finished the game 14-of-35 for 103 yards and two interceptions. X-factor: Junior forward Morgan Grim spent the first two years of his collegiate career as a Ute. He might be the most motivated Aggie to beat the Utes Wednesday night. He is familiar with the Ute's system and he is familiar with the Ute's big men, which should play a big role in Wednesday's outcome. Aggies vs. Huskies What to watch for: The Aggies loss on the road to the Huskies last season came when the c — ty.d.hus@aggiemaiLusu.edu FLU SHOTS! MI" 11 The Ugly: Not only was the weather ugly on Saturday, so was the Aggies' red zone offense. The final stats show Utah State scoring 2-2 in the red zone, but those were field goals. At the end of the first quarter, Idaho attempted an on-side kick that USU recovered on the Idaho 40, but they failed to secure a touchdown on the drive. The Aggies benefited from two Idaho penalties, including a personal foul that gave the Aggies a first and 10 from the 12-yard line, but settled for a field goal, their second and final score of the game. It was hard to see the senior Aggies leaving their final game at Romney Stadium with a loss. The seniors have one more chance to wear Aggie blue on Dec. 4 when they go to Boise to face the Broncos. — jake.ipson@aggiemaiLusu.edu Vandalized: Idaho stuffs Aggies continued from page 8 Speight's career year continued. After losing star running back Robert Turbin to a torn ACL in the offseason and starter Michael Smith to an injury, the 5-9, 209 pound Speight has made the most of his starting role. In their previous two wins, Speight rushed for career highs, with 114 yards against New Mexico State, followed by a 125yard, three touchdown performance against San Jose State. Speight has been one of the main catalysts in the Aggie offense all year as he has rushed for almost 700 yards and eight touchdowns on the year. He hasn't always been such an integral part, though. Following a solid freshman season, Speight was injured his sophomore year and as the team changed, he got buried in the depth chart. But the Texas native stayed patient and has turned this season into the best of his career. Speight's play wasn't enough on Saturday Aggies were still searching for their identity and the ability to win on the road. The Huskies are in the rebuilding stage, especially with the loss of Matt Janning, but the ever consistent Huskies tout another possible Colonial Athletic Conference Player of the Year in senior guard Chaisson Allen. Allen is averaging 16.7 points a game and will be a handful for the Aggies backcourt. As with the Utes on Wednesday, the Aggies better be in top form if they want the win over the Huskies. though, especially in the second half, when the Aggies' game got worse with the weather. Neither team was able to do much in the third quarter as they both battled the elements, but the fourth quarter, and the game, belonged to Idaho. The Vandals scored two more demoralizing touchdowns in the final quarter to put the game away and thoroughly defeat the Aggies. "We need to improve our consistency," Wagner said. "We need to be more physical on the offensive line and defensive line. They made plays today that we should've been able to stop." The Aggies now have the week off before they try to pull off the impossible upset over No. 3 Boise State on Dec. 4 in their final game of the season. — mark.israelsen@aggiemail.usu.edu 1 Flu shots available at Health and Wellness, $20, Monday-Friday 9 a.m-noon, 2-4 p.m. Call 4 ‘ I EP tire- e 6141, 5141004/J400,0 USU H nors Program & Undergraduate Research Advisory Board USU's Honors Program and the Undergraduate Research Advisory Board are proud to announce the creation of a new journal devoted to undergraduate research and scholarship by USU students: Discover: Utah State University Journal of Undergraduate Research. Discover is a peer-reviewed, open access journal dedicated to the publication of outstanding scholarship by undergraduates at Utah State University. This journal accepts submissions of scholarly and research articles, from undergraduate students in all academic disciplines. Submissions are accepted throughout the year; each volume will be published on the Journal website to coincide with USU's undergraduate research day, Student Showcase, which occurs late March/early April. More information will be forthcoming; this is an early alert. Stay tuned! The Editorial Board invites applications for the position of Assistant Editor. Applicants should be sophomores, having three years remaining in their undergraduate education if possible as the assistant editor moves into the Editor position the following year (assuming a positive evaluation). The Editor moves into Immediate Past Editor role the next year. The inaugural editor of Discover is Natalie Marie Hatch (Natalie.marie.hatch@aggiemail.usu.edu ). A second position is that of Copy Editor. To apply for either the Assistant Editor or Copy Editor, please submit a letter of interest detailing background and skills as well as a resume. Electronic submission to: honors@usu.edu . Review of applications begins December 1. |