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Show StatesmanSports Page 6 Monday, Nov. 7, 2011 Women's basketball rolls BY MEREDITH KINNEY sports senior writer JUNIOR GUARD DEVYN CHRISTENSEN looks to drive in the 89-44 win over WNMU on Friday. CODY GOCHNOUR photo Aggie freshman guard Franny Vaaulu notched 10 points in the 89-44 win over Western New Mexico State University on Saturday. The Aggies 45-point victory in their only exhibition game of the season was helped along by a deep Utah State bench at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Vaaulu also had four blocks in her first action as an Aggie. Sophomore Devyn Christenson racked up 10 points, despite leaving in the first with an ankle sprain. "There were a lot of stats, which is what you like to see in a game like this," USU head coach Raegan Pebley said. Western New Mexico pressed USU, something the Aggies have struggled with in the past. Senior forward Ashlee Brown said the opportunity to employ new press breaks was promising. "It was good to go against it," Brown said. "Especially in an exhibition, it's great to get that experience for the journey we have ahead." Late last season, the Aggies struggled in the Women's National Invitation Tournament against the presses of Brigham Young University and the University of Arizona. Utah State guard Jennifer Schlott said the early opportunity in practice was welcomed. "It helped us a lot to get ready for it," Schlott said. "Last year, we weren't expecting it until the end, so it's good to get started with earlier in the year." Schlott had six points and three assists. The Aggies got off to an early 17-2 lead. The Mustangs cut the lead to single digits at 19-10, with 12 minutes left, but their talent was no match for USU. The Aggies forced 18 Mustang turnovers in the first 20 minutes alone, and Schlott picked up three steals in the first half. Utah State maintained a 10-point lead until it jumped ahead, just before halftime. Brown led the Aggies with 10 points in the first, and she finished the game with 15. The Aggies headed into halftime with a 20-point lead that only increased as the game went on. The Utah State bench scored 30 points in the second half, including Christensen's eight-straight points. The junior left the game in the first half with an ankle sprain but returned for a strong showing in the second half. "The entire bench contributed," Brown said. "Everyone tried to work and better themselves." Christensen hit two 3-pointers in a row and completed the run with a layup,to put the Aggies up 67-33. Vaaulu scored six of her 10 points in the second half, going 5 for 9 shooting, and notched two of her four blocks on the night. The Aggies got their biggest lead of the night off of a layup from senior forward Reyneisha Mays, who had six points in the game. The Aggies open up the regular season with a matchup against the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyo., on Nov. 11. - meredith.kinney@aggiemail. usu.edu From Page 4 Five sets not enough to send McArthur off with Senior Night win set, but McArthur wasn't going to be denied. McArthur's third kill of the set moved her into sole possession of third place on Utah State's all-time kills list, passing Amanda Nielson, who had 1,369 kills for her career. McArthur said it was a good match. "Any of the matches this year, with my teammates this year, are going to be good memories forever," she said. "There are a lot of people that have been with me throughout my whole career. I have so many good memories here." McArthur's kill also gave USU some momentum, and the Aggies put together a 10-5 run to put some distance between them and the Vandals, but Idaho didn't go away. Idaho responded with a 10-5 run of its own, and the teams found themselves tied at 22. McArthur took over and after putting two kills away, White finished it off for another 26-24 set victory. USU used that momentum, going on a 10-2 run midway through the fourth set, to build a seemingly comfortable lead at 18-10. Then the wheels came off. Idaho stormed back, and just like that the Vandals were within one, at 23-22. The Aggies were unable to capitalize on two match-point opportunities and their self-destruction resulted in Idaho taking the set in dramatic fashion 27-25. "We lost the momentum," McArthur said. "We had done a good job of giving ourselves a good lead. We just weren't able to pull it off tonight — kind of a bummer." The Aggies never recovered, and the Vandals cruised in the fifth set, scoring seven of the first 10 points. Idaho made it to a 15-8 fifth-set victory to complete the improbable comeback. USU finished hitting .212 for the match, while Idaho had a .259 hitting percentage. USU also tallied 11.5 team blocks, compared to nine for Idaho. "We just have to get better," DuBose said. "We have to make better choices, better decisions and be more aggressive. We have to get some momentum back, headed into the conference tournament. We have to make sure we're dialed in for those two matches." Utah State falls to 6-6 in WAC play and 11-14 on the season. Idaho improves to 8-4 in the WAC and 14-11 on the season. The Aggies were hurt by the loss to Idaho, in that a win would have moved the two teams into a tie for the third seed in the WAC tournament, with two games to go in the regular season. USU now trails Idaho by two games and moves into a tie with Fresno State University for the fourth seed. Utah State travels to the University of Nevada on Nov. 10 and Fresno State on Nov. 12 to close out the season. Both matches are scheduled for 8 p.m. - curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail. usu.edu SENIOR ALL-AMERICAN LIZ MCARTHUR had 1,369 kills in her career, moving her into third place on the USU all-time kills list. CODY GOCHNOUR photo 1.■ From Page 4 Morrill: Team has a long way to go this season to win conference tournament experience under our belt as a team and realize that it's OK if there is a guy in you're face." USU headed into the locker room with a tied ballgame. After Marqus Richards went 1 of 2 from the free-throw line, USU forward Mitch Bruneel hit a layup with 29 seconds left to knot the score at 29-all. "We got the guys around and said we've got to play better," Jardine said about halftime. "It was just one of those things. You've got to up the tempo, you've got to up the intensity, and you've got to be able to be ready to play every possession." USU started the second half on a 12-2 run and led by as much as 18 points late in the game. Senior guard Brockeith Pane, who finished the game with 12 points and four assists, scored four points as part of that run. "There are some encouraging things too," Morrill said. "We're trying hard. We bounced back, after looking like we couldn't play basketball in the first half. We bounced back a little bit. Our two veteran guys who play a lot of minutes — Brady and Brockeith — played great in the second half. There are some good things." Morgan Grim, who finished with 10 points, was the only other Aggie to score in double figures, and Igor Premasunac was the only Aggie to not score against Adams State. USU now prepares for in-state rival BYU. "We've got some work to do this week," Jardine said. "The excitement is definitely there. It's my last chance to play them. I'm excited as heck for it. Our team is excited. It's going to be a fun game. We're going to come out, and we're going to play as hard as we give everything we got." - ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu From Page 4 Soccer takes WAC title again Bulldogs over the course of the final seven minutes. Castain had the last-gasp attempt for the Bulldogs, but her shot went wide right. About a minute and a half later Castain would be red carded and ejected from the game. Merrill was named Most Valuable Player of the match, after recording five saves and tallying her school-record 11th clean sheet of the year. Merrill also tied the Utah State career saves record and broke the single-season saves record, during the match. "There's a reason Molli is MVP," Cairns said. "Molli owned the corner situations, kept us organized defensively and calm, and kept us motivated. She does more than stop shots." The Aggies will now wait to hear who their next opponent is in the NCAA tournament selection show Nov. 7 at 2:30 p.m. The 64-team tournament will begin Nov. 11 and run through Dec. 4. "It's a pretty special day," Cairns said. "We're going to celebrate tonight, and we're just looking forward to represent the Western Athletic Conference the best that we can." - curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail.usu.edu DOVE JAVA LEAF ALES BERET ONCE H I TPAYD I RT ANOD LOON I E GESTURE PER THESPH I NX CROW TWO TRE ROWS SETS I SSUE OLE ROADHOG PST KOOK LAMA CORG I OFF GUS ARCS JACKFROST ASK ATLASES ADOPTS BEAR RAYCHARLES BA I T EGADS DUNN ATMS SEWS AGTS 9 4 7 2 8 8 1 1 3 6 5 6 7 4 2 9 5 3 2 8 9 4 6 7 5 3 1 |