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Show Statesman Sports Monday, Dec. 5, 2011 Page 9 From Page 7 Women's basketball learns lesson on defensive end shooting in the second half. That two-point halftime deficit swelled as the Bobcats used a balanced offensive attack to dissect the Aggie defense. Freshman guard Kalli Durham hit a 3-pointer to give MSU a nine-point advantage with 14 minutes remaining, and USU would get no closer than eight the rest of the way. "It was a big wake-up call defensively for us," Pebley said. "We have to bring our defense every night, we can't depend and rely on our offense. It's an opportunity for us to learn early in the season." Montana State pushed its lead to 76-57 after a layup from Semansky with just over two minutes remaining, as the Aggie defense struggled to contain the Bobcats. Senior guard Katie Bussey had 16 points for MSU, including 4 of 9 from the 3-point line. MSU had five players in double figures in scoring and finished with 17 assists while out-rebounding USU 44-32. The Bobcats finished shooting 50.8 percent from the field, including 85.7 percent from the free-throw line. The Aggies were 24 of 68 for 35.3 percent from the field. MSU also outscored USU 42-30 in the paint, as well as 17-12 in fast-break points. Junior guard Devyn Christensen added 14 points for the Aggies in her first start of the season and had a teamhigh three assists. Senior forward Ashlee Brown fell just shy of a doubledouble with eight points and 11 rebounds. It was the first time this season Brown failed to reach double digits in points. With the loss the Aggies fall to 5-3 on the season, and Montana State improves to 6-2. USU begins the conclusion of its three-game road trip at Idaho State on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 2:05 p.m. "We're going to focus on ourselves the next three days of practice," Pebley said. "We are going to take advantage of this time that we can focus on us." Perfect Partner. Let us help plan your big day Your Best Choice for Wedding Invitations & paper goods - curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail. usu.edu *From Page 7 Football wins in fourth quarter again Christian completed 17 of 40 passes for 252 yards and one touchdown in the loss, to go with two interceptions. "That defense was getting brutalized," Kennedy said. "(Turbin) and Mike are so big and so strong. It's fun watching these small DB's try to tackle them. Even I was trying to get my inner Turbin on and ran over a few people. I was having fun out there." With under two minutes to play in the half, Kennedy connected with Austin from six yards out to go up by a touchdown. Austin had five catches for 32 yards and a pair of scores. "Despite all the running we still threw three touchdown passes, so let's not forget about that," Kennedy said. "Touchdown passes are all that matters — putting points on the board. It's been fun." A couple minutes after halftime, the crimson-clad Aggies again tied up the score on a 51-yard deep ball to Kemonte' Bateman. USU safety Chris Harris was covering Bateman but slipped, as he came from across the field, and gave up the touchdown. "This was a hard field to play on," Andersen said. "It was very slippery. When all the sudden there's just portions and spots that are hard to get a footing, it makes it more difficult. I think that hindered the receivers and DB's on both sides." The third quarter was filled with punts. Utah State was led defensively by freshman Tavaris McMillian and senior linebacker Bobby Wagner who each had six tackles. Wagner had one sack for 11 yards. Senior linebacker Kyle Gallagher had five tackles and one interception but dropped another, which might have been caught if he had not broken his hand earlier this season. "There were some opportunities to definitely make those plays," Andersen said. "That was the one thing we've been able to do to win those games is make those plays." With just over nine minutes to go in the game, USU kicker Josh Thompson put the Northern Aggies up 17-13 with a 23-yard field goal. The Southern Aggies answered right back. The next drive took them just 1:13 and three plays to go 66 yards. Running back Kenny Turner finished the drive from the 3 to go up by four. After a couple of punts, Utah State found itself on the 17-yard line for first and 10 with 5:04 to play. The USU Aggies rushed for 12 consecutive plays on the final drive, before Kennedy hit Austin from the 8 to give Utah State the final lead. Kennedy said he was happy when offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin called a fade pattern to Austin on the final play of the drive. "I was praying for a fade call," Kennedy said. "I guess he had been saving it in his back pocket and ended up calling it at a great time. I think a lot of credit goes to our offensive line." Andersen said Austin is a great receiver. "When you throw the ball up and you throw him a good ball, he's going to catch maybe 80 percent of them," Andersen said. "So far this year he's 100 percent when he's had to be." USU kicker Jake Haueter squibbed the ensuing kickoff and Utah State almost recovered the live ball, but possession went to NMSU on its own 36. On the next play, Christian threw his second pick of the day to USU cornerback Nevin Lawson, who was downed on the USU 30. On the next play Kennedy took a knee to end the game. "We knew going into the game it was going to be a fight all the way to the end," Lawson said. "They don't have nothing to lose, so we knew we was going to have their best game and they brought it." The USU Aggies end the regular season 7-5, 5-2 in Western Athletic Conference play. They will next play in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl against Ohio University from the Mid-American Conference on Dec. 17 at 3:30 p.m. in Boise, Idaho. 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