by Kyle Cottam, USU Athletic Media Relations
LOGAN, Utah – Utah State women’s basketball (8-16, 3-11 MW) used a stingy defense and a strong second half to post a 63-55 victory over Boise State (8-16, 4-9 MW) on Saturday afternoon inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
The Aggies shot 53.8 percent (7-of-13) during the fourth quarter as Utah State overcame a 26-23 deficit at the half and scored 20 points in each of the third and final quarters to post the win.
Junior guard/forward Adryana Quezada led the team with a game-high 20 points and stuffed the stat sheet with a team-high seven rebounds to go along with a career-high six steals and two blocks. She was joined in double figures by junior guard Shyla Latone (Zuni Pueblo) with 17 points and senior guard Emmie Harris with 12. Latone also added a team-high-tying four assists and logged two steals. Harris was the final Aggie to record multiple steals, finishing with three during the contest.
Utah State’s defense generated 18 points off of 20 Boise State turnovers as the Aggies finished with 12 steals and six blocks, the second-most in each category by USU this season.
“I’m just really proud of everybody as a whole,” assistant coach Jauwan Scaife said. “This was a by committee day for us, so I’m pretty excited about that.”
Back-to-back buckets by the Broncos gave the visitors an early lead to start the game. It wasn’t until an old-fashioned 3-point play from Latone to open the second quarter that Utah State took its first lead, 13-12, a mere nine seconds into the frame. BSU finished the second quarter with a 5-3 run to take a 3-point advantage into the half.
Utah State came out of the break hot, putting together nine-straight points and taking a 32-26 lead before the Broncos were able to put their first points on the board during the second half. The Aggies maintained the advantage until midway through the fourth quarter when an offensive rebound and putback by the Broncos tied the game at 52-52 with 3:28 to play.
USU broke the deadlock with back-to-back 3-point plays, as Latone connected from distance on the Aggies’ next possession, and Quezada converted an and-1 with 1:34 on the clock to give Utah State the 58-52 lead. Latone and Quezada then knocked down 3-of-4 at the line with under a minute to seal the victory for the Aggies.
“It felt really good to finally be able to pull a game,” Quezada said. “We actually played all four quarters. It’s just good to come out with a win.”
Utah State finished the game shooting 36.4 percent (20-of-55) from the floor, 27.3 percent (6-of-22) from behind the 3-point line and 81.0 percent (17-of-21) at the free throw line. The charity stripe proved to be a difference maker for the Aggies as the home side attempted almost double that of the Broncos.
Utah State held Boise State to just 32.8 percent (21-of-64) shooting, the best defensive effort by the Aggies this season. The Broncos also shot 26.3 percent (5-of-19) from behind the 3-point line and 72.7 percent (8-of-11) at the free throw line.
USU returns to action next week with back-to-back road games at New Mexico on Wednesday, Feb. 16, and at Air Force on Saturday, Feb. 19.
