by LOGAN, Utah – Utah State women’s basketball made all six of its final field goals but came up short as San Diego State defeated USU, 68-67, on Wednesday night inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
The Aggies (7-14, 2-9 MW) trailed 60-55 with under three minutes left in regulation when senior guard Emmie Harris stole the ball and found junior guard/forward Adryana Quezada for the fast break layup.
After an Aztec bucket, Quezada scored six unanswered points to give Utah State the 63-62 advantage with 45 seconds remaining. A pair of San Diego State (10-11, 4-6 MW) free throws put the Aztecs back on top, 64-63, with 36 seconds to go.
A USU turnover gave SDSU an opportunity to extend its lead, but senior guard/forward E’Lease Stafford (Navajo) came up with the steal and took it to the basket to give the Aggies the 65-64 edge with 24 seconds left on the clock.
San Diego State responded with a layup of its own to lead 66-65 with 16 seconds to go. Senior guard Kaylin Randhawa then knocked down a jumper with eight seconds left to give USU the 67-66 edge. The Aztecs drove and senior guard Mercedes Staples made a layup with 0.6 seconds left on the clock which would seal the 68-67 San Diego State victory.
SDSU led for the entire opening quarter to take an 18-12 lead into the second. Though the Aggies tied it twice in the second period, they were unable to take a lead in the quarter to trail 33-28 heading into the half. USU had its largest lead of the game at 45-42 with 3:38 remaining in the third, but San Diego State led 54-50 at the end of the stanza.
Utah State was led by junior guard Shyla Latone (Zuni Pueblo) with 20 points, Quezada with 18 and Stafford with 13. Stafford posted her fourth double-double of the season with a game-high 10 rebounds.
USU finished the night shooting 45.3 percent (24-of-53) from the field, 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from behind the arc and 66.7 percent (12-of-18) at the free throw line. SDSU shot 45.0 percent (27-of-60) from the floor, 26.7 percent (4-of-15) from behind the arc and 71.4 percent (10-of-14) at the charity stripe.
