WBB Recap: Gayles Lifts Aggies To Victory With Late Triples

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Utah State led early, but when Cal State Bakersfield withstood, the Aggies were forced to dig deep and take a close, hard-fought, gritty win, 68-65.

Sophie Sene set the tone early when she drew a foul to get the first two points of the game and went on to score six points in a game-opening 8-0 Aggie run. Cal State Bakersfield eventually found its way into the game, though a layup from Rachel Wilson put the Aggies up seven with 3:40 left in the first, and Aaliyah Gayles hit a three to keep the edge at two possessions, 20-15, at the end of the first quarter.

The Aggies pushed their lead back up to eight points as late as the 6:10 mark in the second frame when Marina Asensio netted a pair of free throws, but Utah State’s momentum evaporated not long after. Bakersfield cut the eight-point gap in half with back-to-back buckets, and surged after a brief Aggie response with three triples in a row to take a three-point lead, 32-29. Utah State wouldn’t hit another field goal for the rest of the half, but two more free throws from Sene and a pair from Karyn Sanford tied the game at 33 at the break.

The Roadrunners drew first blood in the second half, but Utah State got the next two: A deep ball by Sanford and a layup by Sene. The Aggies saw that three-point lead dwindle to one point three times in the next two minutes, but held on. A jumper from Gayles followed by another three from Sanford gave them a six-point lead with 3:02 left, though it still was not built to last. That lead shrunk to one point before the frame was over, and the Aggies took a 47-46 game into the fourth quarter.

Utah State started the final act well. First, Aitana Rosella Lopez added a layup, while Gayles chipped in a pair of free throws. When Bakersfield hit a layup, the Aggies promptly answered via a layup on the other end from Sanford. That’s when things started to slip, and the clock started to move in slow motion for a Utah State squad without a notable history of being on the right side of extended fourth quarters.

The Roadrunners chipped away at Utah State’s lead, but with Sene on the court, they could only do so much. They got within one with 6:52 to play, and Sene retaliated with two free throws to put them back three points away. Then the Roadrunners hit a three to tie the game, forcing Sene to respond with more force. This time, she hit back not only with two slap-on-the-wrist free throws, but an extra bucket on the next trip down the floor to give the Aggies a four-point lead with 4:47 left, 60-56.

But less than 30 seconds later, Sene picked up a foul and had to come out of the game. Without the 6-3 veteran on the court, the Roadrunners could do much, much more. They immediately went on a 9-0 run to erase Utah State’s four-point lead and build their own five-point gap.

Utah State’s whole game – its blitz out of the gate, its resilience in the second quarter and its halftime adjustments – was two minutes away from being wasted. After controlling most of the contest, the Aggies had blown a five-point fourth-quarter lead and were about to be 0-2.

Many teams would have been demoralized by the swing, and would likely have accepted the unfortunate fate they gave themselves. That's certainly been the case at Utah State more often than not. Perhaps the Aggies were a bit demoralized, but if they were, they got over it quickly. It was the USC transfer, Gayles, who decided to change Utah State's course. She rose and fired a three to make it a one-possession game, then she made Bakersfield pay for a missed layup. Taking a pass from Jamisyn Heaton in transition with 1:18 to play, Gayles stepped into another triple without hesitation and buried it, pushing Utah State back ahead by one, 66-65.

The Aggies had nearly fallen into the same trap they had fallen into countless times before. There were still dozens of ways they could stumble back into their old, familiar ways. They could give up an open look out of the Bakersfield timeout following Gayles' three. They could play solid defense but fail to get the rebound. Sene, who checked back in at the 2:40 mark, could foul out. They could take a contested shot with open teammates or waste a possession with a bad turnover.

Or, Sene could collect a defensive rebound with 17 seconds on the clock and move the ball along to Asensio, who split her trip to the free-throw line to provide an extra point of separation. But it was still a one-possession game, and the Roadrunners had the ball with a chance to tie or win. They got two looks at it, but Sene was there again to contest the tries and to collect the second miss before dishing again to Asensio. On the other end, Asensio hit another free throw, making it a three-point game and taking away Bakersfield’s ability to play for the win. They took a would-be game-tying three as time expired. It was off the mark, and Utah State survived.

Sene was the star of the game, with a near-flawless performance. She played smart, physical basketball, made timely offensive contributions, was stout defensively, and got big rebounds. Her 4-of-7 shooting performance from the field was nice, but her perfect 10 of 10 from the stripe was, quite literally, a game-changer. She is only the eighth player in school history to go 100 percent from the line with 10 or more attempts, and this was only the 14th time it has happened. She also came up with seven rebounds, including one that practically iced the game, which was only possible because she harassed the shooter into a miss without picking up her fifth and final foul. She ended a career day with 18 points, an assist and a steal to go with her work on the boards.

Gayles was also a star. The back-to-back threes to snap Utah State back into a winning position were part of a 17-point night for the guard. She also had two rebounds, two steals and an assist while playing much of the fourth quarter in foul trouble very similar to Sene's.

Sanford also had a lot of production and timely plays. She once again led the team in minutes played with 33 and ended up with 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting, five rebounds and two assists. Asensio had nine points, three assists, one rebound, a block and a steal. Wilson led the bench with five points, two rebounds and two assists.