WBB Recaps: Aggies Fall To New Mexico, At Boise State

New Mexico 69, Utah State 54

LOGAN – New Mexico completed the season sweep over Utah State with a 69-54 win in Logan on Feb. 25. For Utah State, the double-digit loss was still an improvement from the 58-33 defensive battle in Albuquerque earlier this year.

Elise Livingston hit two timely threes to keep the tally even after the first quarter. First, she connected to get the Aggies on the board and bring them within a point at 4-3. After Aaliyah Gayles gave Utah State a 7-5 lead, the Lobos tied the game with a layup and Livingston struck again to take a three-point advantage. The Lobos matched with a three of their own and the teams took a 10-10 tie into the second quarter.

The teams traded buckets twice, extending the tie game to 12 and then 14 points. Then, Jamisyn Heaton broke a 7-0 Lobo run with one free throw throw, though it still became a 10-1 surge and set the pace for the remainder of the game. The Aggies cut the lead back down to seven and trailed by as many as 11 before settling in on a nine-point deficit at the half.

The Lobos netted another bucket to open the third, then the Aggies used a 6-2 burst to cut the lead back to seven again. But, a 14-4 run the other way created a 17-point deficit. The Aggies were outscored 43-30 in the middle two frames and trailed by 13 heading into the fourth.

New Mexico extended its lead to as many as 21 points with 1:24 left to play, and the Aggies chiseled six points off the gap to make it a 15-point final deficit.

"Sometimes it's about athleticism and bodies," coach Wes Brooks said.

New Mexico is a tough, big, physical team, and that advantage showed up on the boards where New Mexico outrebounded the Aggies 48-28. Utah State, to its credit, didn't make things worse on itself. The Aggies played smart and stayed out of foul trouble, albeit maybe a little too well.

"Maybe we could have picked up a few more just to stall some possessions out or stop the clock or something like that," Brooks said. "But, we wanted to defend without fouling."

The Aggies picked up just eight team fouls, but were still able to implement their defense. Utah State forced 11 turnovers with two steals and blocked three shots.

"We wanted to slow them down, so we came out with the tempo press without trapping and then threw different defensive looks," Brooks added. "We were trying to create a little bit of havoc."

Gayles has been in and out of the lineup and just as she started to return to form after recovering from her leg injury, a concussion left her out of commission for two games. In her last outing, she neared a double-double with 11 points and eight rebounds and before that she notched eight and six. She returned to the court against New Mexico and didn’t miss a beat. She had a game-high 15 points, her highest since a Jan. 28 game against Grand Canyon, and added four rebounds and a steal.

Livingston logged a game-high 38 minutes and didn’t pick up a foul. She added 14 points and three rebounds. Heaton was right behind with 36 minutes and one foul. She had 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Rachel Wilson got the start and had six points, five rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. Karyn Sanford rounded out the starting five with two points, three rebounds and three assists.

Boise State 75, Utah State 59

BOISE – For no good reason apart from pride, and maybe for the joy of being a nuisance to conference opponents, this Utah State team refuses to give up.

Boise State took its time learning that lesson, and it nearly cost Gordy Presnell's bunch dearly on Feb. 28.

The Aggies lost 75-59 but only trailed by one at the half, led by as many as four points in the third, and held onto an advantage until midway through the penultimate quarter.

Once they realized that they needed to, the Broncos shifted gears and pulled away in the third and fourth frames, but Utah State hung with one of the best teams in the league on their senior night and forced them to play well into the second half.

The Aggies got on the board first with a layup from Karyn Sanford, and the Broncos responded with six unanswered points. Utah State clawed back to within two with layups from Elise Livingston and Macie Brown, but a five-point burst gave the Broncos their largest lead of the frame, 13-6, with 2:50 left. The Broncos tried to settle in and get comfortable, but the Aggies forced three turnovers in the remaining time and added six points to make it a one-point game after the first period.

When the bell rang to start the second round, it was another dogfight. Boise State struck first to extend the lead to three, but the Aggies hit the Broncos with four quick points to go up by one. Then the Broncos took a two-point lead, and the Aggies took a three-point lead. Boise State shaved two points off the lead, but this time it was just a glancing blow. Aitana Rosello Lopez hit two free throws, then Livingston landed a three-point haymaker to take a six-point lead with 4:20 to go.

It didn’t knock out the Broncos, though, and the Aggies couldn’t keep their momentum. It was the last field goal of the half for the Aggies, and they added just one more point from an Aaliyah Gayles free throw as the Broncos added eight points to even up the second-quarter scoring at 15 apiece and sneak past the Aggies to take a one-point lead into the half.

Coming out of the break, Gayles hit a second-chance layup, then Jamiyn Heaton picked up a steal to get the ball going the other way. Sanford ended up with it and found Livingston, who netted it from deep to take a four-point lead. The Broncos tied it up at 34, but Utah State made another push and took a three-point lead with 5:09 to play in the quarter.

Libby Hutton hit a jumper, but the Aggies still held a one-point lead until she hit another one with 4:17 remaining to flip the one-point lead over to the Broncos. The four unanswered points turned into a 14-0 Boise State run to take a commanding 11-point lead late in the third. The Aggies cut it to seven by the break. Despite the 14-0 run, the Aggies were only outpaced 23-17 in the frame and had gotten the game back within single digits heading into the fourth.

That run, however, set the tone for the fourth quarter. It took them over three and a half quarters to do it, but the Broncos had finally found their rhythm and asserted themselves over Utah State, and the Aggies, still shorthanded, were out of gas from their valiant effort. After losing the third by six, the Aggies lost the fourth by nine.

It was another big game for Gayles, who notched her second 15-plus point game in a row and her third straight double-digit showing. She had 16 points, topping her 15 against New Mexico for the first time since she had 24 against GCU, and three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Livingston also added double digits, making it two in a row for her. She had 13 points, four rebounds and two assists.

Rachel Wilson came alive against San Jose State earlier in the month and kept that momentum in Boise. With a perfect 5-of-5 shooting night, she added 12 points, three rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block. She is now averaging 11.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 1.0 assists and 1.0 blocks in her last four games, and is 25 of 31 from the field in that span. Her season averages are 5.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and less than one assist, steal and block per game.

Sanford struggled from the field and went 2-of-10 but managed to shoot 4-of-4 from the stripe and found plenty of ways to stay busy. She added eight points, two rebounds, four assists and a steal. Heaton had two points, three rebounds and three steals.

The season is nearly over now, but this was an important breakthrough for Utah State. The Aggies didn’t give up. The Broncos learned it, but more importantly, Utah State learned it. Four quarters like the first two would be enough to compete with anyone in the conference, and to beat plenty of them.

This team has been through a lot this season and is missing a lot of its talent. It has now lost 16 in a row, so its ability to win games hasn’t shown up, but seeing evidence of ability could help the Aggies as they play on their own senior night and head into the conference tournament.