USU vs San Diego St women’s basketball, 02/02/22. Photo by Rick Parker
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 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 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.
Utah State continues its homestand on Saturday, Feb. 5, as the Aggies host UNLV (17-4, 9-1 MW) at 8 p.m.
Fans can follow USU women’s basketball on Twitter, @USUWBasketball, on Instagram, @USUWBasketball, as well as on Facebook, at /USUWBB. Aggie fans can also follow Utah State Athletics on Twitter, @USUAthletics, on Instagram, @USUAthletics and on Facebook at /USUAthletics.
