LOGAN – The result in exhibition games like Friday’s contest between Utah State and Fort Lewis is usually never in doubt. And nothing was amiss this time out as the Aggies won 74-45. The question was how would the almost-entirely new USU squad look in its first real action of the 2022-23 season. For third-year head coach Kayla Ard, the answer was that her team played “33 minutes of good basketball.”
“We got a little lazy there at the end, or tired maybe,” Ard said. “But I’m really proud of the effort that we put out. I love our defensive effort. That’s been a huge focus for us so really, really pleased with that.”
Fort Lewis made just two of its first 16 field goal attempts and didn’t make a 3-pointer until the final minute of the third quarter. Overall, the Skyhawks were 16-of-53 from the field (30.2 percent) and 3-of-15-from three (20.0 percent).
An exhibition game like this – effectively a glorified scrimmage – was especially important to a team like Utah State where 12 of the 14 players are newcomers and virtually no one has played real minutes together. Ard said she thought the chemistry for this first game was “pretty good.”
“There were a couple kinks there to work out, as there should be with 12 new players,” Ard said. “But I’m really proud of them. Didn’t see any moments where we looked like we were breaking apart.”
On the offensive side, results were a little less promising. The Aggies generated shots well, getting 81 of them up on the night (28 more than their opponent), but made just 30 of those attempts (37.0 percent). The team’s 3-point percentage of 23.3 (7-for-30) dragged that percentage down significantly. The explanation for that seemed to boil down to “jitters.”
“It’s the first exhibition game. I feel like we’re just getting the jitters out,” graduate forward Abby Wahl said. “I think our shots will fall.”
“We’re all pretty excited. It could be some little jitters in there,” junior guard Tamiah Robinson said. “It’s gonna come. We’re shooters.”
“Actually, I think we’re pretty good shooters. We were just struggling a little bit tonight,” Ard said. “But we talked about it at halftime. We’ve got to get in the gym more, obviously. Then we’ve just got to settle down.”
Though the team shot poorly overall, one player who did not suffer on offense was Robinson. The junior college transfer guard scored 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting (4-of-6 from three). She led all scorers and added five rebounds and four assists to her scoring efforts.
“She looked alright, I don’t want to give her too many props,” Ard said with a smile. “She had a great game. Really, really proud of her. Nice to see her shoot the three finally. She was a really good three-point shooter at her junior college. Glad to see her pull the trigger from the three-point line. Her ability to get to the rack is really, really good. I love what she’s doing out there on both ends of the floor.”
Forward Abby Wahl played a smaller role offensively, but scored 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting and added 15 rebounds to give her a double-double. Graduate transfer guard Maria Carvalho was the most aggressive offensive player for the Aggies, leading the team in field goal attempts. Her shot didn’t fall as much, though, as she went 5-of-17 from the field with 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Utah State will next take the court for its official season and home opener on Nov. 7 when it takes on College of Idaho. That game will tip off at 3 p.m. The men’s basketball team will tip off later that night as they match up with Utah Valley at 7 p.m.
