WBB Review: Aggies Upended At Fresno State

FRESNO – A strong defensive start was thwarted by a scoring lull and some savvy offensive adjustments from Fresno State, as Utah State suffered a 74-54 defeat on the road, falling to 1-16 overall and 0-5 in Mountain West play. This is Utah State's second 20-point loss in conference play after falling by the same margin to Wyoming earlier in the year.

Utah State’s first quarter was an electrifying glimpse of what this team can do, and provided probably the most complete look at the full-court press this season. The Aggies were undeterred by a hot start from Fresno State, settling in and playing proactive basketball while executing the press as well as they have all season.

Mia Jacobs and Mariah Elohim beat the Aggies off the starting block and combined to take an 8-2 lead, but they didn’t get far. Utah State started matching the scoring pace of the Bulldogs and the Aggies trailed by six again with 1:35 left in the quarter when Ukkonen Saga finished a three-point play at the line. Utah State’s defense had already generated a handful of turnovers, but at this point, the pressure became too much for the Bulldogs to bear, and they began to crumble. Utah State finally started turning defense into offense. 

Karlie Banks, who earned her first career start, got it rolling. She crashed the boards for an offensive rebound and redirected a missed shot into the hoop for a putback, forcing the Bulldogs into an inbound play and giving the Aggies time to load their full-court trap. Jacobs took the ball out and sent it in, but Latta jumped the route and got away with a clean swipe. Her immediate layup made it a one-possession game and forced Fresno State to take a timeout.

Coming out of the timeout, the Bulldogs were just as lost as they had been 30 seconds prior. Cheyenne Stubbs deflected a pass before Fresno State could even cross the timeline, tracked down the ball, gathered it on the run as she made her way to the hoop, and laid it in. The Bulldogs looked lost, and apparently had no answer for the Aggie pressure. After two six-point deficits, Utah State had tied the game.

Again, the Bulldogs were forced to inbound the ball. By the time Stubbs’ layup found its way out of the net, CJ Latta, Mia Tarver and Jamisyn Heaton had already formed a Bermuda Triangle at midcourt. An errant pass was lofted into the triangle and Latta knocked it off course and into a sideline display that, ironically, was advertising precision engineering services. The third turnover in a row caused coach Wes Brooks to pump his fist so hard that he lost his balance and fell to the floor, only to jump back up and pump his fist again.

The Aggies couldn’t get points out of the last trip and Fresno State, after nearly turning the ball over again, finally crossed mid-court. The exasperated Bulldog team needed something to get back on track and they got it in the form of a three-pointer from Saga to get one last bit of offense out of the quarter that Utah State had taken over. After the first frame, the Aggies were right on the heels of Fresno State with a score of 17-14. The Aggies had already turned the Bulldogs over seven times, meaning the Bulldogs were already more than halfway to their season average for giveaways.

It was an impressive showing from Utah State’s pressure defense, but it didn’t last. At the quarter break, the Bulldogs made adjustments to address the press, and just like that, it was over. When Fresno State stopped turning the ball over, the Aggies couldn’t get enough traction to keep up. Elise Livingston hit a layup for the only field goal of the first six minutes of the quarter. Gracie Johnson added a free throw during that time and the Aggies found themselves down 28-17 before Latta hit a three to try to keep the game within reach.

The affair continued to creep out of hand as Fresno State cut down further on its mistakes. After the seven-turnover frame, the Bulldogs had three turnovers in the second, one in the third and three in the fourth. Utah State relies on forcing opponents to make mistakes. The Aggies aren’t in a position to will themselves to victory or to win with sheer force. When the mistakes stopped coming, the Aggies immediately found themselves in a precarious position. 

The effort was led by Stubbs, who wasted no time getting back on track. She had 16 points, three rebounds and a steal. Latta was the only Aggie to record an assist. She also contributed 14 points, two rebounds, four assists and three steals. Livingston added another big game to her resume as she continues to search for her offensive identity. She had 12 points, five rebounds, a steal and a block. It was her first double-digit scoring effort since notching a career-high of 16 against Idaho on Dec. 15. Banks was stout in her return and went 3 of 6 from the field with seven points and five rebounds in a demanding 26 minutes of basketball. The second unit struggled and had just five points, getting two from Tarver and three from Johnson.

Earlier this year, in a postgame press conference after dropping her career high of 19 points against Colorado State, Latta was reluctant to talk about her own accomplishments, instead focusing on the goals and progress of the team.

“We’re coming,” she warned. “It feels awesome seeing that the work we’re putting in is progressing us and getting us to where we want to be. We have a goal and we’re working towards it. We know that we’ve got a ways to go but we’re getting there… we know that we will get some more in (the win) column soon.”

Those wins still haven’t materialized for the Aggies, but the pieces are slowly coming together, and Latta is a big part of that. Latta and the other freshmen, who took up three starting spots and scored a combined 33 points, have a bright future not only in the next few years, but in the next 13 games. After two small steps in the right direction with close losses to Boise State and Nevada, the 20-point loss to Fresno State was a step in the wrong direction, but as long as the Aggies continue to work and develop, they can begin to take steps in the right direction again, starting with San Diego State at home on Saturday.