WBB Review: Aggies Drop Road Opener At Northern Colorado

GREELEY, Colo. – In their first five minutes away from home, the Aggies looked utterly lost. They started their matchup with Northern Colorado with a turnover, which the Bears turned into an easy fast-break layup. They turned the ball over again on their second possession, although they stole it back before Northern Colorado could do any damage. They missed shots on their next two possessions and surrendered two more baskets on the other end – four possessions into the game, Utah State already trailed 7-0 and had only gotten two shots off.

The Aggies remained scoreless going into the first media timeout at 5:09 and faced an 11-0 deficit. Having watched his team flounder for five minutes, Wes Brooks had to dial up something new. Coming out of the timeout, the Aggies forced a miss and got the rebound, although they immediately turned it back over and committed a foul on a shot, giving the Bears an and-one. Finally, with 4:32 on the clock, Elise Livingston drew a shooting foul and went to the line, knocking down both to put the Aggies on the scoreboard. It certainly wasn’t what they had in mind, starting the game with a scoring drought that lasted for nearly seven minutes, only to end it at the free-throw line, but points are points.

Utah State found its first field goal of the game not too long after, forcing a turnover and knocking down a second-chance layup, though that was quickly answered with back-to-back Northern Colorado buckets. Carlie Latta added a layup of her own in response, which the Bears again matched on the other end. The Aggie offense had finally woken up, but it wasn't enough to cut into the 14-point gap.

In the last three minutes of the frame, USU got its opportunity. Latta knocked down a big three and Isabella Tanedo did the same for a quick six points, adding to her total with two free throws on Utah State's next possession. Taliyah Logwood pitched in one more make at the stripe to give the Aggies nine unanswered points, ending the first quarter with a 20-15 Northern Colorado lead. Disaster, for at least a little while, was averted.

Utah State cut that gap down even further in the opening stanza of the second period, picking up a free throw from Jamisyn Heaton and a fast break from Latta, who nabbed a steal and drove to the basket for a layup to make it a one-possession game at 21-18. The Aggies had a chance to draw even closer after a Northern Colorado turnover, but gave the ball right back to the Bears and promptly ran out of gas, allowing a 9-0 run that turned into a 26-12 quarter for Northern Colorado, making it a 19-point game by halftime.

Though Utah State saw a glimpse of what it could be with that stretch, showcasing a level of resilience this program hasn't had in quite some time to fight back from a brutal start, the rest of the game showed how much work still needs to be done. The Aggies outscored their hosts 18-7 from the time of Livingston's free throws to Latta's fast-break layup, forcing five turnovers and finding points from six different players – four of them true freshmen. The 46-27 halftime score tells a story of one team beating up another team, overlooking Utah State’s effort to fight back into a game that it effectively lost in the first five minutes.

These young Aggies couldn't keep pace for long, hampered severely by anemic scoring performances from usually reliable veterans Heaton, Cheyenne Stubbs and Mia Tarver – who combined for only 12 points, shooting 2 of 16 from the field – but they fought all the same, even in what was eventually finalized as an 85-57 loss.

As with the first-half run, Utah State's freshman class led the way in Greeley. Latta logged a career-high 15 points, adding five rebounds, two assists and three steals; Logwood had nine points, two rebounds and two steals; Denae Skelton hit a pair of threes to get six points, an assist and a block; Karlie Banks came off the bench and played a career-high 12 minutes, scoring the first points of her career and finishing the game with five; Livingston struggled in her road debut after what looked like a potential breakout game in USU's win over Cal State Bakersfield, but she still handled 25 minutes of action, ending the night with three points, three steals, two rebounds and a block; Ava Smith did not score, but she did add two assists. All told, Utah State's six first-year contributors combined for 38 points, nine rebounds, eight steals, five assists and two blocks.

Of the veterans, Tanedo stood out with five points, two boards and an assist, while Gracie Johnson had two points, four rebounds and two blocks off the bench. The Aggies will return to action Tuesday night at Colorado, which is 4-1 with wins over Wyoming, Northern Colorado, Nevada and Southern, and a 50-47 loss at Boise State.