WBB Review: Aggies Overwhelmed By UNLV

LOGAN – Utah State hosted UNLV and was thoroughly and completely outclassed by the conference’s three-time reigning champion, falling 89-51.

“It’s just a mismatch right now,” head coach Wes Brooks said of the state of the two programs. “We gave it a fight, we gave it our all, they’re just a little bit better than we are right now and that’s the truth.”

Despite the large gap between the programs that became apparent by the end of the game, Utah State was not intimidated by the Rebels or their 17-5 record. The Aggies came out swinging, and in response to UNLV’s first bucket, Cheyenne Stubbs hit a three-pointer to take an early 3-2 lead. Then the Aggies went down 9-3, but fought back to within one point as Taliyah Logwood hit a three-pointer to make it 13-12 with 3:03 left in the first period. By the end of the first quarter, the Aggies had kept it at a one-possession game, trailing 15-12. 

“I thought our first quarter was good, but it's about sustaining effort,” said Brooks. “You have to sustain effort against a championship-level team like (UNLV). You can play with them for 10 minutes, 15 minutes, but can you play with them for 40 minutes? And so we're still building that up, trying to get to that point.”

Jamisyn Heaton hit a layup to get the Aggies within one to start the second quarter. UNLV added a bucket at the other end, but Logwood hit another to bring the Aggies back within a single point at 17-16 around the 7:30 mark.

Then, time was up. As Brooks alluded to, the Aggies had played with the Rebels for somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes, but they were stuck in the middle of a 40-minute game. UNLV started to pull away, first with a two-point jumper, then with a layup. Later, the Rebels knocked down back-to-back threes to jumpstart a 12-0 run. After Logwood’s hit to get the Aggies to 16, they wouldn’t convert another field goal for the rest of the half. They added only a quartet of points on two free throws from Mia Tarver and one from Heaton and Ava Smith. At the half, the Aggies were suddenly down 37-20.

The Aggies didn’t do much to cut into the Rebel lead after the half. They got their three-point shooting back online and hit 2 of 6, but gave up big play after big play. The fourth quarter came and went in the same manner, and the Aggies were left on the wrong end of a 38-point final margin. After weeks of frustrating defensive performances undercutting solid offensive ones, the Aggies changed their tune.

“I thought we got stymied at times,” Brooks said. “The ball stuck too much, we could have got some movement, but ultimately this becomes a make-or-miss game. They were 34 for 69, we were 19 for 62… they made their wide-open threes, we missed wide-open threes.”

Brooks has been preaching the old basketball adage that defense leads to offense, but that street goes both ways, and offense can have a direct impact (for better or worse) on defense.

“I thought the defense was better in the first half, but this is a two-way game," Brooks added. "If we could have kept scoring we could have kept defending.”

The offense really lost its course in the second quarter when the Aggies went 2 for 12 from the field, missed all four of their three-point attempts, and converted just four of their seven free throws. Accordingly, the rest of the game slipped as well. They gave up seven turnovers and only got five back, and they were outrebounded 10-6.

As the lopsided score would indicate, the Aggies were pushed around on multiple fronts. They were dominated on the boards, 52-30, and only found four second-chance points through the entire game. They also had 18 turnovers to 10 assists.

Starting with Logwood, the Aggies were led in their efforts by bench players and freshmen. Logwood has been a revelation for Utah State this year and Brooks didn’t hold back when he talked about her impact – the standout freshman finished the game with 14 points, four rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block.

“Things have drastically changed for us when Taliyah Logwood got back,” Brooks beamed. “Taliyah Logwood is a magical player. They can’t guard her. She can guard them, but they can’t guard her.”

She did foul out in the fourth quarter and played only 17 minutes, but when she is on the court, her presence is inescapable.

“Honestly, I think I could have played better than I did (and) just control my body a little bit more because I fouled out," Logwood said. "But, I just tried to help my team as much as I can: Score, get turnovers, blocks, anything I can do.”

Even after posting a team-high for scoring, Logwood was focused on sharing the ball and making sure her teammates eat.

“If we're in practice playing together, playing as a team, passing the ball, moving it around, I feel like we should all eat,” she said.

The Rebels did a good job containing Stubbs, who ended the night with just three points (Utah State’s first three points of the game), a rebound and a steal. The rest of the team tried to step up. Following Logwood's scoring performance was another player off the bench in Tarver, who had eight points, an assist and three steals.

Elise Livingston was back in the starting lineup and added six points, a rebound and three assists. A trio of Aggies had five points in Heaton, CJ Latta and Denae Skelton. Heaton also had six rebounds, an assist and two blocks. Latta grabbed three rebounds, three assists and a steal, and Skelton contributed four rebounds. Sophie Sene had four points, five rebounds, an assist, two steals and a block. 

A 38-point loss is hardly something to celebrate, but the last time these teams met, UNLV more than doubled Utah State's score, dropping over 100 and holding the Aggies under 50. Utah State, with a 60-point loss in its last meeting a season ago, did take small steps in the right direction against UNLV. Brooks takes pride in his team’s effort, even if it looks like a 38-point loss at this point in the process.

Utah State is back in action against Fresno State on Saturday, and as his players continue to fight, Brooks is doing the same.

“(There) are positives that we continue to build on," Brooks said. "We need to take those good things and continue to build.

“They are playing their hearts out. They are actually doing what we tell them to do. They are really trying to get this thing done for us and for Utah State.”