Aird Leads Women's Basketball to 82-55 Exhibition Win Against Utah Showcase

Nov. 10, 2004

 

Final Stats

 

LOGAN, Utah - Ali Aird led three Aggies in double figures and Utah State exploded for 45 second half points to cruise to an 82-55 exhibition win against Utah Showcase here Wednesday (Nov. 10). The win helped the Aggies finish their exhibition schedule with a 2-0 record.

 

"Utah Showcase can really shoot the three," said head coach Raegan Pebley. "We had to make a few adjustments on how we were going to defend them beyond the arc in the second half. I think our kids made the necessary adjustments at halftime. We took care of the ball a lot better tonight, and fewer team turnovers, that was important. Rebounding I am sure we dominated. Rebounding and taking care of the ball as well as our second-half adjustments seemed to be the keys to the game."

 

Utah State trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half as Utah Showcase's Katie Miller and Casey Cooke both scored 11 first half points to pace the traveling all-star team. Down by 10 with 8:23 left in the opening stanza, Utah State went on an 18-5 run behind six points apiece from Aird and Brittany Tressler to take a 37-34 lead into the lockerroom.

 

Aird, a junior post from Bountiful, Utah, shot 8-of-13 from the field and went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe to record her team-high 18 points. She also ended with four rebounds and a game-high three blocks. Utah State's two other players in double-figures were freshman Taylor Richards and Tressler who finished with 13 and 11, respectively. Richards also dished-out five assists to go along with four steals. Tressler just missed a double-double, finishing with nine rebounds.

 

Twelve Aggies saw playing time in the exhibition, which helped Utah State stay fresh against Utah Showcase's eight-deep roster.

 

Miller and Cooke finished with 19 each to lead Utah Showcase. Miller narrowly missed a double-double as she pulled down nine boards.

 

As a team, Utah State shot 41.5 percent from the field (34-82) and held Utah Showcase to 30.0 percent (21-70). USU also dominated the boards, outrebounding the Showcase 56-40, and recorded 16 assists in the game.

 

Utah State opens the regular season with a home game against Weber State on Friday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m.