PROVO, Utah – BYU women’s basketball fell to Utah State 76-69 Wednesday afternoon at the Marriott Center.
“You need to give Utah State a lot of credit,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “They wanted the game a lot more than we did. They hit shots, executed well and did a great job on their side. It didn’t seem like we had the effort, spark or energy to come out and play. We got ourselves in a hole and gave them confidence, and then it becomes an opportunity where you have to fight your way back.”
Senior Cassie Broadhead Devashrayee led all scorers with 23 points and added four assists. Freshman Paisley Johnson scored a career-high 14 points while sophomore Shalae Salmon contributed 10 points and six rebounds. Amanda Wayment pulled down 11 boards to lead the defensive effort.
The Aggies (2-6) put points on the board first, sinking a 3-pointer following a turnover after tipoff. They led by as many as five, 16-11, but the Cougars (3-5) kept it a two-possession game. Devashrayee scored five-consecutive points on two jumpers and a free throw to regain the lead, 14-13, with 59 seconds left in the quarter. Johnson dribbled down the court and made a layup just moments before the end of the period, evening the score 16-16.
Utah State opened the second quarter on a 7-0 run, taking a 25-18 lead. BYU fought back, propelled by five-consecutive points from Johnson. She made two layups and a 3-pointer to bring the Cougars within four, 27-23, with 3:58 left in the first half. The Aggies responded with a 10-4 run before taking a commanding 10-point 37-27 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, Utah State led by as many as 18 points three times, the third being a 53-35 advantage with 4:40 on the clock.
BYU battled back within six points three times in the fourth quarter before falling 76-69.
The Cougars host in-state rival Utah Saturday at 2 p.m. MST. The game can be seen live on BYUtv.
Team
The Aggies took the 10-point 37-27 lead into halftime and won by seven, 76-69.
After shooting 33.3 percent in the first half, BYU finished the contest shooting 43.3 percent.
Three Cougars finished in double figures for the second time this season: Devashrayee (23), Johnson (14), Salmon (10). At least two BYU players have scored in double digits in every game this season.
BYU had 10 first-half turnovers, while USU gave the ball away five times. The Cougars finished with 17 turnovers to the Aggies 15.
The Cougars outrebounded the Aggies 21 to 19 in the first half. Both teams finished the game with 34 rebounds.
BYU had 36 points in the paint, while USU tallied 32.
Player
Cassie Broadhead Devashrayee scored five first quarter points for the Cougars, and finished the first half with nine points. The senior guard recorded her 19th career 20-point game against the Aggies, finishing with a game-high 25 points. Devashrayee went 5 of 6 from the charity stripe. She also had four assists, making it her fourth game with three or more assists this season.
Freshman Paisley Johnson tied her previous career-high seven points in the first half against the Aggies. Johnson finished the game with a new career-high 14 points on 5 of 8 shooting.
Shalae Salmon scored in double digits for the fourth time this season. The sophomore went 5 of 6 from the field in the loss. She also tallied six rebounds and had one steal.
Amanda Wayment recorded a game-high 11 rebounds. The senior also had six points, one assist and one steal.
Brenna Chase finished with nine points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. For the first time this season, Chase didn’t score in double figures.
Quotes
BYU head coach Jeff Judkins
We’ve got to give Utah State a lot of credit tonight. They wanted this game more than us. It just didn’t seem like we had the effort, the spark, the energy to come out and play. We got ourselves in a hole and we gave them confidence and it becomes an opportunity that you need to fight your way back. You’ve got to give Utah State credit. They executed very well and did a great job on their side.
I think they stepped it up a little bit more and got more aggressive, but I didn’t feel like they did anything differently. We didn’t execute as well and we were a step slow with some of the things we were doing. We didn’t hit shots. We turned the ball over too much, especially early in the game and then in the second half we came out and turned the ball over twice in a row, giving them chances to score. You can’t do that.
I think Paisley is a kid that comes in with a lot of confidence and energy. She played hard, probably the hardest of everybody tonight. She gave us a nice lift and hopefully she will learn from it and help us. She brings energy and toughness. She played up to what she normally does and hopefully she keeps it up. If she will, she will be able to take someone else’s place. If she does that, hopefully she knows BYU doesn’t lose.
A lot of players had opportunities. I’m glad that they fight back. Our whole season our second quarter kills us. We have talked about it and emphasized it. We just have to do it. We get ourselves in a hole and we have to fight back. It’s better sometimes to be on top and for teams to come after you instead of you trying to fight back.