Though we went .500 last weekend at Aggie Women’s and Men’s Basketball, Ron was
eager to return to the Pan-Am Center
for another Basketball double header. I
was less so, but there was nothing on TV that evening, so why not? Everything started off well with a great meal
at Whataburger. Even better at the ticket office, the $10
ticket deal was still in effect for this game to see the Men later.
Unfortunately, all of the KISS-inspired Football team posters were gone. I was going to get one for a co-worker that’s
a fan of the band. Maybe I can get one
at the Downtown Football rally next weekend.
Earlier in the week, Coach Kill
on the Aggie Coach’s Show gave Coach Adams and the Women’s team a
shout-out. It’s always good to see the
coaches supporting each other.
For the Anthem today, the NMSU ROTC Color Guard came out on court. The Aggies were no-shows. Today’s opponents, the Utah Tech Trailblazers, stayed on court. They put their hands on each other’s
shoulders in a line. The crowd was a bit
low (attendance 493). There were NFL playoffs on today. One of the games was on the TV’s in the
suites. The Band still wasn’t back, but
the spirit squads and Pistol Pete
were.
For the team, Moe
Shida and Sabou Gueye were back
and ready to play. Lucia Yenes was out. She was
there, but possibly getting over illness.
The ladies were coming off a road win earlier in the week. Ashlee
Strawbridge had a career game with 13 points in only 15 minutes of play! UTT looked a little undersized compared to
the Texans last week, but were rather attractive, including one of their
assistant coaches. Their team had a fun
little routine going when they came out for player introductions.
First
Quarter
Tayelin
Grays got the rebound and a layup off a Molly Kaiser miss for the Aggies’ first points. UTT missed three quick 3’s to start the game.
They finally hit one on their fifth
try. Unfortunately, the Aggies really
weren’t able to capitalize on the misses.
Ene Adams was denied on two
layups, before finally connecting on the team’s third trip down court. It was 4-7 UTT when the Media timeout hit at
the five-minute mark.
Even early on, it was obvious this refereeing crew was
going to let the girls play. Several
potential fouls were ignored. I’m not sure
there was a single travel call this game.
Taylor Donaldson found Shania Harper inside to put the Aggies
up 8-7, but the Trailblazers came back with a pair of layups to retake the
lead. Moe came in and was ferocious on
defense, but was scored on.
It was 8-14 and the Aggies took a timeout at the two-minute
mark. Moe came out and was given a lecture
by Coach Adams. After trading some more
baskets, UTT finished with a basket at the buzzer. There was a foul on the play that the ref’s
reviewed. The Cheerleaders had to be waved off court for a free throw. 12-19 UTT after 10 minutes.
Second
Quarter
Two groups of girls were in attendance. One was some little girls up by the
concourse. Then there was a team of teen
girls behind the north basket. I didn’t
figure out what team. The Trailblazers
started off with an easy layup. Molly
had a steal, but missed the layup. This
was followed by two more missed shots on the possession, before Tayelin got the
rebound and made a 3. Ole’! UTT got another easy layup. It was 15-23 with 7 minutes left.
Sylena
Peterson had a hard collision under the net with a
Trailblazer. They were both okay, but Sy
came right out. Soufia Inoussa made a steal, but ended up on the floor after a
missed shot. UTT came right back with a
3 on the return trip. 21-27 with 4
minutes left. Timeout.
Brooke
Vance, a pretty blonde for UTT, banked a 3 in and was fouled,
but missed the free throw. The Aggies
trapped and got the turnover, which led to a Tayelin layup. Molly drew a charge in the lane and was laid
out flat for the Purple Heart. The
Aggies finished the half down 25-30.
Halftime
The group of little girls came down to the court to
perform as a dance team. I think they
were from 3 to 11 in age. The Sundancers looked on and the cheered
the girls. It was adorable. A fan next to us asked me what the team’s
records were. I borrowed Ron’s phone and
it took me way too long to give him the information.
Third
Quarter
I noticed Deshawndre
Washington and Mady Traore from
the Men’s team were sitting in the Student Section watching. They were hard to miss, especially 7’
Mady. Soufia got a steal and a layup to
start it off for the Aggies. Harper made
a great block, but picked up her third foul in the process. A couple of Aggie turnovers were converted by
UTT. It was 27-37 UTT with 6 minutes. Timeout Aggies.
The Aggies came out trying to trap again, but it resulted
in an easy layup for the Trailblazers.
The Aggies started working their way back. Tayelin hit a jumper. Molly made a steal, got a layup, and got a
free throw. 32-39 after 5 minutes, but
UTT came back with a pair of 3’s. 32-45
with 4 minutes left. The Aggies were
full-court pressing.
Molly hit a jumper.
There was a quick announcement that it was her 500-th college
point. Soufia hit Tayelin, who was
cutting to the basket, for a layup, but then the team gave up another easy
layup to the Trailblazers. Tayelin hit a
3 for her 16-th point and had a block.
She’s really finally coming into her own this season. Moe was back in and also hit a 3, however UTT
got two more easy layups. Taylor tipped
a ball and Molly made off with it.
Tayelin made two free throws to end the quarter. 46-51 going into the final quarter.
Fourth
Quarter
Volleyball
Coach Jordan was up hiding at the top of the lower bowl
near the concourse. Maybe he doesn’t
have anything better to do and likes watching Aggie sports. The two guys from the Basketball team were
still watching. Didn’t they need to get
ready for their game?
Soufia hit a 3 to start.
Tayelin made a tip and caused a turnover. The crowd was into it now and was leading the
cheering. The Aggies picked up a couple
of fouls defending. Tayelin made another
block. Moe had been running the point for
most of the half. The Coach’s talk
apparently worked. She made a no-look
pass to Taylor under the basket. She missed
the shot, but Tayelin got the put-back.
51-53 with 7 minutes left.
UTT roared back with a couple of layups. The Aggies took a timeout. I noticed broadcaster Jack Nixon was chatting with Jessica
Covington, the Cheerleading coach. She
seems to be friends with everybody.
Meanwhile, the guy next to me got up and danced for Flex Cam. He really hammed it up. Back to play, Sy made a 3 and Molly took
another charge in the lane. Sylenna made
a steal at midcourt. Moe grabbed the
loose ball afterward and made a layup.
56-57 with 4 minutes left.
Sy took what looked like a sock to the mouth defending the
basket. To add insult, she also picked
up a foul and had to come out to check on her injury. Moe found Tayelin under the basket, who made it
58-60 with 3 minutes left. Timeout
UTT. The guy basketball players finally
left at this point.
Trailblazer Breaunna
Gillen committed a foul back in play.
During the stoppage, she made a real effort to lobby the ref. After a 3, UTT was up 60-65 with 2 minutes
left. There was a brief stoppage as
Tayelin came out to get bandaged on a cut.
At the press table, Jack was watching the game intently, probably mentally
calling the game. Sy hit Molly on a fast
break for a layup and a foul, 63-65 with 40 seconds left.
Both teams traded timeouts during the free throw. The whole Men’s team was watching from the
wings, waiting to warmup. Molly made a
steal on the inbounds, took a foul, and drained both free throws. We were tied at 65 with 36 seconds. There was a held ball that went to UTT. The crowd disapproved. AD
Mario Moccia was up in arms on the sidelines.
The Trailblazers held the ball to take as much time off
the clock as possible. Breaunna made a
jumper at the shot clock buzzer. The
refs made a review to check the clock.
They determined there were 4 seconds left. Sylena took a final shot just past midcourt
that hit the rim. It was just like a
couple of weeks ago against Southern Utah. UTT
wins 65-67.
The team went around the sidelines in a grim
procession. The crowd cheered and
applauded their effort. I think it
picked the girls up a bit. Ene came by
limping. I was wondering why she never
came back in.
Utah Tech had four players in double figures lead by Breaunna Gillen with 19 points. Tayelin
Grays led the Aggies and everyone with 22 points. She also had 9 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2
blocks. Molly Kaiser had 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 steals.
Perhaps the key stat was the shooting percentage: UTT 51%
to Aggies 30%. All those easy layups . .
. The Aggies were up in some stats: 82% to
50% in free throws, 10 turnovers to 21, 14 steals to 8, and 17 to 6 in
offensive rebounds. (Again, that’s a
double-edged sword stat. It means you’re
missing a lot.)
There was no time to ruminate. Aggie Men’s Basketball would be
starting shortly.
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