Dixie State University’s women’s basketball team traveled to Utah State University Saturday only to suffer a huge 33-point loss.
DSU started the game by pressuring USU full court and fell behind early in the first quarter when the Aggies scored the first five points of the game. The Red Storm kept their deficit within single digits at the end of the first quarter, but it was all Utah State after that.
Senior guard Chermayne Moore, a psychology major from Pinole, California, provided the Red Storm with 11 points off the bench.
“We knew they were taller than us,” Moore said. “We knew they had a good point guard, and we had to slow them down, but we just didn’t get it done.”
USU outscored DSU 18-42 in the second quarter, and the Red Storm went into the locker room at halftime down by 31.
Senior forward Taylor Mann, a elementary education major from Castle Dale, led DSU with 18 points and five rebounds.
“With the defensive pressure we want to apply, we’re going to get a lot of fouls,” Mann said. “The coaches want us to play defensive without our hands a little more, so that’s something we’re going to work on after we realized how many times we sent them to the line.”
Head coach Jenny Thigpin said DSU was more focused on what it was trying to do rather than worrying about what Utah State’s game plan was. DSU continued to press although the aggressive nature of the press got them into huge foul trouble.
“We do have a new offense, which has been a little challenging for them, but the fact that they know each other and understand each other on the court, the chemistry has continued to grow,” Thigpin said.
The Aggies made 36 free throws while the Red Storm only attempted 20.
DSU was held to 37.5 percent shooting on the game, while the Aggies shot 52.9 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from beyond the three point line.
DSU was out-performed in every major statistic and only shot 69.6 percent from the foul line.
DSU plays the University of Alaska Anchorage in Anchorage Friday at Alaska Airlines Court in the Pacific West Conference challenge.