Ag women pick up 1st WAC win; WSU defeats Sacramento State

LAS CRUCES — Senior Jessica Freeman scored 13 points as the Utah State Aggies picked up their first ever Western Athletic Conference win with a 55-45 win over New Mexico State Thursday night.

The Aggies haven't won a game since beating Utah Valley State College on Dec. 10 and are now 2-17 overall and 1-8 in conference games. New Mexico State falls to 7-14 overall and 4-6 in the WAC.

Freeman's 13 points came on 4-of-10 shooting from the field and making 5-of-11 free-throws. She also led the Aggies with a season-high 12 rebounds.

Utah State took the lead less than four minutes into the first half and never trailed again. The Aggies led at the half 31-25 off a 3-pointer made by Camille Brox at the buzzer.

New Mexico State pulled within three early the second half, but Utah State never allowed them any closer the rest of the game.

With 13 minutes remaining in the game, Utah State went on a 13-0 run, allowing NMSU only one free throw in nearly seven minutes to lead 48-32.

Sophomore Jenny Gross joined Freeman in double-figure scoring with 10 points, while senior Ali Marchant added eight. Gross also added eight rebounds.

WEBER STATE 59, SACRAMENTO STATE 55: At Ogden, The Weber State women's basketball team didn't play its best game Thursday night, but was able to pull out the win.

The Wildcats have now won three straight and six of their last seven games. The win, coupled with a 81-74 Northern Arizona loss at Idaho State, puts Weber State in a tie for first place in the Big Sky standings with a game against NAU set for Saturday night.

Weber State was outrebounded 44-26 by the Hornets. It was the first win of the year in which WSU was outrebounded by its opponent. Sacramento State picked up 21 offensive rebounds compared to just four for Weber State.

After a two-point lead by the Wildcats at halftime, both teams traded buckets in the second half. The Wildcats took their biggest lead of six points at 44-38 with 9:36 remaining after a Laura Porter free throw. WSU led 48-43 with 4:37 to play after a Chelsey Warburton jump shot. Sacramento State then scored five straight to tie the game at 48 with 3:27 to play. Laura Porter then made a layup for Weber State and, after a Sacramento State score, Porter found Sara Tuomi for a jumper and then got a steal and layup to give WSU the lead for good at 54-50 with 1:29 left.