Women's basketball roundup: Bad finish dooms USU

LOGAN — After being outscored 7-2 in the final minute and a half, the Aggies fell to Louisiana Tech, 82-76, snapping their four-game winning streak Thursday at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

Utah State (15-7, 6-2 WAC) had four players in double figures, led by 22 points from junior guard Devyn Christensen. Senior forward Ashlee Brown and senior guard Brooke Jackson both added 14 points, while senior forward Maddy Plunkett netted 12. Plunkett was the leader in rebounds with eight.

Louisiana Tech (12-11, 5-3) also had four players in double figures, led by Whitney Frazier's 25 points all in the second half. Shantale Bramble-Donaldson had 12 points and nine boards, while Jasmine Bendolph scored 11 points. Off the bench, Brittany Hardy had 10 points.

The teams traded baskets early on with USU taking an early 9-7 lead before a Bendolph three gave the Lady Techsters and early 10-9.

After a Jackson 3-pointer with 10 minutes left in the half, USU took an 18-14 lead. The Aggies extended that lead to 20-14 after a Plunkett layup.

Neither team took more than a six-point lead in the first half. Louisiana Tech was able to tie the score 29-29 with 1:25 left in the half after a Bramble-Donaldson basket. It was the second tie of the game. After a Kanedria Andrews 3-pointer the Lady Techsters took their biggest lead of the half at 32-29 with 28.0 seconds left in the first half. Louisiana Tech was able to close the gap with a 9-0 run to end the first stanza.

In the first half, Plunkett led all scorers with 10 points and five rebounds. Christensen added seven points, while Brown added four. In the first 20 minutes, Utah State shot 40.7 percent (11-of-27). Louisiana Tech was led by nine points from Bendolph and Bramble-Donaldson's six points and eight rebounds in the first half. Louisiana Tech shot 46.4 percent (13-of-28).

Christensen came out strong in the second half, scoring the first five points of the half for Utah State. After a block by Brown and a trey by sophomore guard Jennifer Schlott, Utah State regained the lead, 43-41 with 14:29 left in the game.

In a very physical game, the teams exchanged leads several times. With the score tied at 49, Louisiana Tech scored four straight points to take a 55-51 lead.

After Bramble-Donaldson's fourth foul, the Aggies took the lead at 58-57 with just over eight minutes left. The Aggies stretched the lead to 60-57 before the Lady Techsters tied it back up at 60. The Aggies went on to score four straight to take a 64-60 lead. Bramble-Donaldson fouled out on an offensive foul with 6:09 left in the game.