Last-Second Three-Pointer By Utah State Lifts Them Past UCR, 71-68

Friday, November 25

Logan, UT

6:00 pm

UC Riverside

1-5

Utah State

5-1

Team	1	2	F
UC Riverside	23	45	68
Utah State	31	40	71

Photo by: Gabriel L. Acosta

Last-Second Three-Pointer By Utah State Lifts Them Past UCR, 71-68

11/25/2011 4:46:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score - Utah State 71, UC Riverside 68

Logan, UT - The UC Riverside women's basketball team rallied back from a 14-point second-half deficit to take a lead late in the game, but a three-pointer by Utah State's Devyn Christensen with three seconds remaining sealed the win as the Highlanders fell 71-68 at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

UCR (1-5) was down 51-37 with 12:41 remaining in the game, but mounted a comeback ultimately taking a 68-66 lead with 22 seconds to go. The Aggies (5-1) hit a pair of free throws two seconds later, and with 12 seconds left, UCR's Tre'Shonti Nottingham was whistled for an offensive foul as she drove the lane.

Utah State broke the press and came down the court, with Christensen pulling up for the eventual game-winner with just three seconds left. A last-second heave by Nottingham fell short as the Aggies won 71-68.

Jazzmin Lewis led UC Riverside with a career-high 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting including 1-of-1 from beyond the arc and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. The Highlanders had balanced scoring after that, with Natasha Hadley and Nottingham scoring 12 apiece, Brittany Palmer scoring 11, Leah Washington with 10, and Jessica Ogunnorin with eight.

The Highlanders started the first half hitting 3-of-12 from the field, but connected on seven of their next 13 shots. Utah State led by 11, 23-12, with 7:30 to go in the half, but the Highlanders cut the deficit to four, 27-23, capped off by a Palmer three-pointer with 1:40 remaining in the half.

The Aggies responded, though, with four straight points to end the half taking a 31-23 advantage.

UC Riverside cut the USU lead back down to four, 35-31, less than three minutes into the half. The Aggies made another run, scoring nine straight to open a 44-31 advantage with 14:53 left.

Utah State still led 53-40 with 12 minutes left, but UC Riverside went on a 13-2 run over the next six and a half minutes to cut the lead to 55-53. USU countered with a 7-0 run of its own to go back up 62-53 with 4:13 remaining.

With the Aggies leading 64-57 with 2:38 to go, the Highlanders made their final push on back-to-back layups by Palmer and Nottingahm to get within three, 64-61, with 2:01 left. After an Aggie turnover, Lewis' three-pointer with 1:20 tied the game at 64, and after another USU turnover, a Washington layup with 36 seconds to go gave UCR its first lead of the game, 66-64.

Utah State was fouled on the next possession and hit two from the line to tie the game at 66. Nottingham was fouled on the next play and hit two free throws to put the Highlanders back up, 68-66, before the Aggies scored the final five points of the game to earn the win.

For the game, the Highlanders shot 42.2 percent (27-of-64) from the field with Utah State hitting 43.4 percent (23-of-53) of its shots.

The Highlanders remain on the road for a 2:00 pm PST contest at Boise State on Sunday, November 27 in Boise, ID.