For a team that has yet to win a Western Athletic Conference game, Raegan Pebley's Utah State Aggies have set lofty goals for their final eight games of the season — win at least four.
The Aggies (1-17. 0-8) have dropped 12 straight games, including eight league games. Their one win came Dec. 10 when they beat Utah Valley State College, 74-51.
Still, Pebley is optimistic good things can happen, thus the high expectations.
"As we go into the second round we set our goals to win half of our games and show how quickly we can learn," Pebley said. "I think it's a realistic goal especially if we can build some momentum on the offensive end of the floor and maintain what we've accomplished on the defensive end."
Utah State begins a two-game road trip at New Mexico State (4-5, 7-13) tonight at 7 and at Louisiana Tech (16-4, 8-1) on Saturday. The Aggies lost to both those teams last week in Logan. New Mexico State handed the Aggies a 55-48 loss.
The Lady Techsters beat the Aggies quite handily, 73-56.
Defense hasn't been the problem for the Aggies, it's the offense. In eight conference games, the Aggies have allowed 70 points or more only twice, but they have yet to break the 60-point barrier offensively. Thrice they have failed to hit 50.
"Offensively, we have been struggling confidence-wise," Pebley said.
In order for her team to be successful, Pebley said it can't focus on the overwhelming thought of winning, but rather focus on taking good shots, defending and avoid turnovers.
"It's important we get the little things done," she said.
The Aggies are shooting just 38 percent from the field, including 31 percent from the 3-point line, but the big statistic is they are turning the ball over nearly seven more times a game than their opponent. Also, their opponents are pulling down more offensive rebounds per game, which leads to more second-chance points.
Offensively, they are scoring 56.7 points a game and allowing 67.7.
Jessica Freeman and Ashley Rutledge are leading the team in scoring in conference games at 8.6 and 8.4 points, respectively, while Ali Marchant, who leads the team in scoring in overall games at 9.5, is scoring just 5.4 points in league games.
Following the road trip, the Aggies will play their next four at home beginning Feb. 16, when they host the University of Idaho.
WEBER STATE: Weber State (11-9, 5-2) will host Sacramento State (2-16, 1-5) tonight at 7. The Wildcats are coming off a road sweep of Montana and Montana State.
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