Shipley plays well

By Wade Denniston

Published:

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Heading into Utah State’s Western Athletic Conference opener, Lindsey Shipley was not shooting well from the field.

It’s safe to say the junior forward got back on track.

Shipley scored a career-high 20 points in just 24 minutes of action as the Aggies beat San Jose State 68-58 on Saturday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

“This is the pace of game that Lindsey can hit good, open shots and she gets open shots,” USU head coach Raegan Pebley said. “When Lindsey has open looks and doesn’t force the offense and allows her teammates to create for her, you’ll see those type of finishes.”

Shipley, whose previous career high was 19 points, was 8-for-10 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.

Coming into the contest, Shipley had shot 1-for-13 from the field in the Aggies’ two previous outings.

What was the difference?

“I got a lot of great passes from my teammates and maybe just refocusing and not giving up,” Shipley said. “Just refocusing and going out and playing hard, trying to run the floor hard because I felt like I was at the right place at the right time a lot tonight and that happens when you work hard and you get to where you’re supposed to be.”

Shipley probably could have enjoyed an even bigger night, but she picked up her fourth foul with 12:46 remaining in the game and went to the bench with the Aggies leading 52-35. She did not return.

Prior to Saturday, USU (5-8, 1-0 league) was 0-2 in WAC openers. The victory snapped a six-game losing streak in conference openers dating back to the 1984-85 campaign.

“We’re excited,” said Shipley, who also had four rebounds and two assists. “Our goal was to start the WAC with a win and we did it tonight.

“And, we got a lot of players involved, so that’s really good. We executed our game plan really well and we’re excited to keep our momentum going.”

Danyelle Snelgro added 10 points and five assists for the Aggies, who shot 55.3 percent from the field. Jenny Gross came off the bench to score eight points and hand out a career-best five helpers.

As a team, USU tallied a season-high 20 assists.

“A lot of good passes and a lot of finishing, which is really important because if you have the best pass in the world but you don’t put it in the basket, what does it mean?” Shipley said.

The Aggies led 20-17 before breaking it open with a 20-3 run. The Spartans (1-13, 0-1) made just one field goal over the final 9:35 of the first half.

“We executed our defensive game plan really well,” Shipley said.

METRO NOTES:

Lindsey (Freeze) Shipley played for Anita Rowland's Utah Avalanche team, our predecessor.