Waco, Texas – Senior Jama Sharp registered 22 points, 11 assists, and six steals to help lead Stetson past Utah State 84-64 Sunday afternoon in the final game of the BTI Classic.
Brianti Saunders added 23 points and five assists as the Hatters (5-1) placed second in the Baylor tournament with a 2-1 mark.
Saunders scored 58 points overall in the three games and earned a spot on the all-tournament team.
The Hatters bounced back from Saturday's 54-point loss to the Lady Bears. Stetson shot 47.5 percent from the floor Sunday and topped 80-points for just the second time this season.
“I am very happy with the win,” Stetson head coach Lynn Bria said. “I felt like after the game yesterday, it was a gut check game for us. I was anxious to see how we would respond, and I felt like we responded really well. I was very happy with our effort.”
Sharp also was looking to respond well after getting held scoreless Saturday for the first time since her freshman year. The point guard delivered in a big way, going 8-for-15 from the field, 3-for-7 from 3-point range, and dishing out a career-high 11 assists.
“I was struggling and my team carried me (Saturday), so I had to pick it up and help them out today,” Sharp said. “(I had to) knock down some shots and get some assists.”
Sharp scored nine points over a six minute stretch early in the second half that helped Stetson push a six-point halftime lead up to 16. Utah State (1-5) would pull no closer than 14 the rest of the way.
“The best way a player can say they feel bad is to play an unbelievable game in the next game, and (Jama) did,” Bria said. “She just did everything for us today. She had assists, she had points, and she had rebounds. She was very active and more like herself.”
The Aggies crashed the boards early in the game to build a 23-15 lead midway through the first half. Utah State had 12 offensive rebounds in first 20 minutes and 11 second chance points.
“I thought they hurt us on the glass, especially in the first half,” Bria said. “I thought in the second half we did a better job of limiting their points in the paint, and limiting their offensive rebounds.”
Stetson closed the first half on a 15-3 run and led 37-31 at halftime. The Hatters scored 47 points in the second half and finished the game with a season-high 19 assists.
“(The Aggies) do a half court 2-on-2 trap, so you really just have to move the ball and make plays,” Bria said. “I felt like we had a bunch of extra passes where we hit the open man, so it was very, very good.”
Amber Porter scored 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting and added nine rebounds. C.J. Coddington tallied eight points and 10 rebounds.
Funda Nakkasoglu led Utah State with 13 points.
Stetson finished a challenging month of November with a 5-1 mark, playing five of the six games on the road. The Hatters will complete their six-game road trip at USF at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Notes: Brianti Saunders has scored 17 or more points in five straight games ... Jama Sharp recorded her fifth career double-double (first this season) ... Stetson won five games in November for just the second time ever (also in 2011-12).
