PHOENIX, Ariz. — Utah State women's basketball (2-4, 0-1 MW)  opened up the Mountain West portion of its 2020-21 campaign Monday evening, falling to San José State (2-0, 1-0 MW), 78-73, playing on the campus of Grand Canyon University.

Junior forward Bre Mathews led the Aggies in scoring, going for a career-high 22 points, including scoring 13 of USU's 20 third quarter points. Mathews finished the game 9-of-12 from the field, 1-of-1 from 3-point range and 3-of-4 from the free throw line while also bringing down six boards. She is the first USU player to hit the 20-point plateau this season. 

The Spartans were led by senior forward Tyra Whitehead and senior forward Meghan Oberg, who each finished the game with 18 points.

As a team, Utah State shot 36.0 percent (27-of-75) from the field, 26.7 percent (8-of-30) from 3-point range and 61.1 percent (11-of-18) from the free throw line. San José State shot 44.3 percent (27-of-61) from the field, while shooting 40.0 percent (10-of-25) from the 3-point line and 60.9 percent (14-of-23) from the charity stripe. 

The Aggies and the Spartans will face off again in the second game of this two-game series on Wednesday, Dec. 23, at 1 p.m. at GCU Arena. The game will be streamed on Mountain West Network, and live stats will be available via Statbroadcast.

Fans can follow USU women's basketball on Twitter, @USUWBasketball, on Instagram, @USUWBasketball, as well as on Facebook, at /USUWBB. Aggie fans can also follow Utah State Athletics on Twitter, @USUAthletics, on Instagram, @USUAthletics and on Facebook at /USUAthletics. Fans can also keep up with USU Athletics by downloading the official Utah State Athletics app.

-USU-