GAME NOTES | WATCH | LIVE STATS
LOGAN, Utah - Utah State women's basketball (4-7, 2-4 MW) returns home for the first of two-straight home series as the Aggies host the UNLV Lady Rebels (5-6, 3-3 MW) in a two-game set with games on Monday, Jan. 25, and Wednesday, Jan. 27, both games tipping off at 6 p.m., inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Radio coverage for the game will be provided by 92.3 KBLU-LP with
Jaden Johnson on the call. The contest can be seen on The Mountain West Network. Live stats and play-by-play information will be available through Sidearm. Links to each option will be available online prior to the game.
SCOUTING THE LADY REBELS
UNLV leads the all-time series, 24-4, including six-straight wins over Utah State. In 2019-20, UNLV swept the regular season series, winning in Logan, 60-46, and then in Las Vegas, 69-45. The Lady Rebels finished the 2019-20 campaign with a 13-17 overall mark, and a 9-9 record in league play to finish the season fifth in the Mountain West.
This season the Lady Rebels are averaging 71.3 points per game while shooting 39.2 percent (264-of-673) from the field and 33.5 percent (89-of-266) from behind the 3-point line, as well as 70.8 percent (167-of-236) at the free throw line. Sophomore forward Delaynie Byrne leads UNLV's scorers, averaging 13.9 points per game, along with a team-leading 7.1 rebounds per contest. Senior guard
Bailey Thomas leads all UNLV players with 45 assists on the year.
Defensively, the Lady Rebels have allowed 70.9 points per game, with opponents shooting 41.0 percent (291-of-709) from the field, 31.7 percent (89-of-281) from behind the arc and 71.2 percent (109-of-153) at the free throw line. Thomas leads the team in steals with 19, while Byrne leads the squad with nine blocks.
NEW FACES AT THE HELM
This week's series will feature the only two first-year head coaches in the Mountain West Conference, UNLV's Lindy La Rocque and Utah State's
Kayla Ard. La Rocque returns to her home town of Las Vegas after a decorated playing career at Stanford followed by coaching stops at Oklahoma, Belmont and Stanford.
THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
Along with each team having a new head coach, this week's series includes two of the four youngest coaching staffs in Division I women's basketball.
Coaching Staff Average Age (In Years)
North Dakota State: 30
UNLV: 30
Arkansas State: 31.5
Utah State: 32.5
HITTING THE CENTURY MARK
Utah State senior guard
Emmie Harris is set to play in the 100th game of her career on Monday. The lone senior for the Aggies this season, Harris has appeared in all but six games throughout her Utah State career, and has logged over 1,500 total minutes with 38 starts. Three former USU players are tied for the record of most games played in a career with 126.
SHARING THE ROCK
USU's Friday contest against Colorado State saw four Aggie players reach double-figure scoring, the second time that's happened this season. Freshman guard
Meagan Mendazona led the way for USU with 16 points, while Harris, sophomore guard
Faith Brantley and redshirt sophomore guard
Shyla Latone each scored 10-plus points as well.
HOME SWEET HOME
After their longest road stretch of the season, the Aggies return home now for back-to-back series against UNLV and then Fresno State. All of Utah State's wins this season have come inside of the Dee Glen Spectrum, where they're 4-1 this year.
AN UNUSUAL SEASON
After making it through non-conference play without any issues, Utah State has had a league-high four conference games either canceled or postponed already this season due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
RESERVES MAKING A MARK
The Aggies have had 20 or more points scored off the bench in eight of their 11 games this season, including a 36 point performance by USU's reserves on Friday at Colorado State. Last season, the team had 20 or more bench points just five times.
SCORERS EVERYWHERE
11 games in, Utah State has already had six different players lead the team's scoring efforts, the same number the team had the entire 2019-20 season. Eight different Aggie players have reached double-figure scoring in an outing, a number which also matches last season's total.
CRASHING THE GLASS
The Aggies currently rank first in the Mountain West and sixth in the nation in defensive rebounds with 31.7 defensive boards per game. They also rank second in the conference in total rebounds per game (43.2). Last year, USU finished 10th in the conference with just 34.1 per game.
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