AGGIE TIP-OFF
Utah State (1-3, 0-0 MW) continues its season with a split week of games. First, the Aggies return to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum to host Ball State (2-2, 0-0 MAC) on Tuesday, Nov. 23, at 2 p.m. (MT). USU then heads to Los Angeles, California, to play USC (4-0, 0-0 Pac-12) on Saturday, Nov. 26, at 2 p.m. (MT).
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
Radio coverage will be provided by 92.3 KBLU with Ajay Salvesen calling play-by-play. Live stats and play-by-play information will be available through Sidearm, while updates will also be provided through the team's social media outlets. Links for live streaming will be available online prior to the game.
 
AGGIES VERSUS CARDINALS
Tuesday's game will be only the second all-time meeting between Utah State and Ball State. The two sides met for the first time last season in Muncie, Indiana, with the Cardinals winning the inaugural matchup, 81-55. Utah State is 0-3 all-time versus current MAC opponents.
 
AGGIES VERSUS TROJANS
Utah State and USC will meet for the fourth time on Saturday. The Trojans have won each of the first three meetings, including the only matchup between the teams since USU's reinstatement of women's basketball in 2003, a 55-46 win in 2018. The Aggies are 24-71 versus current Pac-12 opponents and have faced every school in the conference at least once.
 
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
Head coach Brady Sallee is in his 12th season at the helm of the Cardinals. Last season, Ball State went 20-13, losing in the MAC championship to Buffalo. BSU played in the first round of the WNIT, falling to Marquette, 93-70. The Cardinals scored 71.4 points per game while allowing 68.1 points to opponents. BSU shot 43.2 percent from the field, 32.0 percent from behind the arc and 69.6 percent from the charity stripe last season. Meanwhile, opponents shot 41.7 percent from the floor and 31.9 percent from 3-point range against the Cardinals. 
 
The Cardinals have gone 2-2 across their first four games of 2022-23, averaging 78.0 points and allowing 70.5 points per game. The Cardinals have shot 42.9 percent from the field, 21.1 percent on 3-point attempts and 67.4 percent on free throws. Ball State has averaged 14.8 assists per game alongside 15.0 turnovers and have forced 22.3 turnovers per game from their opponents. Anna Clephane has led BSU with 13.0 points per game this season after leading the team in scoring in 13 appearances last year. Marie Kiefer leads the Cardinals in rebounding and blocks per game with 8.3 and 1.5, respectively. Thelma Dis Agustsdottir has been Ball State's leading assister with 3.0 assists per game to start the season.
 
SCOUTING THE TROJANS
Head coach Lindsay Gottlieb is in her second season at USC after going 12-16 in her first season with the Trojans, losing in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament to UCLA, 73-60. USC averaged 64.3 points per game and allowed 64.7 points to their opponents last season. The Trojans shot 39.3 percent from the field, 32.0 percent from behind the arc and 76.6 percent from FT line. Opponents managed marks of 37.1 percent and 30.0 percent from 3-point range. USC grabbed 38.8 rebounds per game, good for a +1.6 rebounding margin. 
 
The Trojans have gone 4-0 to start the 2022-23 season with wins over CSU Bakersfield, Idaho State, San Diego and San Francisco. USC has outscored its opponents by an average 28.0 points per game, scoring 73.3 and allowing only 45.3 across its four games. The Trojans have shot 44.3 percent from the field, 34.1 percent from 3 and 73.6 percent from the FT line. Opponents have shot only 33.3 percent from the floor and 15.4 percent from behind the arc. The Trojans have outrebounded their opponents by 4.5 rebounds per game, pulling down 38.0 boards per game. Kadi Sissoko, a graduate transfer from Minnesota, has led USC with 17.3 points per game. Rayah Marshall leads the team with 8.5 rebounds per game while Destiny Littleton leads USC with 4.5 assists per contest.
 
ICYMI
The Aggies posted an 0-2 record last week with a 95-57 loss at Utah Tech and a 63-57 loss at Arkansas State. Against the Trailblazers, graduate guard Mayson Kimball led the way for the Aggies with 14 points, while graduate senior guard Maria Carvalho had 13 points and eight rebounds. USU shot 31.0 percent from the field (22-of-71), 21.2 percent from 3-point range (7-of-33) and 60.0 percent at the free-throw line (6-of-10). Against the Red Wolves, the Aggies had a pair of double-doubles from junior guards Olivia Wikstrom and Tamiah Robinson, as Wikstrom finished with a team-high 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Robinson had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Graduate guard Maria Carvalho also scored 10 points, to go along with eight rebounds. Utah State shot 31.7 percent from the field (19-of-60), including 45.5 percent from 3-point land (10--of-22) and 75.0 percent at the free throw line (9-of-12). 
 
SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION
Ball State assistant coach Jauwan Scaife spent the previous two season as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Utah State before returning to his alma mater this season. 
 
PUTTING IN THE ARD WORK
Utah State head coach Kayla Ard put in a record of 8-10 in nonconference play across her first two seasons at the helm of the Aggies, the best record by an Aggie coach in nonconference play in their first two seasons since Cindy Perkins in 1978-80. This season, Ard became the first coach in USU history to win her first three season openers.
 
DOUBLING UP
Both Tamiah Robinson and Olivia Wikstrom recorded a double-double in USU's game versus Arkansas State, the first time two Aggies have registered double-doubles in the same game since Hailey Bassett (18/12) and Shannon Dufficy (14/12) accomplished the feat against Colorado State on January 19, 2019. Robinson finished with 10 points and 10 assists while Wikstrom recorded 16 points and 10 rebounds.
 
THREE'S A CROWD
Utah State went 8-16 on 3-point attempts versus Southeastern Louisiana, the first time the team has shot 50 percent or better from behind the arc since shooting 13-24 (54.2 percent) in a 76-66 win versus Wyoming on January 22, 2022. The Aggies currently rank second in the Mountain West in 3-point percentage, shooting 36.2 percent from behind the arc on the year.
 
FULL-TIME WORKER
Graduate guard Maria Carvalho played all 40 minutes in Utah State's last game versus Southeastern Louisiana, the first Aggie to not leave the floor in a game this season. Last year, USU had five instances where a player played all 40 minutes of a game. Carvalho currently ranks second in the conference in minutes played at 35.8 minutes per contest.
 
ON THE REBOUND
Utah State currently sits among the conference's best rebounding teams. The Aggies rank within the top-five in the conference in numerous rebounding statistics, including second in offensive rebounds per game (13.8), third in rebounding margin (+4.8), fourth in total rebounding percentage (51.4 percent) and fifth in total rebounds per game (40.3). 
 
SLOWING IT DOWN
Utah State currently has the third-slowest pace in the Mountain West, averaging 47.7 possessions per 40 minutes. The Aggies are only bested in the metric by Air Force with an average of 47.2 possessions per 40 minutes and Colorado State's average of 47.0. Nationwide, the Aggies rank as the 41st-slowest pace among Division-I teams.
 
COMPARATIVELY SPEAKING
Utah State ranks near the top of the Mountain West in multiple categories. The Aggies rank in the top five in the conference in 3-point percentage (36.2 percent, 2nd), 3-point field goals per game (8.5, 2nd), offensive rebounds per game (13.8, 3rd), rebounding margin (+4.8, 3rd), offensive rating (127.1 points per 100 possessions, 4th) true shooting percentage (66.3 percent, 4th) and total rebounds per game (40.3, 5th).
 
Individually, graduate guard Maria Carvalho ranks second in the conference in minutes per game (35.8), third in defensive rebounds per game (6.0), fourth in assist-turnover ratio (1.8), fifth in total rebounds per game (8.3) and 3-point field goals per game (2.3), eighth in assists per game (3.5) and 14th in scoring (13.0 points per game). Graduate guard Mayson Kimball ranks eighth in the MW with 14.0 points per game and is fifth in 3-point field goals per game (2.3). Graduate forward Abby Wahl ranks fifth in offensive rebounds per game (3.0) and is ninth in both blocks per game (0.8) and total rebounds per game (6.3). Junior guard Tamiah Robinson ranks fourth with 4.3 assists per game, fifth with an assist-turnover ratio of 1.7, seventh with 4.5 defensive rebounds per game, 11th in total rebounds per game (6.0) and is 12th with 30.0 minutes per game.
 
WELL TRAVELED
Utah State has players from nine different states on its roster, plus one international player in graduate senior Maria Carvalho. Additionally, the Aggies have no more than two players from any given state with Utah State possessing two players each from Indiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington.
 
WHAT'S RETURNING?
USU returns two letterwinners from last year's squad in juniors Kinley Falslev-Wickizer and Olivia Wikstrom. Falslev-Wickizer returns after averaging 1.8 points per game and shooting 14-43 (.326) on 3-pointers last season. Wikstrom averaged 4.5 points per game in addition to 2.9 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.9 steals per game.
 
TRANSFER-MATION COMPLETE
The Aggies welcome nine transfers in advance of the 2022-23 season. Utah State brings in four graduate transfers in Prima Chellis (SIU Edwardsville), Maria Carvalho (Utah Valley), Mayson Kimball (Merrimack College) and Abby Wahl (Eastern Illinois). A further two seniors join USU this season in Olivia Mason (Niagara) and Ashya Klopfenstein (Robert Morris). Tamiah Robinson (Labette Community College), Cristina Oliva (Sierra College) and Lillian Harris (CCBC Essex) also join Utah State after beginning their collegiate careers elsewhere.
 
USU also has three freshmen joining the roster for 2022-23 in Isabella Tañedo (Laurel, Maryland), Tiairra Hill-Brown (Las Vegas, Nevada) and Natalie Fraley (Kelso, Washington).
 
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