AGGIE TIP-OFF
Utah State (1-5, 0-0 MW) continues its season versus a pair of in-state foes. First, the Aggies will take on Weber State (3-3, 0-0 BSC) at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Thursday, Dec. 1, at 6 p.m. (MT). USU will wrap up its week by welcoming Utah Valley (1-4, 0-0 WAC) to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Saturday, Dec. 3, 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 WILDCATS
This will be the 40th meeting all-time between Utah State and Weber State. The Wildcats lead the all-time series, 23-16, although the Aggies have won each of the past four meetings, including by double digits in each of the previous three games. This will be the first game between the two sides since 2011.
 
AGGIES VERSUS WOLVERINES
Utah State and Utah Valley will meet for the 16th time on Saturday, with USU leading the all-time series, 9-6. The home team has won in each of the previous four games between the two sides with each team winning twice in their home arena. The Wolverines won the most recent matchup, 57-49, on Dec. 21, 2019.
 
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Head coach Velaida Harris is in her fifth season at Weber State, having compiled a record of 26-94 to this point. The Wildcats have opened the season going 3-3 with wins over Utah Valley, Bryant and Hartford. WSU has played only one game at home this season, a 55-44 win over UVU. The Wildcats have averaged 60.5 points per game and have allowed 59.0 points to opponents. WSU has shot 39.8 percent from the field, 28.7 percent from 3-point range and 66.7 percent from the free throw line. Opponents have managed to shoot 34.3 percent from the floor and 20.4 percent from 3. Weber State has garnered 41.0 rebounds per contest, outrebounding opponents by an average of 7.8 boards per game. The Wildcats average 10.7 assists per game to 18.0 turnovers but have only forced 12.0 turnovers per game so far this season.
 
Senior Daryn Hickok leads the Wildcats with 15.5 points per game while senior Jadyn Matthews is close behind with 15.3 points per contest. Senior Laura Taylor narrowly misses a third double-digit scorer, averaging 9.7 points per game. Junior Vicky Parra is WSU's leading rebounder at 9.0 boards per game while Matthews also averages 8.3 rebounds. Hickok and sophomore Kaiija Lesane are tied for the team-lead in assists with 2.2 each per contest.
 
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
Head coach Dan Nielson is in his fourth season at the helm of Utah Valley, having gone an even 42-42 across his first 84 games as coach of the Wolverines. UVU has started the 2022-23 season at 1-4 with a lone win over Park University of the NAIA. The Wolverines have scored 44.6 points per contest and allowed 72.2 to opponents. Utah Valley has shot 34.6 percent from the field, 19.0 percent from 3-point territory and 60.4 percent from the FT line. Opponents have posted marks of 45.4 percent from the floor and 33.9 percent on 3-point attempts across UVU's first five games. The Wolverines have rebounded 29.4 misses per game and have been outrebounded by an average of 10.0 boards per contest. UVU averages 12.6 assists per game to 20.2 turnovers and have forced 14.4 turnovers per game from opponents.
 
Sophomore Jaeden Brown leads the Wolverines in both scoring and rebounding at 10.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Sophomore Eleyana Tafisi averages 5.8 rebounds alongside 6.6 points per game while junior Shay Fano averages 8.0 points per contest with 4.6 rebounds. Tafisi also leads UVU with 4.0 assists per game. 10 different players have seen action in all five games for Utah Valley so far this season.
 
ICYMI
The Aggies posted an 0-2 record last week with a 80-55 home loss to Ball State and a 79-48 loss on the road at USC. Against the Cardinals, graduate guard Mayson Kimball led USU with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including a 2-of-4 mark from 3-point territory. Kimball also led the Aggies with eight rebounds. Junior guard Olivia Wikstrom also reached double figures with 12 points and six rebounds. Graduate guard Maria Carvalho tallied a team-high five assists. In the team's loss to the Trojans, junior guard Tamiah Robinson posted team-best marks of 16 points and four assists. Wikstrom again reached double figures with 12 points plus a team-high three steals. Graduate forward Olivia Mason led USU on the boards with six rebounds. The Aggies shot 38-of-119 (37.3 percent) across the two games, including 9-36 (25.0 percent) from 3-point range. USU outrebounded Ball State, 38-35, but loss the rebounding battle versus USC, 37-29.
 
SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION
Out of 16 players on the roster, Utah Valley boasts 12 players from Utah. Redshirt sophomore Halle Nelson also spent her first two seasons at Utah State. Nelson played 14 games and started in seven during her freshman season and recorded 4.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. The Wolverines also have one Mountain West transfer on the roster in leading scorer and rebounder Jaeden Brown, who transferred from Wyoming. Weber State has two MW transfers on the roster in senior forward Emma Torbert (Nevada) and sophomore guard Taylin Smith (UNLV). 
 
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.
 
SLOWING IT DOWN
Utah State ranks 98th among Division-I teams this season in fewest offensive possessions per game, averaging 67.7 per contest. The Aggies rank fourth in the Mountain West in fewest offensive possessions per game behind only San Diego State (67.4), Colorado State (66.4) and Wyoming (65.2).
 
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 (14.2) and fifth in rebounding margin (+2.3). Utah State also boasts three players in the top-20 in the conference for rebounds per game as Maria Carvalho (6.8, 8th), Tamiah Robinson (5.3, T-17th) and Abby Wahl (5.0, 19th) all rank among the best in the MW. 
 
COMPARATIVELY SPEAKING
Utah State ranks among the upper half of the Mountain West in several statistics, including offensive rebounds per game (14.2, 2nd), 3-point percentage (33.1 percent, 3rd), 3-point field goals per game (7.2, 3rd), blocks per game (2.7, 5th) and rebounding margin (+2.3, 5th).
 
Individually, graduate guard Mayson Kimball ranks seventh in the conference in points per game (13.2), 11th in free throw percentage (72.7 percent), eighth in 3-point field goals per game (1.8) and 15th in minutes per game (29.3). Graduate guard Maria Carvalho ranks third in minutes per game (33.8), sixth in assists per game (3.3), sixth in assist/turnover ratio (1.4), eighth in rebounds per game (6.8), 13th in offensive rebounds per game (2.2), T-13th in 3-point field goals per game (1.5) and 20th in the MW at 11.0 points per game. Junior guard Tamiah Robinson ranks fourth in assists (3.8), seventh in assist-turnover ratio (1.3), seventh in minutes per game (31.8) and 17th in rebounds per game (5.3). Graduate forward Abby Wahl ranks fifth in offensive rebounds per game (2.7), T-12th in blocks (0.7), 17th in minutes per game (29.0) and 19th in rebounds per game (5.0). Sophomore guard Cristina Oliva is tied for 13th in 3-point field goals per game with 1.5 and junior guard Olivia Wikstrom is tied for 12th in blocks per game with 0.7.
 
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).
 
 - USU -