AGGIE TIP-OFF
Utah State (3-5, 0-0 MW) continues its season with a split week of games. The Aggies will first host in-state rival BYU (3-5, 0-0 WCC) at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Tuesday, Dec. 6, at 11 a.m. (MT) before venturing to Los Angeles, California, to face Loyola Marymount (1-7, 0-0 WCC) on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 3 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 COUGARS
This will be the 44th meeting all-time between Utah State and BYU. The Cougars lead the all-time series, 39-4, and have won the last four meetings. USU's last win against BYU came in a 76-69 win in Provo on Dec. 6, 2017, which snapped a 28-game losing streak in the series. The Aggies have not won at home versus the Cougars since 1978.
 
AGGIES VERSUS LIONS
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 COUGARS
Head coach Amber Whiting is in her first season at the helm of the Cougars after spending four seasons as the head coach of the Burley High School girl's basketball team in Burley, Idaho. Last season, BYU went 26-4 in their 21st and final season under Jeff Judkins. The Cougars lost to Gonzaga, 71-59, in the West Coast Conference finals and were named a 6-seed in the NCAA tournament before losing to No. 11-seeded Villanova, 61-57, in the first round.
 
This season, BYU has opened the year at 3-5, averaging 64.8 points per game and allowing 65.9 points per game to opponents. The Cougars are led in scoring and rebounding by Lauren Gustin at 16.4 points and 14.0 rebounds per game. Nani Falatea chips in with 13.4 points per game and leads the team with 4.5 assists per contest, also ranking second on the team with 5.1 rebounds per contest. Kaylee Smiler and Rose Bubakar also average double figures with 10.7 and 10.4 points per game. As a team, the Cougars are shooting 45.3 from the floor, 33.9 from 3-point range and 74.6 percent from the free throw line. Opponents have managed marks of 39.2 and 36.2 from the floor and 3-point territory, respectively. The Cougars have rebounded 37.5 per game, outrebounding opponents by an average of 6.2 rebounds per game. BYU averages 13.6 assists per game to 15.6 turnovers and have forced 9.3 turnvoers per game from their opponents.
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS
Head coach Aarika Hughes is in her second season as coach of the Lions. Loyola Marymount went 11-19 in her first season, including a 4-13 mark in West Coast Conference play and a quarterfinals run in the WCC tournament. This season, LMU has started 1-7 with a lone 62-51 win over Cal State San Marcos.
 
The Lions are averaging 55.1 points per game so far this season and have surrendered 72.4 points per game to opponents. LMU has shot 36.3 from the floor, 27.4 on 3-point attempts and 67.0 percent from the FT line. Opponents have shot 48.1 percent from the field and 34.4 percent behind the arc. The Lions have rebounded 30.5 boards per game and have been outrebounded by 5.0 rebounds per game by opponents. Loyola Marymount averages 10.1 assists per game to 17.5 turnovers and have forced opponents into 16.1 turnovers per game. The Lions are led in scoring by Ariel Johnson at 12.9 points per game. Johnson also leads the Lions with 2.3 assists per game. Alexis Mark leads the team at 5.4 rebounds per game, also adding 9.9 points per contest, with Amaya Oliver close behind at 4.5 boards per contest.
 
ICYMI
The Aggies went 2-0 against a pair of in-state foes last week in Weber State and Utah Valley. On the road at Weber State, the Aggies snapped a five-game losing skid with a 74-69 victory. USU was were led by junior guard Olivia Wikstrom with 19 points, including a 4-6 showing from 3-point range. Graduate guard Maria Carvalho added 17 points plus team-best marks of seven rebounds and five assists. Carvalho also hit two 3-pointers as part of a personal 7-0 run to clinch the win for Utah State late in the fourth quarter. Junior guard Tamiah Robinson also had 12 points plus seven rebounds while graduate forward Prima Chellis made it four Aggies in double figures with 10 points.
 
USU welcomed the Wolverines to the Spectrum and pulled out a 65-55 win. Carvalho led the Aggies with 21 points plus six rebounds and a team-high four steals. Graduate guard Mayson Kimball added 12 points on 3-of-5 shooting plus a perfect 5-of-5 performance from the free throw line. Wikstrom chipped in 10 points and led USU with seven rebounds. Both Robinson and Chellis dished out four assists to lead the Aggies. Freshman Natalie Fraley, in only her second collegiate appearance, finished with eight points on 2-of-3 shooting from 3-point range, including the game-sealing tray with two minutes remaining.
 
SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION
Seven out of 16 players on BYU's roster hail from the state of Utah. The Cougars also return seven players who saw action against Utah State last season, led by Lauren Gustin, BYU's lone returning starter, who scored 18 points in BYU's 101-74 victory. LMU has two MW transfers on its roster in junior forwards Alexis Mark and Kimora Sykes, both from Boise State. Mark started 23 games for the Broncos her freshman year, averaging 9.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Mark played two games against USU, including a season-high 16 points alongside 10 rebounds. Mark also grabbed 13 rebounds to go with seven points in her second game against the Aggies. Sykes appeared in 23 contests as a freshman at Boise State, including two games against USU.
 
RANGEFINDERS
• Utah State is off to one of its best shooting seasons from behind the 3-point line in program history. The Aggies are currently shooting 35.6 percent (63-of-177) on 3-point attempts, ranking as the second-best percentage in the Mountain west and tied for 66th in the nation. It also stands as the second-best team percentage for a season in USU history behind only the 2011-12 squad's mark of 38.4 percent. USU has also made 10 3-point field goals in a game three times this season, reaching the mark against both Arkansas State, Weber State and Utah Valley. This is the first season in which the Aggies have registered at least three games with double-digit three-pointers since the 2013-14 season.
 
• 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. 
 
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. At 11-15 in non-conference play during her tenure, Ard currently ranks third all-time at Utah State and holds the best multi-season non-conference win percentage since the program's reinstatement in 2003.
 
SPREADING IT AROUND
Utah State has had five different players lead the team in scoring so far this season. Sophomore guard Cristina Oliva, graduate guards Maria Carvalho and Mayson Kimball, and junior guards Tamiah Robinson and Olivia Wikstrom have each led the Aggies in points this season with Kimball leading the way with three games under her belt as USU's leading scorer. Additionally, the Aggies have had 23 instances of a players scoring 10 or more points this season with six different players so far accomplishing the feat. Carvalho and Wikstrom lead the team in double-digit scoring efforts with six apiece.
 
DOUBLING UP
Both Tamiah Robinson and 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.
 
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.
 
FULL SPEED AHEAD
Utah State is currently tied for third among Mountain West teams for most possessions per game. The Aggies average 72.6 offensive possessions per game, tied alongside UNLV for the 128th-fastest pace in the nation. USU is only bested by Air Force (73.0 possessions per game) and New Mexico (76.1 possessions per game) among MW teams.
 
SECOND CHANCES
Utah State currently sits among the conference's best offensive rebounding teams. The Aggies rank third in the conference  with 12.9 offensive rebounds per game. 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. 
 
CAREER BESTS
Several Aggies recorded career-best marks last week for Utah State. Against Weber State, junior guard Olivia Wikstrom set new career marks with seven made field goals and 37 minutes played, also tying her career-best mark of four made 3-pointers. Freshman Isabella Tañedo and Natalie Fraley also set new career-bests. Tañedo set high-water marks in points (two) and made field goals (one), and tied her career-high of one steal. Fraley made her collegiate debut against the Wildcats and versus Utah Valley, she set personal-best marks in points (eight), made field goals (two), attempted field goals (six), made free throws (two), attempted FTs (three), rebounds (four), assists (one), steals (one) and minutes played (15). Also versus the Wolverines, junior guard Tamiah Robinson tied her career-high in free throws made and attempted, going 4-of-4 from the FT line in the victory. Graduate forward Prima Chellis tied her career-high with four assists.
 
COMPARATIVELY SPEAKING
Utah State ranks among the upper half of the Mountain West in several statistics, including 3-point percentage (35.6 percent, 2nd), offensive rebounds per game (12.9, 3rd) and 3-point field goals per game (7.9, 3rd).
 
Individually, graduate guard Mayson Kimball ranks 16th in the conference in points per game (12.0), 11th in free throw percentage (77.8 percent) and is tied for 12th in 3-point field goals per game (1.6). Graduate guard Maria Carvalho ranks seventh with 13.0 points per game, fourth in minutes per game (33.5), tied for sixth in assists per game (3.3), sixth in assist/turnover ratio (1.3), seventh in rebounds per game (6.8), 12th in offensive rebounds per game (2.3) and T-4th in 3-point field goals per game (2.0). Junior guard Tamiah Robinson is tied for fourth in assists per game (3.6), seventh in assist-turnover ratio (1.3), eighth in minutes per game (31.4) and tied for 16th in rebounds per game (5.1). Graduate forward Abby Wahl is tied for 10th in offensive rebounds per game (2.4), T-17th in blocks (0.5), 20th in minutes per game (27.9) and tied for 16th in rebounds per game (5.1). Junior guard Olivia Wikstrom is ranks among the top-20 in the MW for points per game (11.3, 19th), 3-point field goals per game (1.6, T-12th), rebounds per game (4.9, T-20th) and blocks per game (0.5, T-17th).
 
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 -