AGGIE TIP-OFF
Utah State (3-12, 0-4 MW) continues conference play with a pair of road games, starting at Nevada (5-9, 2-1 MW) on Saturday, Jan. 14, at 2 p.m. (MT), before finishing a two-game road trip at Fresno State (8-9, 1-3 MW) on Monday, January 16, at 5:30 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 WOLF PACK
Saturday will be the 37th meeting in the series between Utah State and Nevada. The Aggies lead the Wolf Pack, 20-16, in the all-time series and won the most recent meeting, 82-80, in double overtime on Feb. 26, 2022, at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum off a game-winning jumper from former Aggie Manna Mensah. The win snapped a four-game winning streak in the series by Nevada with all four wins coming in Reno. USU is 6-11 on the road against the Wolf Pack and 3-7 in their last 10 meetings in the Battle Born State with their last win coming on March 2, 2019, by score of 71-59.

AGGIES VERSUS BULLDOGS
Utah State and Fresno State will meet for the 35th time in a series that only began in 2006. The Bulldogs lead the series, 28-6, although the Aggies have won each of the past two meetings: a 96-90 overtime home victory on March 2, 2022, and an 80-75 win in the opening round of the 2022 MW tournament only four days later. Fresno State had won seven straight in the series prior to USU's current two-game winning streak. Utah State's sole road victory in the series came in a 52-47 win in 2017.

SCOUTING THE WOLF PACK
In 2021-22, the Wolf Pack went 20-13 with an 11-7 mark in Mountain West play and earned an invite to the Women's Basketball Invitational. Now in her sixth season with the Wolf Pack, head coach Amanda Levens has led Nevada to a 5-9 overall record and a 2-1 start to MW action. The Wolf Pack are averaging 66.4 points per game while allowing 66.1 points per contest to their opponents. Nevada has shot 40.3 percent from the field, 31.3 percent from 3-point territory and 69.4 percent from the free throw line. Opponents have managed shooting marks of 42.5 percent from the floor and 30.4 percent on 3-point attempts. The Wolf Pack have outrebounded opponents by 2.3 boards per game, averaging a total of 36.7 rebounds.  Nevada averages 11.2 assists to 15.9 turnovers per game and have forced opponents into 17.4 turnovers per contest, including 9.3 steals per game.

The Wolf Pack are evenly balanced with five players averaging at least 8.8 points per game but no scorer topping 10.3 points per showing. Lexie Givens leads the team at 10.2 points per game alongside 6.4 rebounds. Alyssa Jimenez holds the team-lead in both rebounds and assists with 6.6 rebounds and 2.5 assits in addition to 9.3 points per game. Audrey Roden and Megan Ormiston add 9.9 and 9.6 points per game, respectively, while Victoria Davis chips in 8.8 points per contest. Davis also leads the team in 3-point percentage, converting 12-for-22 attempts for a 54.5 percentage clip.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Head coach Jaime White is in his ninth season at the helm of the Bulldogs and has led the team to an 8-9 overall mark and a 1-3 start in conference action. Fresno State went 11-18 in 2021-22 with a 7-10 showing in the Mountain West. The Bulldogs are now two seasons removed from going 17-11 and 12-6 in MW play en route to a MW title game berth and a two-game appearance in the WNIT. This season, FS is scoring 57.6 points per game and holding opponents to only 56.2 points per contest, the second-stingiest mark in the conference. The Bulldogs are shooting 39.3 percent from the field, 30.9 percent from behind the arc and 70.5 percent at the FT line. Opponents, meanwhile, have shot 41.0 percent overall and 30.1 percent on 3-point attempts. The Bulldogs have been outrebounded by 0.9 rebounds per game, grabbing 32.8 boards themselves per game. Fresno State averages 9.5 assists per game to 14.9 turnovers and have forced 16.1 turnovers per game from their opponents.

Amaya West leads the Bulldogs in scoring at 12.1 points per game and also leads the team with 1.8 steals per contest. Yanina Todorova follows close behind in scoring with 11.7 points per game along with 4.9 rebounds and a team-high 1.8 assists per game. Imani Lacy leads FS with an even 5.0 rebounds per game in addition to 9.0 points per game. Amiee Book adds 9.6 points per contest. Book ranks second in the MW with 34 made 3-pointers on the season, converting 95 attempts at a 35.8 percentage rate.

ICYMI
The Aggies went 0-2 last week against Colorado State and Boise State at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. In a 99-62 loss to the Rams, Utah State was led by a quartet of double-figure scorers with senior forward Prima Chellis leading the team with 15 points plus four rebounds and two steals. Graduate guard Maria Carvalho added 14 points plus four rebounds and a team-high three steals. Graduate forward Ashya Klopfenstein led USU with six rebounds in addition to 13 points while junior guard Oliva Wikstrom finished with 11 points. Junior guard Tamiah Robinson posted a team-high five assists in the game. In a 73-56 loss to the Broncos, USU led by double-digits late in the first quarter and trailed by a single point late in the third quarter before a BSU run sealed the Bronco victory. Robinson led USU with 14 points on 6-for-12 shooting plus five rebounds and a game-high four steals. Graduate forward Prima Chellis also hit double-digits with 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Graduate guard Mayson Kimball added six points and five rebounds while junior guard Kinley Falslev-Wickizer and Klopfenstein each added six points in the effort.

WORKING OVERTIME
Each of Utah State's previous two home games versus Nevada have gone to double overtime. The Aggies won both contests, defeating the Wolf Pack, 79-76 (2OT) on Jan. 2, 2019, and recording an 82-80 victory in double OT last season on Feb. 26, 2022. With three overtime games in the series history, Nevada is tied for USU's most common OT opponent alongside BYU and Idaho. All three OT games have come within the past eight meetings with Utah State going 2-1 in those contest. The Aggies are 13-16 in overtime in program history, including a 4-2 mark in games that reach a second OT period, and have compiled a 4-4 record all-time in overtime against Mountain West opponents. 

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 averaging 7.0 made threes per games, ranking third in the Mountain West, shooting 32.7 percent (105-321) on 3-point attempts, the fifth-best mark in the conference. It also stands as the fifth-best team percentage for a season in USU program history. Utah State also made 10 3-point field goals in a game three times this season, reaching the mark against 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. 

SPREADING IT AROUND
Utah State has had six different players lead the team in scoring so far this season. Sophomore guard Cristina Oliva, graduate guards Maria Carvalho and Mayson Kimball, graduate forward Prima Chellis, and junior guards Tamiah Robinson and Olivia Wikstrom have each led the Aggies in points this season with Kimball leading the way with five games under her belt as USU's leading scorer. Additionally, the Aggies have had 38 instances of a players scoring 10 or more points this season with seven different players so far accomplishing the feat. Carvalho and Wikstrom are tied for the team-lead with eight double-digit scoring efforts 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 is tied for eighth in the conference in minutes played at 32.1 minutes per contest.

FULL SPEED AHEAD
Utah State is currently second among Mountain West teams for most possessions per game. The Aggies average 73.4 offensive possessions per game, tied for the 86th-fastest pace in the nation. USU's speed of play is only bested among MW teams by New Mexico (73.5 possessions per game).

SECOND CHANCES
Utah State currently sits among the conference's best offensive rebounding teams. The Aggies rank fourth in the conference with 11.5 offensive rebounds per game. Graduate forward Abby Wahl is also tied for 14th during MW play with 1.0 offensive rebounds per game while senior forward Ashya Klopfenstein and graduate guard Mayson Kimball are each tied for 21st with 0.8 second chances generated per game.

CAREER BESTS
Last week, several Aggies put forward career-high performances in USU's games against Colorado State and Boise State. Against the Rams, graduate forward Prime Chellis tied her career-high of eight free throw attempts for the third time in her career. Junior guard Tamiah Robinson recorded her fifth career game with five assists and followed up the effort with four steals and two blocks against Boise State, both tying her career high. Junior guard Kinley Falslev-Wickizer recorded one steal for the fourth time in her career against Broncos. Sophomore guard Cristina Oliva set new career-highs with three made free throws and four FT attempts, also tying her career-highs in 3-point attempts and steals with seven and one, respectively.

COMPARATIVELY SPEAKING
Utah State ranks among the upper half of the Mountain West in several statistics, including 3-point field goals per game (7.0, 3rd), 3-point percentage (32.7 percent, 5th), offensive rebounds per game (11.5, 4th), free throws attempted per game (17.5, 4th) and free throws made per game (12.5, 4th). Through the first week of conference play, the Aggies also rank third in FT attempts per game (19.0), tied for third in made FTs per game (14.0), fifth in defensive rebounds per game (25.5), fifth in steals per game (8.3) and tied for fifth in blocks per game (2.5).

Individually, junior Tamiah Robinson ranks ninth in the MW with a 1.2 assist-to-turnover ratio and tied for fourth with 3.4 assists per game. Robinson also ranks 20th in rebounds per game (4.5), 25th in minutes per game (27.5), T-18th in steals per game (1.4), T-14th in defensive rebounds (3.6) and T-20th in offensive rebounds (0.9). Graduate guard Maria Carvalho is 15th in points per game at 11.0, T-13th in 3-point field goals per game (1.4), 146h in rebounding (4.9), T-16th in the offensive rebounds (1.6), 19th in defensive rebounds (3.3), 13th in assists (2.6) and T-18th with 1.4 steals per game. Graduate guard Mayson Kimball is tied for 113h with 1.6 made 3-pointers per game. In conference games, Kimball is also T-15th in rebounding with 5.0 boards per game and is T-11th in defensive rebounds (4.3). Junior guard Olivia Wikstrom is T-17th with 1.1 made threes per game and is also T-124h with 1.3 steals per game. Senior forward Ashya Klopfenstein is tied for 11th with 1.8 steals per game in conference play while junior guard Kinley Falslev-Wickizer is tied for sixth with 2.0 made 3-pointers per game in conference play.

BLASTS FROM THE PAST
Utah State kicked off the 2018-19 Mountain West season with a flourish, defeating Nevada in double overtime, 79-76, on January 2, 2019. The Aggies led by nine points early in the fourth quarter before the Wolf Pack stormed back to tie the game with two-and-a-half minutes remaining. Both squads missed shots to win it in regulation and neither side led by more than two points through the first overtime period. In the second extra frame, Utah State scored all 10 of its points in the point or from the free throw line to earn the victory and revenge for an overtime road loss the previous season in Reno.

In a series which began in 2006, Utah State defeated the Bulldogs at the Spectrum in both 2007 and 2008 for the team's first series wins against FS but recorded 10 straight road losses to Fresno State to begin the series. The Aggies finally broke through with a road win in Fresno on January 28, 2017. Behind 19-point and 17-point efforts from Rachel Brewster and Shannon Dufficy, respectively, the Aggies utilized a 15-0 run in the first quarter and held off the Bulldog comeback for the remainder of the game en route to a 52-47 victory, which remains USU's lone road victory in the series as the Aggies are 1-14 all-time in Fresno.

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. 

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).