AGGIE TIP-OFF
Utah State (4-15, 1-7 MW) returns to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum for a pair of home games. The Aggies will play host to Wyoming (12-7, 5-3 MW) on Thursday, Jan. 26, at 6 p.m. (MT), before playing New Mexico (11-9, 3-4 MW) on Saturday, Jan. 28, 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 COWGIRLS
Thursday will be 38th all-time between Utah State and Wyoming with the Cowgirls leading the series, 27-10. The Aggies got the better of the Cowgirls, however, in the most recent game, winning, 76-66, on Jan. 22, 2022, in the Spectrum. The win snapped an eight-game losing streak in the series. The two sides have also met frequently in the postseason, as Wyoming has eliminated USU from the MW tournament in three of the past four seasons.
AGGIES VERSUS LOBOS
Utah State and New Mexico meet for the 31st time on Saturday. The Lobos lead the all-time series, 24-6, and have won 12 straight contests against the Aggies, including seven straight at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. USU's last win in the series came in a 72-56 victory at the Spectrum on Jan. 9, 2016.
SCOUTING THE COWGIRLS
Head coach Heather Ezell is in her first year at the helm of Wyoming, taking over following the retirement of previous head coach Gerald Mattinson. Last year, Wyoming finished 17-13 with an 11-6 record in conference action. The Cowgirls advanced to the third round of the WNIT with wins over Idaho State (76-73 OT) and Tulsa (97-90 3OT) before falling to UCLA, 82-81, in three overtimes. This year, Ezell has led the Cowgirls to a 12-7 record, including a 5-3 start in Mountain West play. Wyoming has scorecd 64.1 points per game and allowed only 58.1 points per game to opponents. The Cowgirls are shooting 44.0 percent from the floor, 31.6 percent from 3-point territory and 77.2 percent from the free throw line. Opponents have managed marks of 38.8 percent from the field and 29.5 percent from behind the arc. The Cowgirls outrebound opponents by 3.8 boards per contest, corraling 34.8 rebounds per game. Wyoming averages 13.6 assists per game to 12.7 turnovers per game and has forced opponents into 11.7 turnovers per game this season.
Quinn Weidemann leads the Cowgirls with 12.4 points per game on the year, also leading the team with in 3-point shooting with a 42.2 percent mark from deep. Allyson Fertig leads Wyoming with 8.8 rebounds per game, ranking second in the MW, as well as 1.8 blocks per game in addition to 10.6 points per contest. Tommi Olson leads the team with 2.6 assists per game.
SCOUTING THE LOBOS
Head coach Mike Bradbury has gone 131-74 across six-plus seasons in Albuquerque. The Lobos finished the 2021-22 season at 26-10 with a 14-4 mark in MW play. New Mexico defeated Grand Canyon, 92-72, and San Diego, 73-69, in the first two rounds of the WNIT before falling to Oregon State, 78-73, in the third round. This year, the Lobos are 11-9 and 3-4 to start the conference season. New Mexico has scored 72.3 points per contest and surrendered 68.0 points per game to opponents. The Lobos are shooting 42.8 percent from the field, 32.9 percent on 3-point attempts and 75.9 percent from the charity stripe. Opponents, meanwhile, are shooting 40.1 percent from the field and 28.1 percent from behind the 3-point line. The Lobos have been outrebounded by 5.5 rebounds per game, pulling down 36.1 rebounds to opponents' 41.6 rebounds per game. The Lobos are averaging 14.7 assists per game to 14.9 turnovers and have forced opponents into 15.7 turnovers per game.
Shaiquel McGruder leads the team with 14.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. LaTascya and LaTora Duff have combined for 12.4 and 9.7 points per game, respectively. LaTora Duff also leads the team with 4.3 assists per game and ranks fourth in the conference with a 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio. LaTascya Duff leads the conference with 3.0 3-point field goals per game and is shooting over 38 percent from behind the arc on the season.
ICYMI
Utah State went 0-2 last week with a 66-59 loss to Air Force and a 77-59 loss at San Jose State. The Aggies' upset bid against the Falcons fell short in the fourth quarter as USU led by 10 with 6:18 remaining before AF responded with an 18-2 run to claim the lead and victory late. Graduate forward Prima Chellis led the Aggies with her second consecutive double-double, scoring 19 points alongside 10 rebounds. Gradaute forward Ashya Klopfenstein also reached double figures with 13 points. Graduate guard Maria Carvalho led the Aggies with four assists and tying for the team lead with two steals alongside Chellis, Klopfenstein and junior guard Tamiah Robinson. Against the Spartans, USU fell behind by 30 points in the third quarter before storming back with a 22-3 run to cut the lead to 11 points midway through the fourth quarter before the comeback attempt ultimately fell short. Freshman guard Natalie Fraley led the way with a career-high 18 points on 5-for-5 shooting from 3-point range. Robinson added 11 pionts while Carvalho led the team with five assists.
CHARITY STARTS AT HOME
By going 27-for-31 and 20-for-23 from the free throw line in back-to-back games against Nevada and Fresno State, respectively, Utah State topped 20 made free throws in consecutive contests for the second time since 2015. The Aggies also achieved the feat in back-to-back games against Fresno State in 2022. In USU's past three games against the Bulldogs, the Aggies are averaging 21.0 made free throws on 24.3 attempts per game.
Utah State's mark of 73.8 percent from the FT line so far this season ranks fifth in the Mountain West and currently ranks as the fifth-best FT shooting percentage for a season in Aggie history.
GONE IN 60... POINTS
Utah State is undefeated this season when holding its opponent under 60 points. The Aggies are 3-0 in such contests with wins over the College of Idaho (75-58), Utah Valley (65-55) and Fresno State (68-58). USU is also 3-1 when holding its opponent below 36.0 percent shooting from the field, with wins against Fresno State, UVU and Weber State.
ARE WE SURE WE HATE MONDAYS?
After their 68-58 win at Fresno State, the Aggies are now 2-0 when playing on Mondays this season. Additionally, Utah State is 4-3 when shooting better from 3-point territory than their opponent, 3-2 when recording fewer turnovers and are an undefeated 2-0 when scoring 70 points or more.
RANGEFINDERS
• 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.
• Freshman guard Natalie Fraley became the first Aggie in program history to go 5-for-5 from the 3-point line in a single game. Only five Aggies had managed to go 4-for-4 from 3-point range in a single game in Utah State history prior to Fraley's performance.
SECOND CHANCES
Utah State currently sits among the conference's best rebounding teams. The Aggies currently rank third in the MW both in conference play and for the entier season with 36.9 and 36.2 rebounds per game, respectively. Utah State is also third in the conference with 12.1 offensive rebounds per game. Five different Aggies rank in the top-25 of the conference for rebounds during conference action.
SPREADING IT AROUND
Utah State has had eight different players lead the team in scoring so far this season. Freshman guard Natalie Fraley, sophomore guard Cristina Oliva, graduate guards Maria Carvalho and Mayson Kimball, graduate forwards Prima Chellis and Ashya Klopfenstein, 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 48 instances of a players scoring 10 or more points this season with seven different players so far accomplishing the feat. Carvalho, Robinson and Wikstrom are tied for the team-lead with nine 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. Graduate forward Prima Chellis recorded Utah State's third and fourth double-doubles of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds against Fresno State and 10 points with 10 rebounds against Air Force.
FULL-TIME WORKER
Graduate guard Maria Carvalho played all 40 minutes 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 ninth in the conference in minutes played at 31.9 minutes per contest.
FULL SPEED AHEAD
Utah State is currently second among Mountain West teams for most possessions per game. The Aggies average 72.7 offensive possessions per game, tied for the 103rd-fastest pace in the nation. USU's speed of play is only bested among MW teams by New Mexico (73.2 possessions per game).
CAREER BESTS
Four Aggies set new career marks last week against the Falcons and Spartans. Graduate forward Prima Chellis set a new career-high against Air Force with 19 points and tied her career-high of seven made field goals. Against San Jose State, freshman guard Natalie Fraley had a career day, set new personal-high marks of 18 points, six made FGs, seven attempted FGs, five made threes and five attempted threes. Fraley also tied her career marks of two assists, one steal and one block. Sophomore guard Cristina Oliva also tied her career marks of seven 3-point attempts and one steals against the Spartans while junior guard Tamiah Robinson tied her career-highs of seven 3-point attempts and set a new high-water mark of 37 minutes played.
COMPARATIVELY SPEAKING
Utah State ranks among the upper half of the Mountain West in several statistics, including 3-point field goals per game (6.7, 3rd), free throws attempted per game (18.3, 3rd), free throws made per game (13.5, 3rd), rebounds per game (36.2, 3rd), offensive rebounds per game (12.1, 3rd) fifth in free throw percentage (73.8%) and fifth in turnovers forced per game (15.8). In conference play, the Aggies also rank first in FT attempts per game (20.1) and first in made FTs per game (15.6).
Individually, junior Tamiah Robinson ranks in the top 25 in the Mountain West in assists per game (3.3, T-6th), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.0, T-8th), rebounds per game (4.5, T-20th), offensive rebounds per game (1.0, T-20th), defensive rebounds per game (3.5, T-16th), steals per game (1.3, T-24th), blocks per game (0.6, T-11th) and minutes per game (28.8, T-22nd). Additionally, Robinson also ranks fifth in MW play for blocks per game with 1.1 rejections per contest. Graduate guard Maria Carvalho is currently T-17th in scoring (10.7 points per game), T-13th with 1.3 3-point field goals per game, 11th with 5.3 rebounds per game, 12th with 1.8 offensive rebounds per game, 15th with 3.6 defensive rebounds per game, T-11th with 2.6 assists per game, T-18th with 1.4 steals per game and T-9th with 31.9 minutes per game. Graduate guard Mayson Kimball ranks T-17th with 1.2 made threes per game, T-20th with 4.5 rebounds per game, T-20th with 1.0 offensive boards per game and T-16th with 3.5 defensive rebounds per game. Junior guard Olivia Wikstrom is T-19th with 1.1 made 3-pointers per game and T-18th with 1.4 steals per game. Senior forward Ashya Klopfenstein is 16th in MW action with 5.4 rebounds per game, T-10th with 1.8 offensive boards per game, T-18th with 3.6 defensive boards per game and T-13th with 1.4 steals per contest in conference play. Klopfenstein also ranks fourth in the conference on the full season for free throw percentage, shooting 81.1 percent from the line. Graduate forward Prima Chellis ranks 10th in free throw percentage at 65.5 percent and is T-17th in conference play with 11.3 points per game. In MW play, Chellis also ranks T-14th in rebounds per game (5.5 rpg), T-13th in offensive boards per game (1.6orpg), 17th in defensive rebounds per game (3.9 drpg) and T-13th in steals per contest (1.3 spg).
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).
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