AGGIE TIP-OFF
Utah State 4-17 1-9 MW) continues Mountain West play this week in Fort Collins, Colorado, against Colorado State (13-8, 6-4 MW) on Thursday, Feb. 2, at 11 a.m. (MT) before returning home to host Nevada (8-13, 5-5 MW) on Saturday, Feb. 4, 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 RAMS
Thursday will be 38th meeting between the Aggies and Rams, with Colorado State leading the series, 25-13. CSU got the better of USU in the first matchup, 99-62, at the Spectrum. The Rams have won seven straight in the series, including four in a row and nine of the past 10 matchups in Fort Collins. Utah State's lone win at the Rams since 1980 came in a 72-53 win on Jan. 19, 2019.

AGGIES VERSUS WOLF PACK
Utah State and Nevada meet for the 38th time on Saturday, with USU leading the series, 20-17. Nevada won the first meeting this season, 78-58, in Reno. The home team was won six straight in the series. Each of the previous two matchups in the Spectrum have resulted in double-overtime wins for the Aggies: 82-80 on Feb. 26, 2022, and 79-76 on Jan. 2, 2019. USU is 12-4 all-time at home against the Wolf Pack.

SCOUTING THE RAMS
Head coach Ryun Williams is in his 11th season leading the Rams, compiling a record of 205-124 to this point. The Rams went 21-12 last season and earned an invited to the WNIT, losing at Portland in the opening round, 72-63. Williams and the Rams are again in the midst of a solid year in the Mountain West, sitting at 6-4 in conference play and 13-8 overall. Colorado State earned nonconference wins over Denver, Western Michigan and BYU and have started conference actions with wins over Fresno State and UNLV.

The Rams average 76.6 points per game while only allowing 65.0 points to their opponents. CSU has shot 46.2 percent from the floor, 39.2 percent from 3-point territory and 72.7 percent from the free throw line. Opponents have managed 37.3 percent from the field and 33.0 percent on 3-point attempts versus CSU. The Rams have been outrebounded by 4.2 boards per contest this season, corralling 35.0 rebounds per game. Colorado State averages 15.0 assists per game to only 8.6 turnovers, also forcing their opponents into 13.4 giveaways per game. McKenna Hofschild leads the Rams with 21.5 points and 7.2 assists per game, both top marks in the MW this season. Destiny Thurman and Cailyn Crocker also average double figures with 14.1 and 12.1 points per game, respectively. Cali Clark leads the Rams with 6.8 boards per game.

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 8-13 overall record and a 5-5 mark in MW action. The Wolf Pack are averaging 66.3 points per game while allowing 68.0 points per contest to their opponents. Nevada has shot 40.2 percent from the field, 33.5 percent from 3-point territory and 69.8 percent from the free throw line. Opponents have managed shooting marks of 42.2 percent from the floor and 30.9 percent on 3-point attempts. The Wolf Pack have outrebounded opponents by 0.5 boards per game, averaging a total of 36.0 rebounds. Nevada averages 11.5 assists to 15.5 turnovers per game and have forced opponents into 17.2 turnovers per contest, including 8.6 steals per game.

The Wolf Pack are evenly balanced with five players averaging at least 9.0 points per game but no scorer topping 10.5 points per showing. Lexie Givens leads the team at 10.5 points per game alongside 6.1 rebounds. Alyssa Jimenez holds the team-lead in both rebounds and assists with 6.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists in addition to 10.3 points per game. Megan Ormiston and Audrey Roden add 9.9 and 9.6 points per game, respectively, while Victoria Davis chips in 9.0 points per contest. Davis also leads the team in 3-point percentage, converting 18-of-35 attempts for a 51.4 percentage clip.

ICYMI
Utah State went 0-2 in a two-game home stand last week against Wyoming and New Mexico. Against the Cowgirls, the Aggies led by as many as 18 points in the second quarter before a furious rally from Wyoming had the teams entering the final frame tied at 44. The Cowgirls built a six-point lead in the early minutes of the fourth quarter before a pair of free throws and a layup from graduate senior Prima Chellis brought USU within two with four minutes remaining. The Cowgirls proceeded to shoot 12-for-12 from the FT line in the closing minutes to secure the 64-52 win. Chellis and graduate senior Ashya Klopfenstein tied for the team lead with 12 points apiece. Chellis also led USU with four steals while junior Olivia Wikstrom posted team-highs of six rebounds and three assists. Freshman Natalie Fraley added eight points and junior guard Tamiah Robinson pitched in seven points and five rebounds. The Lobos led wire-to-wire in USU's second game of the week to win, 98-60. Graduate guard Maria Carvalho led the Aggies with 13 points and six rebounds. Robinson also hit double-figures with 11 points, also tying for the team lead with two assists alongside Chellis.

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 74.0 percent from the FT line so far this season ranks sixth in the Mountain West and currently ranks as the fifth-best FT shooting percentage for a season in Aggie history. USU also ranks fourth in FT percentage during conference play, shooting 77.5 percent from the line during MW play.

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 3-2 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 4-4 when shooting better from 3-point territory than their opponent, 3-3 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. 

• Graduate guard Mayson Kimball became the first Aggie in program history to go 5-for-5 from behind the 3-point line in a single game, achieving the feat against Southeastern Louisiana. Freshman guard Natalie Fraley then matched the accomplishment versus San Jose State. Prior to Kimball and Fraley, only five Aggies had managed to go 4-for-4 from 3-point range in a single game in Utah State history.

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 52 instances of a players scoring 10 or more points this season with eight different players so far accomplishing the feat. Carvalho and Robinson are tied for the team-lead with 10 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 second in the conference in minutes played at 32.6 minutes per contest.

FULL SPEED AHEAD
Utah State is currently second among Mountain West teams for most possessions per game. The Aggies average 72.4 offensive possessions per game, tied for the 112th-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
Six Aggies set or tied career-bests last week in Utah State's home stand against Wyoming and New Mexico. Against the Cowgirls, freshman Natalie Fraley tied her career-best marks of five attempted 3-pointers and one steal and one block. Graduate senior Ashya Klopfenstein also tied her career-highs of two made threes, three attempted 3-pointers and two blocks. Freshman Isabella Tañedo recorded her first career block against Wyoming before also setting new career-highs of two 3-point attempts and one assists against New Mexico. Tañedo also tied career-highs of five points, two made field goals, one made 3-pointer, one steal and 16 minutes played against the Lobos. Junior Tamiah Robinson tied her career-highs of seven 3-point attempts and four made free throws. Sophomore Cristina Oliva tied her career-high with one steal while sophomore Lillian Harris recorded her first career block in the contest.

COMPARATIVELY SPEAKING
Utah State ranks among the upper half of the Mountain West in several statistics, including 3-point field goals per game (6.8, 3rd), free throws attempted per game (17.8, 4th), free throws made per game (13.1, 3rd), offensive rebounds per game (11.6, 4th), steals per game (8.8, 4th) and blocks per game (2.7, 5th). In conference play, the Aggies also rank fourth in free throw percentage at 77.5 percent.

Individually, junior Tamiah Robinson ranks in the top 25 in the Mountain West in assists per game (3.0, T-9th), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.0, T-9th), rebounds per game (4.4, 21st), offensive rebounds per game (1.0, 22nd), defensive rebounds per game (3.5, 17th), steals per game (1.2, T-24th), blocks per game (0.7, 10th) and minutes per game (28.8, 23rd). 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 (10.6 points per game), T-15th with 1.2 3-point field goals per game, 12th with 5.2 rebounds per game, 13th with 1.6 offensive rebounds per game, T-14th with 3.6 defensive rebounds per game, 13th with 2.5 assists per game, T-17th with 1.5 steals per game and second with 32.6 minutes per game. Graduate guard Mayson Kimball ranks T-15th with 1.2 made threes per game, T-22nd with 4.3 rebounds per game, T-20th with 1.1 offensive boards per game and T-18th with 3.3 defensive rebounds per game. Junior guard Olivia Wikstrom is T-19th with 1.1 made 3-pointers per game and T-22nd with 1.3 steals per game. Senior forward Ashya Klopfenstein is third in free throw percentage (81.0 percent) and also ranks among the conference's best in rebounds per game (4.8, T-15th), offensive rebounds per game (1.5, T-17th), defensive rebounds per game (3.3, T-18th) and blocks per game (0.5, T-17th). Klopfenstein is also T-16th with 1.3 steals per game during conference play. Graduate forward Prima Chellis ranks 8th in free throw percentage at 65.9 percent and is T-17th in conference play with 10.8 points per game. In MW play, Chellis also ranks T-17th in rebounds per game (5.2 rpg), T-15th in offensive boards per game (1.5 orpg), T-17th in defensive rebounds per game (3.7 drpg) and T-12th in steals per contest (1.6 spg). Freshman guard Natalie Fraley ranks T-15th with 1.1 made 3s per game and T-16th with 0.5 blocks per game during MW play. Graduate forward Abby Wahl also ranks T-16th during conference action with 0.5 blocks per game.

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).