AGGIE TIP-OFF
Utah State 4-20, 1-12 MW) continues Mountain West play this week by hosting Fresno State (8-19, 1-13 MW) at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Thursday, Feb. 16, at 6 p.m. (MT) before returning to the road to take on Boise State (13-14, 8-6 MW) on Saturday, Feb. 18, 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 BULLDOGS
Thursday will be 36th meeting between the Aggies and Bulldogs with FSU leading the series 28-7 but the Aggies have won three straight in the series dating back to last year. The two teams met earlier in the season as the Aggies picked up the 68-58 win on January 16, in Fresno, California. FSU and USU also met in the first round of the 2021-22 MW tournament, as the Aggies came rallied back from a 13 point deficit to win 80-75.
 
AGGIES VERSUS BRONCOS
Utah State and Boise State meet for the 43rd time, as Boise State leads the all-time series 30-12, including a 14-5 record inside ExtraMile Arena. The two teams met earlier this season as the Broncos left Logan with a 73-56 win. The Aggies last win in Boise was on February, 8, 2020, by score of 76-69.
 
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 8-19 overall mark and a 1-13 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 57.9 points per game and holding opponents to only 57.3 points per contest, the third-stingiest mark in the conference. The Bulldogs are shooting 38.9 percent from the field, 29.6 percent from behind the arc and 74.3 percent at the FT line. Opponents, meanwhile, have shot 42.3 percent overall and 31.3 percent on 3-point attempts. The Bulldogs have been outrebounded by 1.39 rebounds per game, grabbing 31.6 boards themselves per game. Fresno State averages 8.4 assists per game to 15.7 turnovers and have forced 15.4 turnovers per game from their opponents.
 
Amaya West leads the Bulldogs in scoring at 12.8 points per game and also leads the team with 1.4 steals per contest. Yanina Todorova follows close behind in scoring with 10.5 points per game along with 4.3 rebounds and a team-high 1.8 assists per game. Imani Lacy leads FS with an even 6.0 rebounds per game in addition to 10.4 points per game. Amiee Book adds 9.0 points per contest. Book has made 38 3-pointers on the season, averaging 1.65 made 3-pointers per game.
 
SCOUTING THE BRONCOS
Head coach Gordy Presnell is in his 18th season at the helm of Boise State, with a career record of 336-233. The Broncos went 8-21 in 2021-22 with a 4-13 record in MW play and return eight letterwinners to this year's squad, including four starters. Boise State is 13-14 overall and 8-6 in MW play with their most recent contest resulting in a 76-63 loss at UNLV.
 
Boise State averages 66.0 points per game and has allowed 63.7 points per game to their opponents. The Broncos shoot 40.7 percent from the floor, 33.7 percent from 3-point range and 69.0 percent from the FT line. Opponents have shot 37.4 percent from the floor against the Broncos and have shot 32.4 percent from 3-point territory. BSU averages 39.9 rebounds per contest, outrebounding opponents by 5.5 boards per game. The Broncos record 14.3 assists to 16.6 turnovers per game and have forced 13.7 turnvers per game from their opponents. Elodie Lalotte leads Boise State with 10.4 points per game with Abby Muse ranking second at 9.6 points per contest. Muse leads the team and ranks third in the MW with 8.4 rebounds per game. Mary Kay Naro paces the team with 3.5 assists per contest.
 
ICYMI
Utah State lost their only contest of last week in MW play, falling to Wyoming 70-48 in Laramie, Wyoming. Graduate senior Mayson Kimball was the lone Aggie in double figures with 12 points. Graduate senior Maria Carvalho led USU with eight rebounds alongside nine points. Junior Olivia Wikstrom and freshman Natalie Fraley each added eight points. Utah State shot 25.9 percent (15-for-58) from the field for the game and 27.3 percent (6-for-22) from 3-point territory. The Aggies also shot 92.3 percent (12-for-13) from the free throw line, ranking as the team's best performance from the charity stripe this season. USU also held Wyoming to 39.7 percent (23-for-58) shooting from the field and only 25.0 percent (6-for-24) shooting from behind the arc.
 
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. 
 
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 forward Ashya Klopfenstein, and junior guards Tamiah Robinson and Olivia Wikstrom have each led the Aggies in points this season with Robinson leading the way with six 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 12 double-digit scoring efforts apiece.
 
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.
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.
 
HOLD THIS RECORD FOR ME PLEASE
Indiviudal and team records have been in games involving Fresno State and Boise State. Jennifer Schlott (2011-14) scored the eighth most points (35) in school history against Fresno State in 2014, Deja Mason (2016-19) holds the record for most blocked shots in a game (8) against Boise State in 2016. Shyla Latone is fourth in most made 3-pointers in a game (6) against Fresno State in 2022. Mary Kay Naro of Boise State is second in most assists against Utah State in a game with 16 in 2021, while Ben Faz Davalos of Fresno State is tied for 4th with most blocked shots vs Utah State (7) in 2015
 
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. USU'S most recent double-double came courtesy of a 14-point, 11-rebound outing from graduate senior Maria Carvalho against Colorado State.
 
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 sixth in the conference in minutes played at 32.4 minutes per contest.
 
FULL SPEED AHEAD
Utah State is currently second among Mountain West teams for most possessions per game. The Aggies average 72.8 offensive possessions per game, tied for the 88th-fastest pace in the nation. USU's speed of play is only bested among MW teams by New Mexico (73.2 possessions per game).
 
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 (13.6, 3rd), offensive rebounds per game (11.1, T-4th), turnovers forced per game (15.8, 4th) and steals per game (8.5, 5th). In conference play, the Aggies also rank first in free throws attempted and made per game at 19.5 and 15.0, respectively.
 
Individually, junior Tamiah Robinson ranks in the top 25 in the Mountain West in assists per game (2.9, T-9th), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.0, 9th), rebounds per game (4.5, T-18th), offensive rebounds per game (1.0, 21st), defensive rebounds per game (3.5, 17th), steals per game (1.3, T-19th), blocks per game (0.6, T-11th) and minutes per game (29.3, 20th). Additionally, Robinson also ranks T-6th in MW play for blocks per game with 0.9 rejections per contest. Graduate guard Maria Carvalho is currently T-16th in scoring (10.8 points per game), T-14th with 1.2 3-point field goals per game, 11th with 5.t rebounds per game, T-15th with 1.6 offensive rebounds per game, 13th with 4.0 defensive rebounds per game, T-14th with 2.3 assists per game, T-15th with 1.5 steals per game and sixth with 32.4 minutes per game. Graduate guard Mayson Kimball ranks T-17th with 1.1 made threes per game. Junior guard Olivia Wikstrom is T-19th with 1.0 made 3-pointers per game and T-19th with 1.3 steals per game. Senior forward Ashya Klopfenstein ranks among the conference's best during MW action, ranking in the top 25 in rebounds per game (4.7, 25th), offensive rebounds per game (1.3, T-18th), defensive rebounds per game (3.3, T-21st), blocks per game (0.6, T-12th) and ranks second in free throw percentage (84.4 percent). Freshman guard Natalie Fraley ranks T-19th with 1.0 made 3s and T-18th with 0.5 blocks per game during MW play.
 
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 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 -