LOGAN, Utah - Utah State women's basketball held its first official practice of the 2023-24 season Monday morning inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The Aggies, led by fourth-year head coach Kayla Ard, welcome 12 newcomers to this year's squad.
"We've been practicing a little bit, but this was our first two-hour day, first official practice," Ard said. "It was fun. This group's fun, the energy is really good. We're excited about some of the talent we have out there, and to see the girls finish practice with that much energy and that much excitement. We're looking forward to seeing what we can do this year."
Utah State's 12 new faces include three freshmen and nine transfers. The Aggies also welcome back a letterwinner who appeared in 27 games last season in sophomore guard Isabella Tañedo, along with a pair of squad members from last season, junior guard/forward Lillian Harris and redshirt freshman guard/forward Tiairra Hill-Brown.
"Their energy and their chemistry has been really good," Ard said. "They spend a lot of time together off the court. They play pickup together, they come in and shoot together, and we do a ton of team bonding things. There's a lot of competition and they compete really hard out here on the court."
Among the nine transfers who joined the Aggies this season, five are from Division I programs. Incoming transfer players include junior guard Ivory Finley (UMass Lowell), junior point guard Livia Knapp (College of Southern Idaho), junior guard Skye Miller (Eastern Arizona College), junior forward Bridget Mullings (UC San Diego), junior guard Macy Smith (CSUN), graduate guard Taylia Stimpson (Utah Tech), junior guard Cheyenne Stubbs (Canisius), junior guard/forward Samiana Suguturaga (Snow College) and senior forward Allyzee Verdan (Salt Lake CC).
Incoming freshmen for USU include forward Lauren Crocker (Calgary, Canada / Perry HS), forward Gracie Johnson (Nyssa, Oregon / Nyssa HS) and guard Ali Wetta (Castle Rock, Colorado / Valor Christian HS).
Ard's staff this season is composed of assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Lindsay Wooley, assistant coaches McKenzie Mangino and CJ Vaifanua-Pace, assistant coach/director of player development Claire Gritt and assistant coach/director of video and analytics Spenser Hogg.
Utah State will play a home exhibition against Fort Lewis College on Monday, Oct. 30, before officially beginning the season on the road on Monday, Nov. 6 at CSUN.
Season tickets for the 2023-24 women's basketball season are on sale and can be purchased by visiting www.utahstateaggies.com or by calling the Utah State ticket office at 1-888-USTATE-1.
Fans can follow USU women's basketball on Twitter, @USUWBasketball, on Instagram, @USUWBasketball, as well as on Facebook, at /USUWBB. Aggie fans can also follow Utah State Athletics on Twitter, @USUAthletics, on Instagram, @USUAthletics and on Facebook at /USUAthletics.
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