Aggie Tip-Off
Utah State women's basketball (3-13, 0-5 MW) continues its 2023-24 campaign this week as the Aggies host Nevada (8-9, 2-2 MW) on Wednesday, Jan. 17, at 3 p.m., at the Spectrum, before hitting the road to face Boise State (11-6, 2-2 MW) on Saturday, Jan. 20, at ExtraMile Arena in Boise.
How to Follow
Radio coverage for all games will be provided on 107.7 FM, with Ajay Salvesen on the call. Live stats and streaming information will be available on utahstateaggies.com, while updates will also be provided through the team's social media outlets.
Scouting the Wolfpack
• Nevada is 8-9 this season and is off to a 2-2 start to league play with wins over Boise State and San José State, and losses to New Mexico and Air Force.
• Junior guard Audrey Roden leads the team in scoring this year with 12.6 points per game. Senior forward Lexie Givens averages team-best marks of 2.1 assists and 6.3 rebounds per contest.
• The Wolfpack average 63.6 points while allowing 64.4 points per outing.
Scouting the Broncos
• Boise State is 11-6 this season and is off to a 2-2 start to league play with wins over New Mexico and San Diego State and losses to Wyoming and Nevada.
• Sophomore guard Natalie Pasco leads the team scoring with 13.5 points per outing. Senior guard Mary Kay Naro averages a team-best 4.7 assists, while senior forward Abby Muse leads the squad with 10.0 rebounds per contest.
• The Broncos average 62.9 points while allowing 56.2 points per outing.
Series History
• Utah State and Nevada have met up 38 times in a series dating back to 1980.
• Utah State leads the all-time series 20-18, but Nevada has won six of the past seven meetings.
• Last year, the Wolfpack swept the series, winning 78-58 in Reno and 68-63 in Logan.
• Utah State and Boise State have met up 44 times in a series dating back to 1975.
• Boise State leads the all-time series 32-12 and has won six of the past seven meetings. Utah State's last win in the series came in 2022 in Logan.
• Last year, the Broncos swept the series, winning 73-56 in Logan, 89-41 in Boise and 66-58 in the first round of the Mountain West Tournament.
Last Time Out
• Utah State fell on the road Saturday afternoon, suffering a 90-64 loss to Fresno State.
• Eleven Aggies scored in the contest, including a team-high 17-point outing by junior guard Cheyenne Stubbs, who also went for three rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal.
• USU faced an uphill battle from the start after going down 25-14 in the first quarter. USU battled back to bring the deficit within a couple of possessions, but a 33-14 third quarter broke things open to give Fresno State control.
Chey High
• Cheyenne Stubbs has emerged as one of the league's top offensive threats this season, as the Canisius transfer ranks third in the MW with 15.9 points per game.
• Her 15.9 points per contest ranks just outside of the top-10 in program history.
• The 5-foot-5 junior is USU's top scorer, but also leads the team in rebounds (4.1), assists (2.4) and steals (1.8) per outing.
• Stubbs has scored in double-figures in 13 of 16 games this year, while scoring 20-plus on four occasions.
Block Party
In Utah State's contest at New Mexico last week, freshman forward Gracie Johnson went off for five blocks, becoming just the 15th player in program history to record five or more blocks in a game, and the first to do so since Hailey Bassett recorded five blocks against UNLV on Jan. 1, 2020.
Perimeter Protection
One of the strengths of the Aggie defense this year has been on the perimeter, where USU is holding opponents to just 30.9 percent (122-of-395). This ranks fifth-best in the Mountain West this year and is on track to be the best by a Utah State team since the 2006-07 season (.278).
Freshman Firepower
• After not seeing any action in the first five games of the year, the freshman trio of guard Ali Wetta and forwards Lauren Crocker and Gracie Johnson have each emerged as strong role players for the team.
• The trio have each averaged at least 11 minutes per contest the past five games.
• Crocker has started each of the past three games and brought down a team-high 11 boards against San José State, just the second Aggie player this season to have 10 or more.
• Against Wyoming, Johnson went for eight points, five rebounds and three blocks, all career highs.
30-Point Club
• Cheyenne Stubbs went off in Utah State's game at UNLV on Dec. 30, finishing with a career-high 30 points in the contest on 7-of-15 shooting (.467) from the floor, 5-of-9 shooting (.556) from 3-point range and 11-of-14 shooting (.786) from the charity stripe.
• She is just the 19th player in USU program history to score 30 or more points in a game, and is the first to do so since Adryana Quezada on Jan. 9, 2022.
• She is also just the 13th player in program history to make five 3-pointers in a game.
Spreading the Wealth
All 15 rostered players for Utah State have made appearances in games this season, while nine different players have appeared in four different USU starting lineups. Additionally, 10 players average at least 10 minutes per game, while 14 of the 15 average at least five.
Up Next
Following this week's games, the Aggies have a single game next week when they host San Diego State on Wednesday, Jan. 24, at 6 p.m. They will have a bye next weekend.
