LOGAN, Utah – Utah State women's basketball returns to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum for the first time in 34 days to host UC Riverside on Wednesday, Dec. 18, at 6 p.m., in the team's non-conference finale.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
Wednesday's game versus UC Riverside will be available for streaming on the Mountain West Network. Radio coverage for all games will be provided on 107.7 FM, with Ajay Salvesen on the call. Links to live stats for all games will be available on utahstateaggies.com, while updates will also be provided through the team's social media outlets.
 
AGGIES VS EVERYONE
Wednesday will be the 10th meeting between Utah State and UC Riverside, with the Highlanders holding a slim 5-4 lead in the series. The teams were brief conference mates from 2003-05, splitting four games across the two seasons. The two sides have also split the past four meetings as non-conference foes, with USU taking a 71-68 win in 2011 and a 68-60 win in the first round of the WBI tournament in 2019, while UCR claimed a 94-90 OT win in 2013 and a 52-51 win last season. The Aggies hold a 2-1 record all-time against the Highlanders in the Spectrum.
 
I AM SPEED
The Aggies currently rank as the fastest team in the Mountain West, averaging 78.1 possessions per 40 minutes. New Mexico ranks second in the MW with 74.0 possessions per 40 minutes, while Niagara currently leads the nation with 85.8 possessions per 40 minutes. 
 
ERASERS
Utah State has made a habit out of climbing out of early holes, particularly on the team's recent road trip. At Northern Colorado, the Aggies trimmed a 14-point deficit to only three points in the opening half. USU fully erased a 14-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter at Omaha to force overtime. In Daytona Beach, Utah State cut a 23-point deficit against Stetson to only a single point. At Grand Canyon, the Aggies slowly trimmed a 19-point deficit to only four points near the start of the fourth quarter. And in their most recent contest, Utah State erased an 11-point deficit in the first quarter to tie the game before halftime.
 
ON THE UPSWING
Utah State ranks at the top of the Mountain West and near the top of the nation in several year-over-year improvements from the 2023-24 season. This season, the Aggies are averaging 4.8 more steals per game and are forcing 6.3 more turnovers per game this season than last, both the largest improvements among MW teams. Other year-over-year improvements from the Aggies include 7.5 more possessions per game (first in MW), 9.8 more field goal attempts per game (first in MW, fifth in nation), 3.5 more made 3-point field goals per game (first in MW, sixth in nation), 13.7 more 3-point attempts per game (first in MW, second in nation) and a 15.5 percent increase in 3-point rate (first in MW, second in nation).
 
IN A VARIETY OF WAYS
The Aggies have had a different leading scorer in each of their past five outings. Junior guard Mia Tarver led the team with 12 points against Ohio State before junior guard Jamisyn Heaton posted a team-high 16 points against Stetson. A trio of freshmen guards then led USU in each of the next three outings as Taliyah Logwood led the Aggies against Utah with nine points, Denae Skelton recorded a team-high 16 points at Grand Canyon, and Elise Livingston posted a team-high 16 points at Idaho. Overall, Utah State has had seven different players lead the team in scoring this season as senior guard Cheyenne Stubbs and freshman guard Carlie Latta have also led the team in scoring this season. Stubbs and Heaton have done so a team-best three times on the year.
 
OUTSIZED EFFECT
Utah State is the only team in the Mountain West that boasts two guards that have average at least two offensive rebounds per game on the season. Heaton leads the Aggies with 6.5 boards per game and has brought down 21 offensive rebounds, averaging 2.1 per contest, while Logwood has corralled 19 offensive rebounds this season, averaging 2.1 per game. 
 
LET IT FLY
Utah State is currently seventh in the nation with 30.5 attempts from 3-point range per game this season. The Aggies also rank 37th nationally with 8.4 made 3-pointers per game. USU's 3-point rate (the number of 3-point attempts relative to a team's total field goal attempts) of 42.9 percent also ranks first in the MW and 10th nationally. Colorado State ranks second in the MW with 40.3 percent and Utah Tech ranks first nationally with a 3-point rate of 46.6 percent. 
 
FREEBIES
After a slow start from the charity stripe to begin the season, the Aggies have greatly improved from the FT line over its last few games. Heaton has led the charge for the Aggies, shooting a perfect 13-for-14 on FTs in her last four appearances. Heaton now ranks ninth in the MW with a FT percentage of 72.2 this year.
 
HEATON UP
Heaton recorded her first career double-double against Omaha, finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Aggies. Utah State has two double-doubles on the season as Stubbs recorded her third career double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds against CSUN.
 
STOLEN GOODS
Mia Tarver came away with a career-high seven steals against CSUN, a feat only accomplished 28 times previously by a total of 19 players in school history. Only four players have recorded at least seven steals in on game since the program's reinstatement in 2003 (Elise Nelson twice, Alice Coddington twice, Jenna Johnson, Danyelle Snelgro). Tarver's seven steals are tied for the 14th-most all-time for a single game at Utah State. Tarver is currently tied for second in the MW with 2.6 steals per game. Logwood ranks close behind at fifth in the MW with 2.1 steals per game each. As a team, the Aggies have been a steals machine to start the season, ranking 46th nationally and second in the Mountain West with 11.1 steals per contest.
 
AROUND THE (NATION) IN (34) DAYS
The Aggies return to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Wednesday, Dec. 18, to host UC Riverside, a full 34 days since the team's previous home outing against Cal State Bakersfield on Nov. 14. Utah State's 34 days between home games is the sixth-longest in the nation this season, ranking behind Columbia (47 days), UC Irvine (46), Texas A&M-Commerce (45), Stephen F. Austin (40) and William & Mary (35). By total road and neutral games played between home games, Utah State's eight games is tied for the longest streak in the nation alongside Stephen F. Austin. 
 
STARTER JACKETS
Utah State returns two full-time starters from last year in senior guards Cheyenne Stubbs and Ivory Finley. The Aggies also return a further two players with starting experience. Senior guard/forward Samiana Suguturaga started the final 13 games of the 2023-24 season, while senior forward Allyzee Verdan made nine total starts on the year, including each of the last seven games.
 
INTO THE HISTORY BOOKS
Last season, Stubbs put up one of the top-scoring seasons in program history. Stubbs finished the season with 482 points, passing Devyn Christensen (2011-12) and Ashlee Brown (2011-12) to move into eighth all-time at USU. 
 
                Rk          Player Year     Points
                6.            Funda Nakkasoglu     2014-15              504
                7.            April Hatch      1983-84             487
                8.            Cheyenne Stubbs     2023-24             482
                9.            Ashlee Brown 2011-12              468
                10.         Devyn Christensen     2011-12              467
 
Stubbs' average of 16.1 points per game narrowly missed the all-time top-10 at USU. However, Stubbs did break into the top-10 in several other categories for a single season, including 3-pointers made (fifth, 59) and attempted (fourth, 174). Stubbs led the Aggies in scoring in 22 games on the year, the most times as USU's leading scorer in a single season since Funda Nakkasoglu had 25 team-leading outings in 2015-16. 
 
EN FUEGO
Stubbs recorded a pair of 30-point games in 2023-24, becoming just the 19th player in program history to ever top the 30-point plateau, and only the 12th to do so in multiple games. Stubbs posted a career-high 32 points in Utah State's win at Nevada on Jan. 31, going 10-of-24 shooting (.417) from the floor, 2-of-8 shooting (.250) from 3-point range and 10-of-14 shooting (.714) from the charity stripe. Against UNLV, Stubbs also finished with 30 points on 7-15 shooting (.467), including a 5-9 performance from deep (.556), and went (11-14) from the free throw line. She is just the 10th Aggie with multiple 30-point games in the same season. In total, Utah State has seen 48 games in which an Aggie has hit 30 points or more. Stubbs' 32 points against Nevada are tied for the 20th-most in a game in Aggie history. 
 
BLOCK PARTY
Utah State freshman forward Gracie Johnson is one of just four players in program history to have three games with five or more blocks in a season. Additionally, she became just the second freshman to ever do so, joining all-time program block leader Deja Mason. With eight blocks against Boise State, Johnson tied the all-time program record for blocks in a single game. Johnson finished the season with 36 blocks and now has 49 for her career, needing only 18 more to break into the top-10 all-time at Utah State.
 
KEEP AN EYE ON THIS
Senior guard Cheyenne Stubbs needs only 13 more appearances to qualify for Utah State's all-time career socring average list (50 games minimum). Stubbs' current scoring average of 15.4 points per game in an Aggie uniform would rank fourth all-time in program history.
 
TOP SCORERS
Utah State returns its top scorer from 25 of 31 games last season, including the team's exhibition. Stubbs led the Aggies with 22 games as the leading scorer last season, while each of senior forrward Allyzee Verdan, senior guard/forward Samiana Suguturaga and senior guard Ivory Finley each recorded one game as USU's leading scorer.
 
WELL-TRAVELED
Utah State has players from eight different states on its roster, plus three international players in senior forward Allyzee Verdan (French Guiana), junior forward/center Sophie Sene (France) and freshman guard Denae Skelton (Canada). This is the most international players on USU's roster since fielding four such players in 2019-20. Utah (four) and Idaho (three) are the only states from which multiple Aggies hail. This is the first time Utah has been the most populous state on USU's roster since the 2021-22 season.
 
TRUE BLUE AGGIES
This year's team has a pair of players with family ties to Utah State. Senior guard/forward Samiana Suguturaga is the daughter of former Aggie football player Jay Suguturaga, who played tight end at USU from 2000-01. Additionally, sophomore forward Gracie Johnson's older brother, Isaac, is currently a junior on the Utah State men's basketball team. Johnson's father, Darren, played for the USU men's team in 1990-91, while her grandfather, Ronald, also played at Utah State. 
 
NEW TEAM, WHO DIS?
The Aggies welcome 10 newcomers to the 2024-25 squad. Utah State brings in three transfers in juniors Sophie Sene (Rhode Island), Mia Tarver (Salt Lake CC) and Jamisyn Heaton (College of Southern Idaho). USU brings in a total of seven freshmen, including Ava Smith (Camas, Washington), Denae Skelton (West Kelowna, B.C., Canada), Riley Ward (Preston, Idaho), Carlie Latta (Paul, Idaho), Karlie Banks (Laclede, Idaho), Elise Livingston (Millville, Utah) and Taliyah Logwood (Richmond, California).
 
KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY
Several players have family ties to athletes who have played at the collegiate level, with several also playing professionally. Freshman guard/foward Taliyah Logwood has a pair of cousins in Brian Johnson and Raelon Singleton who each played football at Utah, with Brian Johnson also now serving as an assistant head coach and passing game coordinator for the Washington Commanders of the NFL. Freshman guard Elise Livingston's sister, Erin, played volleyball for four years at BYU and signed with the Las Vegas Thrill of the Pro Volleyball Federation.  Freshman guard Ava Smith's father, Matthew, played football and won an NAIA Division II national title at Central Washington University. Freshman guard Denae Skelton's brother, Kaeden, played basketball for the University of British Columbia in Okanagan. Freshman guard Carlie Latta's sister, Aubrie Vale, played basketball at Westminster in 2019. Both senior guard/forward Samiana Suguturaga and sophomore forward Gracie Johnson have aforementioned ties to Utah State, while Johnson also has an older brother, Spencer, who played basketball at BYU.
 
DE LA GUYANE FRANÇAISE À LOGAN
Utah State senior forward Allyzee Verdan joined the Aggies all the way from her home country of French Guiana, a small South American country bordering Brazil to the north. She is one of just two French Guiana natives in Division I women's basketball, along with Duquesne's Raymi Couëta.
 
Season Tickets
Season tickets for the 2024-25 schedule are available now. Fans can purchase their tickets here or by calling the USU Ticket Office at (435) 797-0305.
 
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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