Aggie Tip-Off
Utah State women's basketball (5-24, 2-16 MW) begins postseason play this weekend at the Mountain West Championship, where the 11-seed Aggies will first face 6-seed Boise State (19-12, 10-8 MW) on Sunday, March 10, at 8 p.m. (MT). Should Utah State defeat the Broncos, it will face 3-seed Wyoming in the quarterfinal round on Monday, March 11, at 8:30 p.m.
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.
Tournament Time
The 2024 Mountain West Basketball Championship takes place from Sunday, March 10, through Wednesday, March 13, with all games being played at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The Championship game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
Scouting the Broncos
• Boise State went 19-12 overall this season and 10-8 in Mountain West play to finish the regular season tied for fourth in the league.
• Sophomore guard Natalie Pasco leads the team scoring with 13.4 points per outing. Senior guard Mary Kay Naro averages a team-best 4.4 assists, while senior forward Abby Muse leads the squad with 8.5 rebounds per contest.
• The Broncos average 63.2 points while allowing 57.9 points per outing.
Regular Season Series
• Utah State went 0-2 against Boise State in the regular season, losing 76-41 in Boise and 73-57 in Logan.
• In the first meeting, junior guard Cheyenne Stubbs led the Aggies with 17 points, while junior forward Bridget Mullings went for eight points and 10 rebounds. The Broncos were led by a 16-point performance by Dani Bayes.
• In the second contest, Stubbs once again led the Aggies with 19 points while also bringing down a career-high-tying 11 rebounds. Natalie Pasco was the top scorer for the Broncos with 15 points, while Abby Muse went for nine points and 11 boards.
Scouting the Cowgirls
• Wyoming went 16-13 this season and is 11-7 in Mountain west play to finish the regular season third in the league.
• Junior center Allyson Fertig leads the team in both scoring and rebounding this year with 13.6 points and 8.1 boards per game. Senior guard Ola Ustowska averages a team-best 2.9 assists per contest.
• The Cowgirls average 63.2 points while allowing 59.7 points per outing.
Regular Season Series
• Utah State went 0-2 against Wyoming in the regular season, losing 54-48 in Logan and 62-47 in Laramie.
• In the first meeting, junior forward Macy Smith led the Aggies with nine points, while freshman forward Gracie Johnson went for eight points, five rebounds and three blocks. The Cowgirls were led by an 18-point effort from Allyson Fertig.
• In the second contest, junior guard/forward Samiana Suguturaga led the Aggies with 12 points. Fertig was once again the top performer for the Cowgirls, recording 13 points and eight rebounds.
Series History
• Utah State and Boise State have met up 46 times in a series dating back to 1975.
• Boise State leads the all-time series 34-12 and has won eight of the past nine meetings. Utah State's last win in the series came in 2022 in Logan.
• In neutral site contests, Boise State is 3-0 against USU including a 66-58 win the first round of last year's MW Tournament.
• Utah State and Wyoming have met up 43 times in a series dating back to 1971.
• Wyoming leads the all-time series 32-11 and has won 13 of the past 14 meetings. Utah State's last win in the series came in 2022 in Logan.
• In neutral site contests, Wyoming is 4-1 against USU.
Deja Vu
This will be the second-straight year Utah State and Boise State have met up as a 6-seed vs 11-seed in the first round of the Mountain West Championship. Last season, the Broncos took a 66-58 win to move on as a late push by USU wasn't enough to overcome a slow start. Boise State's Mya Hansen scored a game-high 20 points, while the Aggies were led by a 20-point effort from Tamiah Robinson.
Into the History Books
• In the regular season finale against UNLV, Utah State junior guard Cheyenne Stubbs moved into the top-10 in program history in single season scoring.
• She currently has 461 points, passing Jennifer Schlott (2012-13) and Ashlee Brown (2010-11) to move into 10th all-time.
Rk Player Year Points
6. Funda Nakkasoglu 2014-15 504
7. April Hatch 1983-84 487
8. Ashlee Brown 2011-12 468
9. Devyn Christensen 2011-12 467
10. Cheyenne Stubbs 2023-24 461
Into the History Books - Pt. II
• Along with the upcoming scoring mark, Stubbs has made her way into the history books in a few other categories this season.
• With 56 made 3-pointers this season, she ranks No. 5 all-time. She needs eight more to pass Ana Pares (2008-09) for fourth.
• Stubbs' 15.9 points per game this season rank just outside the top-10, behind Jill Swainston's 16.8 in 1986-87.
• Stubbs has led Utah State's scoring efforts in 21 games this season, the most by an Aggie player since Funda Nakkasoglu had 25 team-leading outings in 2015-16.
Tournament History
Since joining the Mountain West in 2013-14, Utah State is 6-10 in MW Tournament contests. The team's most recent win came in 2022 when the 9-seed Aggies took down 8-seed Fresno State in the first round.
Liv-ing It Up
• Utah State junior guard Livia Knapp has hit her offensive stride in recent games, posting her three highest-scoring games of the year in the past four outings.
• Knapp made just seven 3-pointers during the first 25 games of the year. In the past four, she has made six, including a career-high three triples against UNLV.
Aggies Take Down Spartans
• USU picked up a big road win on Feb. 21, taking down San José State in a dramatic road victory 71-70.
• Junior guard/forward Samiana Suguturaga hit a 3-pointer with 33.5 seconds remaining to give the Aggies the lead. USU then stopped a pair of SJSU shots on the final possession of the game to secure the win.
• Utah State had seasons highs in made 3-pointers (12), made field goals (27) and assists (15), while scoring its third-most points of the year.
Ivory Thriving
Utah State junior guard Ivory Finley went off in the team's game against Colorado State, scoring a season-high 19 points to go along with six rebounds, an assist and a steal while going 3-for-5 from 3-point range. Finley's 19 points were the most by an Aggie player this year aside from junior guard Cheyenne Stubbs.
I'll Take That
In Utah State's game at San Diego State, sophomore forward Tiairra Hill-Brown was a defensive menace, coming up with five steals. This was the most steals by a USU player this season, and was the most by a USU player since Prima Chellis also had five against College of Idaho on Nov. 7, 2022.
Sami I Am
• Utah State junior guard/forward Samiana Suguturaga has seen her role increase as the season progresses, starting each of the past 12 contests.
• In non-conference play, Suguturaga averaged 4.5 points and 3.1 rebounds with four total blocks. In the 14 games of Mountain West play, she has averaged 7.1 points and 4.2 boards with 15 blocked shots.
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 is just the second freshman to ever do so, joining all-time program block leader Deja Mason.
30-Point Club
• Junior guard Cheyenne Stubbs went off in Utah State's win at Nevada on Jan. 31, finishing with a career-high 32 points in the contest on 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.
• Her 32 points are tied for 20th most in USU program history.
• She is just the 14th player in USU program history to score 32 or more points in a game, and is the first to do so since Shyla Latone on March 1, 2021.
• She is also just the 10th player in program history to have multiple 30-plus point games in a season. The most recent USU player to do so was Latone in 2020-21.
It Runs in the Family
This year's team has a pair of players with family ties to Utah State. Junior guard/forward Samiana Suguturaga is the daughter of former Aggie football player who played tight end at USU from 2000-01. Additionally, freshman forward Gracie Johnson's older brother, Isaac, is currently a redshirt sophomore 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.
