RENO, Nevada – Utah State women's basketball rallied from being down 15 in the second half, trimming the deficit to a single point in the final minutes, but was unable to complete the comeback in a 78-69 loss at Nevada on Saturday afternoon at the Lawlor Events Center.
 
After the Wolf Pack opened up a 7-2 lead to begin the game, the Aggies immediately fought back, using an 8-2 run of their own to take their first lead of the game at 13-11. Stubbs scored on a fastbreak layup as part of the run, reaching 1,000 career points on the basket.
 
Following the Aggie run, a 10-0 response from the home side turned the tide back against USU. Utah State continued to battle, trimming the deficit within five points on multiple occasions throughout the remainder of the half. But the Aggies were unable to wrestle back the lead before halftime, entering the locker rooms facing a 45-37 deficit.
 
The Wolf Pack opened the third quarter on a 5-0 to take a 15-point lead. From there, the Aggies went to work. Five points from junior guard Jamisyn Heaton ignited a 15-2 run from Utah State to cut the lead down to two points. Following Heaton's personal run, junior guard Mia Tarver scored the next six for USU before freshman guard Carlie Latta capped the run with a pair of field goals to make it 59-57. Nevada returned serve with a 9-2 stretch to take a 68-59 lead early in the fourth quarter.
 
Utah State again rallied with Tarver draining a 3-pointer and a floater in the paint before Latta hit another 3-pointer from the wing to bring the Aggies within a single point at 68-67. After a Wolf Pack bucket, USU had several opportunities to tie the game with another 3-pointer but was unable to find the bottom of the basket, allowing Nevada to salt the game away on the offensive end. 
 
Tarver led the Aggies with a career-high 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including a 6-of-7 showing from the free throw line, and adding four rebounds and two steals. Latta finished with 12 points while shooting 5-of-11 from the field and adding a team-high four assists and three steals. Heaton also reached double figures with 11 points on 5-10 shooting. Stubbs added nine points and tied for the team lead in rebound alongside sophomore forward Gracie Johnson with six each.
 
Utah State shot 44.3 percent from the field as a team (27-of-61) and 30.0 percent (6-of-20) from the charity stripe. The Aggies also held a 28-19 advantage in bench points over the Wolf Pack and also outscored Nevada in points off turnovers, 23-17.
 
With 11 assists as a team, the Aggies have now equaled their number of double-digit assist games from last season. USU has reached the 10-assist plateau in 12 games this season and is averaging 10.9 assists per game as a team, a full two assists-per-game more than last year.
 
In addition to reaching 1,000 points for her career, Stubbs is now also only eight games away from qualifying for the all-time leaderboard in scoring average at Utah State. Her current average of 15.4 points per game would rank fourth all-time at USU.
 
UP NEXT
Utah State stays on the road to take on Fresno State on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. (MT), before returning to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum for a two-game homestand versus San Diego State and New Mexico on Jan. 18 and 21, respectively.
 
Season Tickets
Season tickets for the 2024-25 schedule are available now. Fans can purchase 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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