LOGAN, Utah – Utah State women's basketball continues Mountain West action this week at home against Boise State on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at 6 p.m., before heading to the road to take on Nevada on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 2 p.m. (MT).
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
All conference games will be available to watch on the Mountain West Network. Radio coverage for all games will be provided on 107.7 FM and the Varsity Network, 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.
 
KEEP AN EYE ON THIS
Senior guard Cheyenne Stubbs currently sits at 976 career points, only 24 from reaching the 1,000-point plateau. Stubbs has scored 618 points in an Aggie uniform after totaling 358 in two seasons at Canisius prior to coming to Utah State. Stubbs also only needs 10 more appearances to qualify for Utah State's all-time career scoring average list (50 games minimum). Stubbs' current scoring average of 15.5 points per game in an Aggie uniform would rank fourth all-time in program history behind only Funda Nakkasoglu (19.2), April Hatch (17.2) and Sharon Epps (17.2).
 
WITH THE ASSIST
Utah State has already registered 10 games this season with double-digit assists, swiftly approaching last year's mark of 12 such games. The Aggies are averaging 10.9 assists per game this season, a full two more assists per game than last year, the second-biggest improvement among teams in the Mountain West.
 
AGGIES VS EVERYONE
The Aggies and Broncos will face off for the 47th time on Wednesday. Boise State holds a 34-12 lead in the series and has won each of the past six meetings. USU is 7-15 all-time against BSU in Logan. The two sides have met in the MW Tournament in each of the past two seasons with the Broncos winning both. Since the programs became conference mates in the WAC in 2005, Utah State has gone 10-28 against the Broncos (USU and BSU played twice as non-conference opponents in 2011 before Utah State joined the MW, resulting in a pair of Aggie victories).
 
USU and Nevada will play for the 41st time on Saturday. Utah State holds a 21-19 edge in the series and won the most recent meeting, 65-62, in Reno last season. The two sides have met 38 times since 2005 as conference foes in the WAC and MW, with the series tied at 19 wins apiece during that time. USU and UNR have met in the conference tournament on three occasions, with the Aggies winning in 2016 and 2012 but falling in 2007.
 
FROM DOWNTOWN AND AT HEIGHT
Sophomore forward Gracie Johnson is one of just three players in the country  this season standing at 6-foot-5 or taller and shooting over 35.0 percent from 3-point range with at least one attempt per game, joining Miami (FL)'s Natalija Marshall and Georgia Tech's Ariadna Termis. Since 1981-82, there have been only 38 instances across 25 players 6-5 or taller who have shot 35.0 percent or better on at least one 3-point attempt per game over a full season at the Division-I level, and only two such instances in MW history (Mallory McGwire, Boise State, in 2019-20 and 2020-21).
 
ON GUARD
Freshman guard Taliyah Logwood is one of only three guards in the Mountain West that is shooting at least 50 percent from the field, joining Air Force's Jayda McNabb and New Mexico's Destinee Hooks. Logwood has shot 34-of-68 from the field this season and would become the first Aggie guard in program history to shoot over 50 percent for a full season.
 
FRESHMAN PHENOM
Freshman guard Carlie Latta was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Week after posting a career-high 19 points against Colorado State. Latta shot 8-of-12 from the field, incluidng 3-of-5 from deep, and added four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Latta scored seven unanswered points on her own in the final minute of the first half to help the Aggies erase a double-digit deficit in the contest. Latta's 19 points were the most by an Aggie freshman since the 2016-17 season when Shannon Dufficy scored 21 at Arizona and Olivia West also recorded 19 points against New Mexico. This is also Utah State's first weekly award of any kind from the MW since March of 2022.
 
TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN
Stubbs currently leads the Mountain West with 22.5 points per game during conference play. Her 27 points against Colorado State are the most in a single game by any player in the conference during MW play this season. Across the full season, Stubbs is one of only 65 players in the nation with multiple games of 27 points or more, doing so by also scoring 28 in the team's season-opener against Kansas City.
 
Sophomore forward Gracie Johnson also leads the MW with 2.5 blocks per game during conference play, also ranking second over the full season with 1.5 rejections per game.
 
I AM SPEED
The Aggies currently rank as the fastest team in the Mountain West, averaging 76.4 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 85.5 possessions per 40 minutes. 
 
IN A VARIETY OF WAYS
The Aggies have had seven different players lead the team in scoring this season, with Stubbs leading the way with a total of five games as the team's leading scorer. Junior guard Jamisyn Heaton is close behind with four games leading the Aggies in scoring. Each of junior guard Mia Tarver and freshman guards Carlie Latta, Elise Livingston, Taliyah Logwood and Denae Skelton have led the team in scoring on one occasion this season.
 
ERASERS
Utah State has made a habit out of climbing out of early holes this season. Some of the notable deficits the Aggies have fought back from include:
 - cutting a 14-point deficit to Northern Colorado to only three points in the opening half
 - fully erasing a 14-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter at Omaha to force overtime
 - cutting a 23-point deficit against Stetson to only a single point
 - trimming a 19-point deficit at Grand Canyon to only four points 
 - coming back from 11 down at Idaho to tie the game before halftime
 - erasing an 11-point deficit versus Colorado State to take the lead in the third quarter
 
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. The Aggies are averaging 6.3 more points per game, 3.8 more steals per game and are forcing 5.3 more turnovers per game this season than last, all the largest improvements among MW teams. Other year-over-year improvements from the Aggies include 5.8 more possessions per game (first in MW), 8.9 more field goal attempts per game (first in MW, fifth in nation), 3.4 more made 3-point field goals per game (first in MW), 12.4 more 3-point attempts per game (first in MW, third in nation) and a 14.5 percent increase in 3-point rate (first in MW, fifth in nation).
 
LET IT FLY
Utah State is currently first in the MW and ninth in the nation with 29.2 attempts from 3-point range per game this season. The Aggies also rank 41st nationally with 8.2 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 41.8 percent also ranks first in the MW. Colorado State ranks second in the MW with 39.1 percent.
 
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 fourth in the MW with 2.2 steals per game. Logwood ranks close behind at fifth in the MW with 1.9 steals per game. As a team, the Aggies have been a steals machine to start the season, ranking 58th nationally and second in the Mountain West with 10.4 steals per contest.
 
AROUND THE (NATION) IN (34) DAYS
The Aggies returned 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. 
 
BLOCK PARTY
Last year, Gracie Johnson became 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 56 for her career, needing only 11 more to break into the top-10 all-time at Utah State.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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. 
 
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.
 
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. 
 
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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