LOGAN, Utah – Seniors Sophie Sene and Jamisyn Heaton led the way with double-doubles while senior guard Marina Asensio flirted with a triple-double as Utah State women's basketball improved to 5-1 at home this season with a 74-61 victory over San José State on Wednesday afternoon at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

Sene and Heaton tied for the team lead with 19 points apiece while Sene recorded a team-high 13 rebounds and a block and Heaton added 10 boards, four assists and two steals. This is the first game in which USU's has recorded multiple double-doubles since Tamiah Robinson and Olivia Wikstrom did so against Arkansas State in December of 2022.

Senior guard Karyn Sanford also reached double figures with a career-high 16 points alongside seven rebounds. Asensio finished with a career-high nine assists, the most by an Aggie since Emmie Harris in 2022, alongside seven points, six rebounds and three steals.

With the victory, Utah State improved to .500 on the season with a 6-6 overall record, the first time the Aggies have remained .500 or better this late in the season since 2018-19. It is also USU's first time earning six wins in a season prior to the new year since registering eight wins in 2016-17. The Aggies' 2-1 start to Mountain West play is the first for USU since 2020-21.

The Aggies have now won five-straight games at the Spectrum which, along with the team's 5-1 home record on the season, are both program-bests dating back to the 2016-17 season.

Utah State led from wire-to-wire, scoring the game's first six points off made baskets from Sene, Heaton and senior forward Rachel Wilson. SJSU would respond with a 9-4 stretch extending into the second quarter to cut the lead to three points at 19-16.

From there, the Aggies took over the remainder of the first half, holding the Spartans scoreless for over four-and-a-half minutes as part of an 11-0 run. Utah State maintained the pressure, extending the run to 19-6 to enter halftime with a 38-22 advantage. Sene and Sanford each scored three buckets during the pivotal stretch, including a pair of jumpers by Sanford in the final minute to give the Aggies their largest lead of the contest.

The Spartans answered back to begin the second half, hitting four 3-pointers as part of a 20-7 run to cut USU's lead to three points midway through the third quarter. The Aggies responded with a 10-2 burst to restore order. Sanford hit a layup and a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions before a steal by sophomore guard Elise Livingston led to an Asensio and-one opportunity, re-extending Utah State's lead back to double digits.

Utah State fought off another comeback attempt from the Spartans to open the fourth quarter. After SJSU cut the lead to 61-55, Sene halted the Spartan run with a mid-range jumper off an offensive rebound by Livingston before Heaton converted a layup off a Spartan turnover to again put USU up by 10. San José State briefly cut the lead to seven points before a 3-pointer by Sanford, her third of the game, again put the Aggies ahead by double digits, this time for good as Utah State closed out the 74-61 victory.

The Aggies extended their winning streak over the Spartans to four games, the longest winning streak over a conference opponent since winning six-straight over Nevada from 2016-18.

Utah State outrebounded the Spartans, 57-39, USU's most rebounds in a game since collecting 66 boards against San José State in 2013. The Aggies also held advantages in points in the paint (32-14), second-chance points (21-17, bench scoring (21-9), points off turnovers (12-10) and fastbreak points (5-0). Utah State recorded 21 assists as a team, tying a season-high from the team's earlier contest versus Stanislaus State and the most by the Aggies since recording 24 helpers against Fresno State in 2022.

USU shot 38.4 percent (28-of-73) from the floor, including 20.6 percent (7-of-34) from 3-point range, and shot 73.3 percent (11-of-15) from the free throw line. The Aggie defense, which entered the game first in the MW in field goal percentage and 3-point percentage allowed during conference play, held the Spartans to 31.9 percent (23-of-72) from the floor and 30.0 percent (12-of-40) from behind the arc.

The Spartans attempted only five free throws, the fewest FTAs by an Aggie opponent since Utah Valley only shot four FTs against USU in 2023 and only the ninth time the Aggies have allowed five or fewer FTs since the program's restart in 2003-04. 

Up Next
The Aggies (6-6, 2-1) enter 2026 with a two-game road trip to the Silver State, first taking on Nevada on Saturday, Jan. 3, at 2 p.m. (MT), before heading to Las Vegas to face UNLV on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 7:30 p.m. (MT).

Tickets
Season tickets, mini-plans and single-game tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here or by visiting the USU Ticket Office.

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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