BACK IN ACTION
Utah State faces another week split between home and away, first taking on UNLV in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 7:30 p.m. (MT), before returning home to host San Diego State on Saturday, Jan. 10, at 1 p.m. (MT).

FOLLOW ALONG
All games during conference play will be streamed on the Mountain West Network with live stats available through UtahStateAggies.com.

DOUBLE OR NOTHING
Seniors Sophie Sene and Jamisyn Heaton each recorded double-doubles against San Jose State, 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. Sene finished with 19 points plus 13 rebounds and a block while Heaton finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals.

OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT 
USU's 2-2 start to Mountain West action is tied for the program's best start to conference play since beginning the 2018-19 MW season at 5-1. The Aggies also began the 2020-21 conference season at 2-2. The team's win over Air Force was USU's first in its conference opener since defeating Nevada to begin MW play in 2018-19. The Aggies had lost six-straight MW openers prior to this season. USU also snapped a nine-game losing skid to the Falcons with the victory. 

SPECTRUM MAGIC
Utah State has gone 5-1 so far at home this season, including a streak of five-straight, both program-bests dating back to the 2016-17 season. 

In tandem with USU men's basketball's 6-0 home start to the season, Utah State has won 10 consecutive home games at the Spectrum across men's and women's basketball, the longest streak for the school since the 2012-13 seasons.

ICYMI
Utah State went 1-1 last week, winning at home over San Jose State, 74-61, before falling at Nevada, 58-40. Sene and Heaton lead the Aggies with a pair of double-doubles while senior guard Marina Asensio came close to a triple-double with seven points, six rebounds and a career-high nine assists. Senior guard Karyn Sanford also added a career-high 16 points alongside seven rebounds. Against the Wolf Pack, Asensio led the team with 20 points while Sanford added 10.

AGGIES VS EVERYONE
Utah State trails the all-time series against UNLV, 33-4, and has never defeated the Rebels in Las Vegas in its past 21 tries. All of USU's wins in the series have come at home with their last win coming in 2017 by score of 58-49. UNLV has taken 15 straight games against the Aggies.

The Aggies trail San Diego State in the all-time series, 17-7, though four of those victories have come in Logan. The Aztecs have won eight straight against USU with Utah State last winning, 81-79, in an overtime upset during the first round of the Mountain West Tournament in 2020. The Aggies' last regular season win over SDSU was a 65-52 road victory in 2019 while their last win at home came in 2017 by score of 62-58. SDSU has won six straight in Logan.

DEFENSIVE PROWESS
Utah State's defense has powered the team during the beginning of conference play. The Aggies currently lead the Mountain West both in overall and 3-point field goal percentage allowed during MW play, holding opponents to 31.6 percent shooting from the field and 20.8 percent from behind the arc. San Diego State ranks second in the league in both categories, holding opponents to a 33.6 percent mark from the floor,and 24.7 percent from 3-point range. The Aggies have also locked down the boards, leading the league during conference play with 31.25 defensive rebounds per game and second in total rebounds per game at 41.75 boards per game.

HANDS OFF
Another key part of USU's defensive fortitude this season is the team's aversion to fouling. The Aggies are currently averaging 16.2 fouls per game, leading to opponents shooting only 16.1 FTs per game, both the sixth-lowest marks in program history and lowest since 2021-22. 

CONVERTING THE FREEBIES
USU currently leads the Mountain West during league play with a 79.7 percentage mark from the free throw line, ahead of second-place Wyoming's 79.5 percent showing on FTs. The Aggies have gone 47-of-59 from the charity stripe so far to begin MW action.

SLOWING IT DOWN
Last season, the Aggies finished the 2024-25 season as the fastest team in the Mountain West, averaging 75.1 possessions per 40 minutes. New Mexico ranked second in the MW with 73.1 possessions per 40 minutes.

But this season, USU has slowed their pace down to 72.2 possessions per game, now ranking fifth in the MW. New Mexico now leads the league with 75.2 possessions per game while USU also ranks behind Boise State, San Jose State and Grand Canyon in average pace.

NOTHING BUT NET
The Aggies currently sit at 227th in the NET rankings and has reached as high as 214th this season, the highest-ever ranking for the program. Utah State jumped 20 spots in the NET after defeating Idaho, 80-73, the largest single-day jump in NET ever for the Aggies. Prior to this season, USU had not been ranked higher than 250th in the NET rankings since 2021-22. 

STUFFING THE STAT SHEET 
Gayles led the charge in USU's 65-53 win over Air Force, scoring 19 points alongside 10 rebounds and four assists, becoming the first Aggie to hit those marks since Shannon Dufficy did so against San Jose State in 2019. Gayles finished 4-of-8 from the field, connecting on both of her 3-point attempts, and went 9-of-10 from the free throw line while recording her first career double-double. Heaton then matched the stat line in USU's win over San Jose State, going 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-4 from the FT line and adding two steals in the victory.

A TALL TASK ACCOMPLISHED
Sene scored 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting against Idaho, including a career-high five made 3-pointers, becoming the fifth player 6-foot-3 or taller in the Mountain West to ever hit five threes in a game and the first since Boise State's Mallory McGwire did so twice during the 2020-21 season.

STEP ON UP, KNOCK 'EM DOWN
Sene went a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line in the team's 68-65 win at Cal State Bakersfield, becoming just the eighth different player to go perfect from the charity stripe on at least 10 attempts in program history (14 total instances). Sene also added seven rebounds to lead the team. Sene currently ranks 12th in the Mountain West in free throw percentage with at least 20 free throw attempts with a mark of 82.6 percent.

I'LL TAKE THAT
Utah State is currently forcing 17.4 turnovers per game, the seventh-most in program history and the most by the team since forcing a program record 19.5 turnovers per game in 2010-11. The Aggies rank fifth in the MW this season in turnovers forced per game.

COUNT TO 20
Gayles scored a career-high 20 points in USU's last outing against San Diego, marking the first 20-point game this season by an Aggie. Asensio became the second Aggie to reach the plateau this year with a 20-point effort in the team's last outing at Nevada. Utah State had 15 such games last season, the most by the team in a single season since 2021-22.

HEROICS GALORE
The Aggies recorded two-straight wins over Cal State Bakersfield and Omaha, both featuring late heroics to earn the victory. Gayles hit back-to-back threes to help Utah State erase a five-point deficit with less than two minutes remaining to defeat Cal State Bakersfield, 68-65. This was the first time the Aggies have come back from five or more points down in the final two minutes since erasing a six-point deficit in the final two minutes to defeat Fresno State, 80-75, on March 6, 2022.

Against Omaha at home, USU was tied with the Mavericks at 69-69 before closing out the game on an 8-0 run, kickstarted by back-to-back 3-pointers from sophomore guard Elise Livingston.

AN ALL-TIME OUTING
In USU's 96-41 win over Stanislaus State, the Aggies set a program record with 36 forced turnovers and became the first Mountain West team ever with nine players each hitting a 3-pointer in a game. The Aggies tied their program record with 14 made 3-pointers, standing alongside a pair of games in 2013 against Idaho and New Mexico State. The 55-point margin of victory is also USU's fifth-largest in program history. The Aggies recorded 20 steals as a team, the most by the team since recording 21 against Utah Valley in 2014. Utah State outscored Stanislaus State, 44-7, in points off turnovers. USU's 21 assists are also the most by the Aggies since recording 24 helpers against Fresno State in 2022. The Aggies' 96 points were also tied for the most points in a game since scoring 106 against Northern New Mexico in 2018.

HELPER HELPER
Utah State is currently averaging 12.0 assists per game, the most by the program since averaging 14.2 helpers during the 2021-22 season. USU has recorded double-digit assists in nine games so far this season and is 6-3 in those games.

Four separate Aggies have recorded five assists in a game this season as Sanford, Livingston, and freshman Bella Cosme have each done so once while Asensio has done so twice, including a career-high nine assists against San Jose State, the most by an Aggie since Emmia Harris in 2022. USU had only eight games last season in which a player recorded five or more assists.

RECORD BREAKERS
Utah State made 256 3-pointers last season, breaking the program record of 247 3-pointers made by the team in 2012-13. Utah State also surpassed the program record for 3-point attempts with 889 attempts from behind the arc, shattering the 2012-13 team's mark of 752 3-point attempts. This year, the team ranks third in the Mountain West with 6.92 made 3-pointers per game.

STARTER JACKETS
Utah State returns three players with extensive starting experience in Jamisyn Heaton, Elise Livingston and Sophie Sene. Heaton led the Aggies last season with 27 starts while Livingston followed close behind with 26 starts to her name. After missing several games early in the season due to injury, Sene returned to the lineup to make 17 starts last season. 

REINFORCEMENTS ON THE WAY
Utah State's 2025-26 roster is highlighted by the additions of Aaliyah Gayles and Marina Asensio, with the backcourt duo bringing a wealth of experience and pedigree to Logan. Gayles was ranked the No. 8 recruit in the nation and a Mcdonald's All-American coming out of high school in 2022, and spent the last three seasons at USC. Asensio played last season at Western Michigan and her first two seasons at South Florida. She has twice played in the NCAA Tournament and earned all-MAC honorable mention last season.

ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD, BUT THIS IS
Marina Asensio played this summer for the Spanish U21 National Team at the FIBA 3x3 U21 Nations League in Bratislava, Slovakia. Asensio led the tournament in scoring while leading Spain to a gold medal. Paloma Muñoz Herreros also competed for Spain this summer at the U18 3x3 European Youth Olympic Festival.

PEER PRESSURE
The Aggies won back-to-back conference games last season against San Jose State and Nevada, their first time doing so since winning three-straight versus conference opponents in 2022. Utah State also swept San Jose State this season, USU's first sweep of a conference foe since defeating Air Force twice during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. 

WITH THE ASSIST
Utah State registered 23 games with double-digit assists last season, the most since 2021-22 and far surpassing the previous year's mark of 12 such games. The Aggies averaged 11.5 assists per game, nearly three more assists per game than 2023-24, the second-biggest improvement among teams in the Mountain West. USU's 23 games of 10 or more assists ranks eighth all-time in program for a single season, and is the most since team recorded 24 such games in 2021-22. 

FINISHED STRONG
Over the last five games of the 2024-25 regular season, the Utah State offense averaged 75.2 points per game, the highest offensive output in the Mountain West during a team's final five games of the regular season.

LET IT FLY
Utah State ranked first in the MW and 30th nationally with 8.3 made 3-pointers per game. The Aggies also ranked first in the MW and seventh in the nation with 28.7 attempts from 3-point range per game this season. USU's three-point rate (the number of 3-point attempts relative to a team's total field goal attempts) of 40.6 percent ranked first in the MW and 10th in the nation. 

The Aggies had 11 players averaging at least one 3-point attempt per game, tying for the third-most such players in the country and the most such players for a single season in program history. Utah State also set a program record with five players averaging at least one 3-pointer per game. 

ON THE UPSWING
Utah State ranked at the top of the Mountain West last year and near the top of the nation in several year-over-year improvements from the 2023-24 season. USU averaged 11.8 more 3-point field goal attempts per game last season compared to 2023-24, the largest year-over-year jump in the nation. The Aggies also averaged 9.9 more field goal attempts per game (second-largest jump in the nation), 3.4 more made 3-pointers per game (third in nation) and had a 13.3 percent increase in 3-point rate over last season (second in nation). USU also averaged 2.1 more steals per game, 6.4 more points per game, 4.5 more possessions per game, 4.2 more forced turnovers per game, and 3.9 more made field goals per game, all of which are the largest year-over-year jumps among Mountain West teams this season.

AGGIE TRADITION
Sophomore forward Macie Brown is the daughter of Aggie Hall of Famer Tony Brown, a member of USU's All-Century basketball team in 2005. "Downtown" Tony Brown earned honorable mention All-America honors from Basketball News following his senior season and was named to the all-Big West first team as a junior. That season, Brown made one of the most memorable shots in school history in the finals seconds of regulation against No. 25 Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to tie the game. USU went on to defeat the Buckeyes in overtime to notch its first NCAA Tournament win in 31 years. 

NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH TEAM ADDITIONS
With four players hailing from Spain out of its 14-player roster, Utah State has the highest percentage of players from Spain of anyone in the nation this season.

ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF
The Aggies welcome in 11 newcomers for the 2025-26 season. In addition to Gayles and Asensio, Utah State brings in three more transfers in senior Rachel Wilson (Wheeling), senior Karyn Sanford (Tarleton State) and sophomore Macie Brown (College of Southern Idaho). Saskia Krüger and Andjela Marojevic join USU as sophomores after spending their freshman seasons in Europe. The Aggies also bring in four true freshmen in Aitana Rosello Lopez, Paloma Muñoz Herreros, Mirembe Twehamye Montanana and Bella Cosme. Seniors Sophie Sene and Jamisyn Heaton plus sophomore Elise Livingston return from last year's squad for USU.

INTERNATIONAL FLARE
This season, Utah State is majority international as the Aggies field eight players from overseas out of 14 players on the roster. USU boasts four players from Spain, the most in the nation, in Asensio, Rosello Lopez, Muñoz Herreros and Twehamye Montanana. Also represented on this year's roster is Zambia (Krüger), Serbia (Marojevic), Norway (Sanford) and France (Sene). This is the first time in program history that over 50 percent of Utah State's roster is from outside the United States. The Aggies last fielded even 50 percent international players in 2018-19 (seven out of 14).

STANDING TALL
Utah State's roster boasts six players standing 6-foot or taller in Sophie Sene (6-3), Rachel Wilson (6-2), Saskia Krüger (6-1), Paloma Muñoz Herreros, (6-1), Karyn Sanford (6-0) and Macie Brown (6-0). The Aggies fielded only three such players on last year's roster.

UP NEXT
Utah State continues its weekly trend of one game at home and one game on the road next week. The Aggies first head out to take on Fresno State on Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 7:30 p.m. (MT), before returning to the Spectrum to host Boise State on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 7 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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