TIP-OFF
Utah State (1-0, 0-0 Pac-12) continues the 2026-27 season by hosting LMU on Friday, Nov. 6, at 2 p.m. (MT), before hitting the road for the first time to face No. 3 USC on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 6 p.m. (MT). Friday's game will be available for streaming via the Pac-12 YouTube channel while Sunday's game will broadcast nationally on the Big Ten Network. Radio coverage will also be available on 107.7 FM and through the Varsity Network with Ajay Salvesen on the call.

AGGIES VS EVERYONE
Utah State and LMU have played six times previously as the Lions hold a 4-2 advantage in the all-time series, including wins in the last three meetings. The Aggies are 1-1 at home against LMU, taking a 100-58 win in 2013 for its most recent win in the series, but falling to the Lions 69-66 at home in 2021. LMU won the most recent matchup 63-58 last season in Los Angeles.

The Aggies and Trojans will meet for just the fifth time on Sunday. USC has won each of the previous four meetings, including a 79-48 home victory in the most recent game in 2022. 

BACK IN TOWN
Utah State senior guard Aaliyah Gayles returns to the Galen Center for the first time after spending her first three seasons in her college career at USC. Gayles missed the entire 2022-23 season due to injury, but returned to appear in 22 games for the Trojans and was the recipient of the Collegiate Women's Sports Awards' Honda Inspiration Award in 2023-24 and also received the Pac-12's inaugural Tammy Blackburn Inspiration Award.

QUITE AN IMPACT
Senior guards Aaliyah Gayles and Lisa Thompson were named to the Pac-12 Preseason Impact List. Gayles was named to the list after leading USU in scoring last season at 12.2 points per game and is also the team's leading returning in rebounds (4.2 per game), assists (2.0), steals (1.6) and blocks (0.3). Thompsonearned preseason honors after spending the past three seasons at Missouri and Rutgers before transferring to Utah State. She appeared in 32 games and made 10 starts for the Tigers last year, averaging 3.9 points per game alongside 1.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists while helping Missouri earn a berth in the WBIT.

OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT
Utah State began its season with a 61-45 win over Westminster. The Aggies rode a strong defensive showing to the victory, holding the Griffins to the fewest points allowed by USU since holding Stanislaus State to 41 points last season. USU held Westminster to only 27.9 percent (17-of-61) from the floor and 18.2 percent (4-of-22) from behind the arc.

The Aggies had four players in double figures as Nicole Ogun, Sami Mancini, Lisa Thompson and Kylani Rookstool all cleared the plateau. This was only the seventh time USU has had four double-digit scorers in a season opener and the first time since 2020.

DOUBLE DOWN ON A DEBUT
Both Sami Mancini and Nicole Ogun notched double-doubles in their Aggie debuts as Mancini posted 12 points and 13 rebounds and Ogun tallied 19 points and 11 boards. The pair are just the fourth and fifth Aggies to record double-doubles in their first game at USU, joining Bridget Mullings (2023 vs CSUN), Adryana Quezada (2021 vs Westminster) and Lydia Whitehead (2008 vs Portland), and the first do so in the same game. Ogun is also the first true freshman to record a double-double in her college debut at Utah State.

WHAT'S YOUR RANK?
Utah State has never defeated an AP Top 25-ranked opponent, going 0-12 in its previous attempts. Sunday will be USU's fourth game against a top-five team as the Aggies previously faced No. 5 Notre Dame in 2012, No. 4 Oregon State in 2019, No. 3 Oregon in 2018 and No. 1 Oregon in 2019.

CATCH IT LIVE
Utah State will appear on national television a program-record three times in 2026-27. The Aggies will appear on the Big Ten Network at USC and on ESPN2 at TCU during nonconference play, both program-first appearances for each channel. The Aggies' Pac-12 home opener against Oregon State will also be broadcast on The CW, both Utah State's first appearance on the channel and the first home game broadcast on any national TV channel in program history. USU's last appearance on national television came on CBS Sports Network at UNLV during the 2023-24 season.

NOT QUITE MY TEMPO
Utah State enters the Pac-12 as the fastest team in the league over the past two seasons. In two seasons under head coach Wesley Brooks, the Aggies have averaged 72.8 possessions per game, just ahead of second-place Texas State who has averaged 72.5 possessions per game over that same span.

HIT RETURN
Utah State returns seven players from last season, the most returning players for the program since nine players returned for the 2021-22 season. Guards Aaliyah Gayles, Aitana Rosello Lopez, Paloma Munoz Herreros and Bella Cosme plus forward Macie Brown all return after lettering last season. USU also returns a pair of redshirts in guard Mirembe Twehamye Montanana and forward Saskia Kruger.

LOOK WHO'S HERE
Utah State welcomes in eight new players for the 2026-27 season, including four D-I transfers in Acacia Hayes (Arizona State), Lisa Thompson (Missouri), Danika Galea (Arkansas) and Sami Mancini (Providence). Also reinforcing the roster are Catalina Roco (Daytona State), Addy Horsley (Chandler-Gilbert CC) and Kylani Rookstool (Western Oregon). The lone freshman joining the squad this season is Nicole Ogun out of Kirkkonummi, Finland.

RESPECT ON THE RECRUITING TRAIL
Utah State's recruiting/transfer class was ranked as the 10th-best in the nation among mid-majors by On3.com. The Aggies brought in four transfers from P4/Big East programs in Acacia Hayes (Arizona State), Lisa Thompson (Missouri), Danika Galea (Arkansas) and Sami Mancini (Providence).

FRESHMAN PHENOM
Utah State's lone freshman this season, Nicole Ogun, arrives in Logan with plenty of experience. She most recently played for Espoo Basket Team of the Finnish Korisliiga, the top professional league in Finland, where she averaged 18.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, 1.8 steals and 1.5 assists in 29.2 minutes per game. Ogun appeared this year with the Finland Women's National Team at the FIBA EuroBasket Qualifiers and has extensive history playing on the Youth National Team, most recently helping Finland to a runner-up finish at the U18 FIBA EuroBasket while averaging over eight points and six rebounds per game.

PAC'S A PUNCH
The Pac-12 ranks as the sixth-best conference in the nation this season according to Massey Ratings, and best among non-P4/Big East leagues. The conference boasts four teams in the top 100 of the Massey Power Ratings, led by Gonzaga (61st) and follwed by Oregon State (67th), Colorado State (86th) and San Diego State (90th). Washington State (107th) and Boise State (134th) also sit just beyond the top 100.

THE CHALLENGE AHEAD
Utah State enters the 2026-27 season with the 94th-ranked strength of schedule in the nation according to Massey Ratings. The Aggies face the fourth-toughest schedule in the Pac-12, narrowly trailing Oregon State (84th), Washington State (85th) and Gonzaga (86th) while sitting two spots ahead of San Diego State (96th). USU faces 13 games against teams that finished in the top 100 of the NET rankings last season, including five during nonconference play (USC, BYU, TCU, Utah and UC Irvine).

SPECTRUM MAGIC
Utah State put together a streak of five-straight wins at the Spectrum last season, recording consecutive home victories over Omaha (77-69), Stanislaus State (96-41), Idaho (80-73), Air Force (65-53) and San Jose State (74-61). The five-game streak was USU's longest home winning streak since a six-game stretch spanning the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.

THE STARTING LINE
Utah State started 17 different lineups during the 2026-27 season, the most in the Mountain West and the second-most in the nation behind only Tennessee (18). Due to a number of injuries, 10 different Aggies made at least one start last season.

HANG ON TO THAT BALL, PETEY
Over the full 2025-26 season, Utah State forced 483 total turnovers last season while committing only 471 on offense. This was the first season USU has managed a positive turnover differential since the 2018-19 campaign.

NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH TEAM ADDITIONS
Utah State has three players hailing from Spain on its 2026-27 roster in Aitana Rosello Lopez, Paloma Muñoz Herreros and Mirembe Twehamye Montanana. USU is tied for the most Spaniards in the nation alongside Evansville, San Jose State and Wagner. According to available research, there are 60 Spanish players on Division I rosters 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. 

INTERNATIONAL FLARE
Utah State boasts seven international players on its roster this season, tied for the 10th-most in the nation. Six countries, including the U.S., are represented on the Aggie roster. Aitana Rosello Lopez, Paloma Muñoz Herreros and Mirembe Twehamye Montanana each hail from Spain. Danika Galea arrives to Logan from Malta and Nicole Ogun arrives from Finland. The Aggies boast another two players from outside of Europe as Catalina Roco comes to USU from Chile and Saskia Krüger comes from Zambia.

UP NEXT
Utah State returns to the Spectrum for a pair of day games, first hosting Idaho State on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 4 p.m. (MT), before the team's annual Field Trip Day game against Bethune-Cookman on Friday, Nov. 13, at 11 a.m. (MT).

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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