Aggie women to face New Mexico State
The Utah State women’s basketball team will start Western Athletic Conference play this week with two road games. The Aggies face New Mexico State on Thursday, Jan. 12, followed by Louisiana Tech on Saturday, Jan. 14.
“We are excited going into conference play,” senior forward Ashlee Brown said. “We are glad to go into the regular season 9-5. We’re excited to play.”
USU begins conference play with a 9-5 record and is one of two teams in the WAC with a winning record after non-conference play.
Brown leads USU in scoring with 15.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. The WAC Pre-season Player of the Year is also shooting 79.6 percent from the free-throw line and is one of three Aggies in the conference top five in that category.
“The offense that we run, we should see three people or more in double figures,” head coach Raegan Pebley said. “As people share the ball, we should see productivity from several people.”
Senior forward Maddy Plunkett leads the WAC in 3-point field-goal percentage, as she has made 51.3 percent of her attempts. A pair of Aggie guards, senior Brooke Jackson and junior Devyn Christensen, are ranked first and second in the conference in free-throw percentage, with Jackson at 86.2 percent and Christensen at 84.4 percent.
As a team, Utah State is shooting 79.0 percent from the free-throw line, ranked first in the WAC and a full 10 percent better than the second-ranked team.
“We’re going to need the leadership of our veterans as we head into league,” Pebley said. “Our leadership has been so solid.”
New Mexico State currently holds a record of 3-12 — currently the worst in the WAC — and will be looking to end a two-game losing streak. The southern Aggies are led by senior forward Tabytha Wampler, who is averaging 13.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.
Wampler is the only player who averages double figures for the red Aggies whose three wins have come by a combined 10 points. New Mexico State is coming off of a three-point setback at home to Boise State on Saturday — its second loss of the year to the Broncos.
USU and NMSU met twice during the regular season last year and again in the first round of the WAC Tournament. The two teams split the regular season meetings as New Mexico State won 75-71 in Las Cruces, N.M., and Utah State secured a 72-61 win in Logan.
The blue Aggies then squeaked out a 72-67 win in the first round of the tournament.
“When we go on the road, we’re going to need our defense,” Pebley said. “Our rebounding is going to have to be solid and consistent.”
– curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail.usu.edu