Meet the seven USU Women’s Basketball players honored on senior night
LOGAN- Utah State Women’s Basketball finished their regular season at home with a win against Fresno State on Wednesday night. They enter the Mountain West Tournament 5-13 in the conference. They’ll play Fresno State on Sunday 1:00 p.m in the first round of the tournament in Las Vegas.
This season, the Aggies were led by seven seniors—2 veteran Aggies and 5 newcomers. Meet the seniors of the Utah State Women’s Basketball:
Emmie Harris:
Senior captain Emmie Harris has appeared in more games than any Aggie in history. The Kentucky-native has played 137 matches in the navy and blue over the course of her five-year career.
Harris joined the Aggies in 2017 and has since recorded 589 points and 228 assists. She leaves Utah State ranked 10th all-time in assists. Harris is a four-time recipient of the Academic All-Mountain West (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) and Mountain West Scholar-Athlete (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) awards. When asked about what she’ll miss most about playing for the Aggies, she said, “I’ll miss the team of course, and the HURD. Just playing in the ‘Spec’.”
This spring, Harris will graduate from Utah State with a degree in biology. Harris will take the next year off to study for the MCAT then attend med school in 2024. You can read more about her here.
Joseph F Myers Emmie Harris on senior night with here family and coach Kayla Ard.
E’Lease Stafford:
E’Lease Stafford transferred to Utah State this season after a three-year tenure at East Tennesee State. Throughout her career, she has racked up over 1000 points across 104 games.
In her junior year at East Tennesee State, Stafford was nominated to the Preseason All-Southern Conference Team. She averaged 10.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game as a sophomore for the Buccaneers. Stafford recorded a season-high 17 points during her senior night against Fresno State.
She ends her career with 248 points and 162 rebounds in the Aggie record books. Stafford plans to graduate with her master’s in exercise science.
When asked about her post-college plans, Stafford said, “I want to play overseas, but for now I’m just taking it day by day.”
E’lease Stafford poses with coach Kayla Ard and her family on senior night.
Kaylin Randhawa:
After three years and 81 games at The University of Pacific, Kaylin Randhawa made the move to Logan. In her first and final year at Utah State, Randhawa led her squad in steals and recorded a career-high 28 points against Cal St. Fullerton in November.
Throughout her career, the California native has recorded over 800 points and 150 assists. Randhawa finished the season shooting 83% (85 -102) from the charity stripe. Randhawa plans to pursue a master’s degree in education.
You can read more about here.
Kaylin Randhawa poses with her family and coaches on senior night.
Laci Hawthorne:
Toronto native Laci Hawthorne began her career at the junior college level and finished it as a Division I athlete. She’s proved an asset to each of her teams.
In her freshman year, Hawthorne led New Mexico Junior College to a national runner-up finish. At Murray State, Hawthorne appeared in all 54 games and earned herself a spot on the all Ohio-Valley Conference Newcomer team for the 2019-2020 season. Hawthorne racked up 126 rebounds and 193 points throughout her time in Logan. She is pursuing a master’s in sports management and hopes to begin her career in broadcasting post-graduation.
Joseph F Myers Laci Hawthorne hugs her parents on senior night
Manna Mensah:
Manna Mensah, like her teammate Laci Hawthorne, began her career at the junior college level, transferred to Murray State for two years, and spent her final year of eligibility at Utah State.
Mensah was dominant at the junior college level. At Grayson College, she led her division (NTJCAC) in scoring both her freshman (17.6) and sophomore (17.9) years. She scored 1,064 points and 352 rebounds at the junior college level before transferring to Murray State in 2020. There, Mensah finished the season shooting 40.9 percent (54-of-132) from the field.
As an Aggie, Mensah has played in 22 games and recorded 132 points. When asked about her post-graduation plans, Mensah said, “I wanna work in education. I’m not sure where yet but definitely somewhere helping underprivileged kids build character.”
Joseph F Myers Manna Mensah hugs coach Kayla Ard on senior night.
Shyla Latone:
Shyla Latone spent just two seasons on the court for the Aggies, but her sharp-three-point shooting quickly landed her a spot in the record books. Latone transferred to Utah State in 2019 from Cleveland State where she played just 14 games.
As a redshirt sophomore, Laton tied USU’s record for most 3-pointers in a single game (9). She was one of just two Aggies to play in every game that season. Latone also holds three of the top-eight best single-game performances from behind the arc in Utah State history. Latone is a one-time recipient of the Academic All-Mountain West (2021) award.
When asked about her post-graduation plans, Latone said, “I want to play overseas and work my way to eventually get drafted to the WNBA. That’s my goal.”
Shyla Latone poses with her family and coaches on senior night.
Taylor Franson:
Taylor Franson, the daughter of Utah State’s All-Century basketball team member Eric Franson, has spent her entire five-year career at Utah State. Since 2017, Franson has appeared in 98 matches and recorded over 280 rebounds and over 150 points.
Franson recorded a career-high 14 points and career-high 13 rebounds in her junior year against New Mexico. Fanson is a 3-time recipient of the Academic All-Mountain West award (2018, 2020, 2021) and a two-time recipient of the Mountain West Scholar-Athlete award (2020, 2021).
She graduated in 2021 with degrees in English and journalism and is currently pursuing a master’s in English. Franson is getting married to her partner this May and hopes to move to Hawaii.
Joseph F Myers Taylor Franson with her family and coach Kayla Ard on senior night.