Lady Aggies tip off tournament against Colorado State

Riding a season-best four game win streak, the lady Aggies will face Colorado State in the opening round of the Mountain West tournament Sunday evening. The same Rams that USU defeated 70-59 Monday on senior night.

Utah State (15-14), the sixth seed in the Las Vegas-hosted tournament, went 2-0 against CSU (8-21) this season, posting a 72-53 win in Fort Collins on Jan. 19 in addition to Monday’s 11-point victory.

In those two meetings, the Aggies shot a combined 46.6 percent from the field (season average is 40.7) and 38.1 percent from 3-point range (31.0 season average). USU made eight or more 3-pointers in a game on five occasions this season. Two of those were against CSU.

In their most recent meeting, junior forward Shannon Dufficy scored a career-high 29 points on 12 of 20 shooting (4 of 7 from three) and added 14 rebounds to tie a USU record for most double-doubles in a season with 17. Dufficy’s performance Monday earned her the Mountain West Player of the Week award, the second time she was recognized as such this season.

Thanks to the season-closing win streak, the Aggies finished the regular season with a winning record for just the second time since the 2012-13 season. A win Sunday would guarantee an above-.500 record on the year.

Other performers in the win streak are Eliza West and Rachel Brewster. West has averaged 8.8 assists along with 9.0 points. Brewster has been lighting up the nets in her last six games, averaging 15.2 points alongside 5.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.0 steals.

Utah State is 2-4 all-time in the Mountain West Tournament with two quarterfinal appearances. They are 2-0 as the higher seed with wins as a sixth seed and eighth seed.