Women’s B-ball warms up
The Utah State women’s basketball team faces a six-game holiday schedule from Dec. 10 to Jan. 7. The schedule includes two games on the road and four home games before conference play starts Jan. 12.
Here’s a rundown for each matchup:
Idaho State – Pocatello, Idaho, Dec. 10
When these two teams met last season, ISU came out of the Spectrum with a 12-point victory and ended a five-game Aggie winning streak.
The 5-4 Bengals are led by sophomore guard Lindsay Reed, who is averaging 11.8 points per game in nine starts this season.
USU will look to avenge last year’s loss behind senior forward Ashlee Brown. Brown is currently fourth in the WAC in scoring, averaging 15.2 points per game. She’s also fifth in rebounding with 8.4 rebounds per game and second in field-goal percentage at .502 percent.
BYU – Logan, Dec. 17
The two teams met twice last season, once in the regular season and once in the NIT tournament. Both games were played in Provo, and the Aggies suffered significant defeats on both occasions.
The Cougars are led by sophomore guard Kim Parker, who averages 13.7 points per game and heads a balanced offense with seven players that average at least 6.6 points per game.
Northern Arizona – Logan, Dec. 19
The Lumberjacks are 5-4, following a double-digit victory over CS, Fullerton at home Dec 4.
Junior guard Amy Patton leads the team in both scoring, at 13.4 points per game, and rebounding at 7.8 per game. UNA comes to Logan looking to avenge last season’s overtime loss to USU.
Boise State – Boise, Idaho, Dec. 22
When the two teams met at the Spectrum last month, senior guard Brooke Jackson had 27 points to lead the Aggies to a 97-86 shootout victory.
The Broncos fell to 3-2 and currently hold a 5-4 record after a loss to Seattle University Dec. 4.
Asbury University – Logan, Jan. 3
The Eagles boast three players who average at least 10 points per game, despite a 5-8 record. Asbury, a liberal arts institution in Kentucky, has a team that averages 76.2 points per game, while shooting 31.9 percent from the field.
Utah Valley University – Logan, Jan. 7
The 2 p.m. game will conclude non-conference play. The Wolverines are currently 3-3 and winless on the road. Utah State won in Orem last season and will look to repeat that performance at home.
What to watch for:
Utah State’s offense has multiple options on the offensive end, with five different players averaging at least 8.5 points per game. Junior guard Devyn Christensen leads the WAC in free-throw percentage at 86.1 percent, and is ninth in 3-pointers made, at 1.4 per game.
Jackson is one of two Aggie players averaging double digits in scoring at 12.8 points per game. The transfer from Arizona is also shooting 42 percent from the 3-point line in eight starts, and trails only Brown in minutes played for the Aggies.
The Aggies lead the WAC in blocks per game, at 4.2, and are second in both field-goal percentage, at .422 percent per game, and assist-to-turnover ratio with a 0.9 rate.
– curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail.usu.edu