WBB Preview: Utah State Squares Off With Nevada

Last season, Utah State won three conference games: Two against San Jose State and one against Nevada. Earlier this week, the Aggies got back to form against the Spartans with a controlling 13-point victory. Now, they are looking to do the same against a Wolf Pack team they beat 93-75 when they last met. When it happened last year, it was in back-to-back games, just like this year’s slate. 

It was Utah State’s highest-scoring game of the season, a mark that was eclipsed this year against Stanislaus State, but the 93-point showcase against Nevada remains Utah State’s highest offensive output against a Division I opponent and a conference foe since a 96-90 overtime win over Fresno State during the 2021-2022 campaign.

None of the players leading the surge are on this year’s squad, although one of them is in the conference. Cheyenne Stubbs had 28 points, CJ Latta had 20, Mia Tarver had 18, and Taliyah Logwood had 14.

Sophie Sene and Jamisyn Heaton both started and played well, but were outperformed by Stubbs, Latta, Tarver and Logwood. Sene led the team with seven rebounds and added four points. Heaton had eight points, two rebounds, and two assists.

Sene was quiet, with just two points, three rebounds, and two assists, but both Heaton and Elise Livingston performed better earlier in the year when the Aggies lost 78-69 on their home floor. In that game, Heaton was one of three again in double figures with 11 points, two rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Livingston had three points on a quick and efficient 1-of-2 shooting performance from deep and added two assists.

The Wolf Pack lost their main contributors in those games and the season: Lexie Givens, Audrey Roden and Dymonique Maxie.

Nevada did return two contributors in Imbie Jones and Izzy Sullivan, who played significant roles last year, but lacks star power. Skylar Durley, its current leading scorer, is averaging 9.6 points per game, which ties her with Marina Asensio, Utah State’s third-leading scorer. Right behind her is Array Young with 9.2 points per game. Sullivan is third.

Utah State has obvious star power in Aaliyah Gayles, but with their leading scorer sidelined, the Aggies will have to look elsewhere for production. That should be a reasonable request for the likes of Sene, Asensio and Heaton. It’s worth keeping an eye on Sene specifically, who is having a spectacular season so far. Her matchups will be interesting. Nevada has plenty of height, claiming eight six-footers, with one, Chloe Williams, matching Sene’s 6-3 frame.

Freshman Makayla Carter leads the six-footers in minutes with 22.7 and in rebounds with 5.7, but only scores three points per game. Williams, an Indiana State transfer and the tallest of the bunch, leads in points with 5.8 and 4.3 rebounds. Sullivan, who has had success against the Aggies before, averages just over a bucket per outing.

Players To Know

Skylar Durley: Durley is a 5-9 freshman guard out of Oklahoma City, and she has played well enough to have a promising future, but trying to lead a rebuilding Wolf Pack team comes with challenges. She has high-end potential but has been inconsistent.

Her season high of 20 points was bookended by two six-point games and followed by a shutout against McNeese when she played 18 minutes, was held scoreless, and had just one rebound, two assists and two steals in a 63-42 loss.

She has been a bit more consistent in conference play so far, and the last two games were especially solid. She’s averaging 12 points and 4.7 rebounds in conference play with back-to-back double-digit scoring games, first with 18 against Air Force, then a 10-point, six-rebound performance against Boise State.

Imbie Jones: Jones, the 6-2 junior forward, is in her second year in Reno after a one-year stint at Wisconsin.

She started in both contests against the Aggies last year and was impressive in each. She had 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting, three rebounds, two assists, a steal and two blocks in game one. In game two, she had 16 points, seven rebounds and two assists. 

On the season, she played in 19 games with 13 starts. In 21.4 minutes, she averaged 6.7 points and 3.6 rebounds, but against Utah State, she averaged 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and a block.

She is playing a much smaller role this year. She has started in just three of 13 games, playing just 12.5 minutes. In that time, she’s averaging 1.4 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. Jones needs to look more like this year’s Jones than last year’s, and Utah State can’t let her have the outsized success they gave her a season ago.

Izzy Sullivan: Her scoring is down, but Sullivan is playing slightly more than last year and is getting more rebounds and assists. Last season, she saw action in 28 games with 20 starts, averaging 28.9 minutes. This year, she has started in all 13 games and is averaging 30.5 minutes. 

Last year, she had nine points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 0.5 steals per game. This year, she is averaging 7.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 steals.

She’s actually shooting a bit better than last year, from 36.3 percent to 37.4 percent, and her dip in scoring is entirely due to a dip in attempts. Last year, she was taking nine shots per game. This year, she’s taking 7.6.

Becoming a more balanced contributor, taking few shots while increasing her shooting percentage, and improving her defense has led to her becoming an important presence on the court, and she is leading the team in minutes.

Nevada lacks a three-point shooting presence, and Sullivan, the team’s three-point shooting leader from a year ago, has done little to establish one. The Wolf Pack really only have two shooters right now: Young and Gabby Ramos, who are 10 of 38 and 13 of 36, respectively. Behind those two, Sullivan is the only one coming close to matching their volume. She has 31 attempts from deep but has only found the net on four.

Her 12.9 three-point shooting percentage is well below her capabilities and does seem like it could be a fluke. She shot 38.8 percent on 4.3 attempts per game as a freshman and 32 percent on 4.6 attempts last year. Right now, she is 0 for 6 in conference play and didn’t attempt a three against Colorado State. She’s 1 of 19 in her last nine games after starting the season 3 of 12 in her first four. At any point, she can get hot from beyond the arc and start climbing back to her historical average. When she hosted the Aggies last year, she had 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting with a 2 of 6 clip from deep, adding a rebound and two assists.