WBB Preview: Aggies To Close 2025 Hosting San Jose State

Utah State’s last game ended up in the loss column, but the Aggies have fared well in both of their conference games so far.

It might be optimistic to say the Aggies have momentum after their 55-46 loss to Colorado State (especially with the injury to star Aaliyah Gayles), but they certainly have more momentum than the San Jose Spartans, who are 2-11, and set to visit Utah State in Logan on Wednesday.

The Spartans were the only team picked to finish behind the Aggies in the MWC preseason poll. Utah State, picked 11th, hasn’t lived up to its end of the bargain so far. The Spartans, on the other hand, have.

San Jose State has a win over the Cal State Monterey Bay Otters and a narrow 61-56 victory over Sacramento State. Kicking off conference play in Laramie, the Spartans fell to the Cowgirls 80-63 before taking a brief hiatus from conference play to beat Sac State. They got back to conference play by hosting Grand Canyon, and lost by 20.

After a defensive battle against Colorado State, the Aggies should be able to get their offense moving again. The Aggies, who average 63.2 points per game, scored just 46 against the Rams, who give up 52 points per game. The Spartans allow 70.

The Aggies are allowing 65.5 and the Spartans are scoring just 57.6. Utah State also holds the statistical advantage in turnovers, where the Spartans give away 18.4 and the Aggies give away 15.9. The Spartans are averaging more rebounds, 32.1 to Utah State's 29.4.

Last season, the Aggies had San Jose State’s number, as the Spartans accounted for half of Utah State’s wins. The Aggies picked up the sweep with a 70-64 win on the road and an 82-75 win at home that sparked back-to-back wins when they followed it up with a 93-75 win over Nevada. The first time, it was a career night for Elise Livingston that boosted the Aggies past the Spartans. She dropped 22 points and had three rebounds, an assist, and two steals.

With five six-footers on the roster, the Spartans boast plenty of height. Six of their seven minutes leaders are 5-10 or taller, and the other is 5-9 Allie Cummins, who is averaging 7.8 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. The leader of the bunch is Maya Anderson, who headlines the team in minutes, points, and rebounds. She is averaging 12.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game, and is coming off back-to-back heaters. She dropped 29 points against Sac State, then barely missed a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds against GCU.

The Spartans have been without one of their primary contributors, Rylei Waugh, who hasn't suited up since leaving the Monterey Bay game after seven minutes. In her place, Katrina Anderson has become the team’s leading distributor with 2.3 assists per game. She’s also adding 3.8 points and 1.4 rebounds. Even with Waugh, the Spartans were floundering and had accumulated eight losses to open the year.

Without Waugh, the Spartans are even worse off and are still in search of an identity. The Spartans have 10 players averaging double-digit minutes per game and two who are not far off at 9.9 and 9.4. If they can find an identity, it’s around Anderson. She led the team in scoring against Monterey Bay and in two of the three games since.