WBB Round-Up: Aggies Open With Westminster Win

After a season-opening win over Westminster, Utah State is set for a rematch with the reigning West Coast Conference regular season champions on Friday afternoon in Logan.

First, Utah State earned a much-needed straightforward win over Division II competition to open its third year under head coach Wes Brooks. Last time the Griffins were in town for the 2021-22 season opener, the Aggies trailed at the half and narrowly survived in a 83-78 victory. This time the Aggies simply took care of business. 

"We never apologize for winning," Brooks said. "We want to win all the time. Did we win the way we wanted to win? Maybe not… that's a step in the right direction.

"We did not play to our standard… We need to do better, but well take the win and we'll go from there understanding that we have to play at a high level to be successful."

The Aggies piled on late to create some distance in what was otherwise a close game. With 3:50 left in the game, a Westminster layup made it a seven-point contest, but the final nine points of the contest all belonged to Utah State.

After the opening fray, which afforded Westminster an early three-point lead at 7-4 and a tied game at eight apiece, Utah State led the whole way. The contest was in Utah State’s control, which is to be expected by a DI team hosting a DII team, but the Aggies didn’t run away with it until late, which left something to be desired.

Still, progress is progress, and even without the style points that come from running up the score on lesser programs, it was refreshing to see the newly minted Pac-12 squad take the court and do its job without having to stage a second half comeback.

Heading into a season with exciting continuity, the standout performances largely came from newcomers. That’s not particularly surprising. Alongside returning talent, this class of incoming players is highly touted and perhaps the best influx of talent the program has seen.

Leading the charge in her Aggie debut was Finnish freshman forward Nicole Ogun. Statistically one of the best debuts in Aggie history, Ogun notched a double-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, two blocks and three steals. Other notable debut performances include Bridget Mullings as a junior, who had 17 points, 10 rebounds and three steals in her Aggie debut against CSUN. Another junior, Adryana Quezada, had 16 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and a steal in the aforementioned 2021-22 Westminster game. Back in 2008, junior Lydia Whitehead had 12 points and 15 rebounds. The 2024 season saw a pair of historic debuts in back to back games. In Utah State's season opener, Mia Tarver impressed with 13 points, three rebounds, an assist and three steals, and in Utah State’s next game, Taliyah Logwood made her Aggie debut with 10 points and five rebounds.

One other notable debut came from Ogun’s new teammate, fellow forward Sami Mancini. The 6-5 sophomore transfer paired Ogun’s double-double performance with a double-double of her own. In her first game as an Aggie, Mancini recorded 12 points, 13 rebounds and three assists.

Guards Lisa Thompson and Kylani Rookstool, also making their debuts for Utah State, stood out with Thompson recording 11 points, four rebounds and three assists while Rookstool added 10 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Aitana Rosello Lopez was Utah State's only returner in the starting lineup and had four points, a rebound, an assist and two steals. Mirembe Twehamye Montanana rounded out the starting five with three points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Now, the Aggies turn towards a very talented LMU team. They dropped a close game on LMU’s home court last year, falling 63-58. Utah State outshot Loyola Marymount 46.5 percent to 42.9 percent last year, but lost the game on the boards as LMU had a 36-24 edge on the glass, including 16 offensive boards leading to 13 second-chance points. The Aggies had zero.

Turnovers also proved costly for the Aggies, who gave it away 21 times as compared to just 15 turnovers committed by LMU. The Lions earned an impressive bump from the takeaways and led 27-10 in points off turnovers.

Utah State’s leaders from last year’s near miss are either gone or unavailable. Marina Asensio was one point short of a game high and led the team with 14 points. Aaliyah Gayles, who is targeting a return on Sunday at USC, had 12 points. Elise Livingston, now with Utah, had nine points, and Jamisyn Heaton had eight. The only available Aggies who had production in last year's LMU game are a pair of then-freshmen: Rosello Lopez had six points, two rebounds, two assists and a block while Paloma Munoz Herreros had three points and a rebound.

The Lions are returning two starters from last year’s matchup in Maya Hernandez and Ivana Krajina, and added a familiar newcomer for the Aggies. Danae Powell, who spent her past two seasons at Fresno State, joined LMU for her junior year. As a freshman, Powell dropped 22 points on the Aggies against her season average of just 5.2 points per game. It was her only double-digit scoring performance of her 28-game freshman campaign, and remained her career high until the last regular season game of her sophomore season when she scored 27 against New Mexico. Earlier that season, during which she started all 33 games she played in, she tied her career high with 22 against Boise State and came close to her record when she scored 21 against the Aggies in the following game.

Powell came off the bench for LMU in the season opener against Nevada and played 12 minutes, adding nine points, two rebounds and an assist. She was a perfect 4 of 4 from the field and knocked down her only three-point attempt. LMU also saw significant production from returner Kayla Jones in her season debut. Jones came off the bench and played just six minutes against the Aggies last year, but played 23 minutes in a start against Nevada and tallied 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting with seven rebounds, three assists and a steal. 

Last year, Utah State lost the rebounding battle badly. It'll rely on its reloaded front court to change the script this time around. Early showings from this season indicate opportunity for the Aggies, but there’s work to be done. The Lions outrebounded the Wolf Pack by the slimmest of margins, 28-27, with nine offensive boards. Utah State did win the rebounding battle against Westminster, but only to the tune of 46-40.

"(There's) no way they should have had 12 offensive rebounds. I'm really disappointed with that," Brooks said.

In Utah State’s one game this season, Ogun had 11 rebounds and Mancini had 13, including 11 defensive boards. Those two will be critical in erasing LMU’s second-chance advantage, which is a key part of Friday's matchup as Utah State tries to improve to 2-0 on the season.