WBB Preview: Utah State Seeks Payback In Rematch With CSUN
Utah State will continue its season on Friday evening with another familiar face from last season's schedule, in what is shaping up to be a high-scoring endeavor. Last year, the Aggies opened up the season on the road with a 79-64 to Cal State Northridge. This year, the Matadors are headed to Logan.
When the teams met last year, the Aggies had no idea who they were yet – Cheyenne Stubbs had just six points while Bridget Mullings led the scoring with 17. This time around, the dynamic isn't all that different. Utah State has a few entrenched contributors but is in the earliest stages of a new era, while CSUN has a new coach of its own in Angie Ned and will be without some notable players from last year's meeting.
Chief among them is Kayanna Spriggs, who led the team in points, rebounds and steals last season and departed this offseason for UC San Diego. Guard Amiyah Ferguson, CSUN's No. 2 scorer and assists leader in 2023-24, also found a new home over the summer (Fordham), as did standout freshman Kaitlyn Elsholz (Grand Canyon), starting forward Talo Li-Uperesa (Northern Arizona) and starting center Laney Amundsen (Fresno State).
So far this year, both teams have played one regular season game. The Aggies fell short against Kansas City in an 80-77 heartbreaker while the Matadors powered past La Sierra for a 70-56 victory. This will be CSUN’s third trip to Logan, the last two coming when the teams briefly shared the Big West from 2001-2005. The Matadors have never won in the Spectrum, and Utah State holds a 4-2 edge in the all-time series.
Players To Know
Erica Adams: Adams is in her fifth year of college basketball and her second with CSUN, joining the program last year after three seasons with Pacific. She was a solid addition last year, immediately joining the starting lineup as a guard, but she seems to be taking more of a leadership role early this year. Last season, she was CSUN's third-leading scorer and No. 2 distributor, averaging 8.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game. In her first game this season, she picked up right where she left off, notching a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds while adding five assists and two steals.
She posted her career-high for scoring against Utah State last year with 17 points, two rebounds, three assists and a steal. She went 7 of 11 from the field and 2 of 3 from deep and would love to replicate that efficiency this time around after shooting just 36.4 percent from the field (20.0 percent from three) on the season.
Morgan Edwards: Edwards spent two seasons with CSU Bakersfield before she arrived in Northridge this offseason. She was a rotational player there, playing solid minutes but rarely starting. She seems to have found a better fit with the Matadors and played well in her first game, earning a start and logging 10 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals.
That's quite the jump from her 2023-24 averages: Edwards pitched in 2.3 points and 1.2 rebounds per game for the Roadrunners while averaging just over 13 minutes a night.
Nnenna Orji: Orji spent three years at Hawaii before a one-year stop at Old Dominion on her way to Cal State Northridge. She has been a role player throughout her career but drew a quick promotion to the starting lineup for the Matadors, nabbing eight rebounds and three steals against La Sierra in her CSUN debut.
Her work on the glass and as a crafty post defender is worth at least a few extra possessions a game for Cal State Northridge, but her value goes beyond that. She's a capable scorer and distributor offensively, adding nine points and three assists to her CSUN debut despite a tough outing from the field (2 of 8).
Kelly Tumlin: A high school teammate of Adams, Tumlin is new to the team this year, joining from Chabot College (JUCO) after twice earning first-team all-conference honors and averaging 18.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting 37.4 percent from beyond the arc as a sophomore.
She came in off the bench in CSUN’s first game, presumably for the sole purpose of unloading a few deep shots. She led the team in three-pointers made and didn’t take a shot inside the arc, hitting 3 of 6 attempts for nine points, plus two rebounds and two assists. Tumlin is new to Division I basketball, but she has been a proven scorer at every stop, dropping more than 1,500 points in high school and breaking the Chabot College record for three-point field goals made in a 38-point outburst against Shasta College.
Stats To Know
Slow Starts: It's a small sample size, but in the first game of the season, both of these teams got off to slow starts. Utah State trailed Kansas City 18-12 after one period on Monday evening, while CSUN was outscored 25-15 in the first quarter of a game that it eventually won by 14. Like Utah State, the Matadors had a hard time getting the ball through the hoop to open the affair, shooting 5 of 24 from the field and 3 of 10 from deep to begin their season. Their second quarter was marginally better from the field, though they took a significant step back from behind the arc, hitting 5 of 18 tries from the field but missing all eight of their three-point attempts.
If that trend continues for the Matadors, it could leave the door open for the Aggies to take an early lead. Of course, that would mean the Aggies have to buck the same trend, and the Matadors did finish that game well, erasing an 11-point halftime difference with a 21-5 third quarter. Utah State made a similar effort, but ultimately couldn't overcome its early deficit. Avoiding that same pitfall could set the team up for success on Friday night.
Three-Point Shooting Percentage: Now, here are two teams that really like the deep ball. In Utah State’s debut, the Aggies shot what seemed like an astronomical amount of threes – 30, but the Matadors topped them and put up 35 tries from distance. Both teams knocked down 10, so from a percentage standpoint, the Aggies have the advantage.
It seems like nearly everyone in a Matador uniform has the green light to shoot. Karsen Marshall took seven but only hit one; Tumlin knocked down three on six tries; while Edwards, Jenna Kilty and Laini Dahlin all converted a pair. Orji and Yves Cox were the only Matadors to play significant minutes without firing from beyond the arc.
If both teams are on target, it could make for an offensive showcase in Logan. If one team struggles, as Utah State did at CSUN last season (0 for 14 from distance), the results could get lopsided quickly. Utah State has some reliable shooters with Stubbs and Denae Skelton and a game plan that opens up a lot of three-point opportunities, which the Aggies will need to capitalize on to keep up with the barrage that CSUN brings to the table.