WBB Preview: Utah State Returns Home For UC Riverside Bout

Utah State played a brutal away schedule and showed real progress along the way. Now, it’s time for the Aggies to test that growth.

They returned from their month-long voyage empty-handed, but it's difficult to deny the steps they took in the process. Utah State played elite competition in the form of Colorado, Ohio State, Utah and Grand Canyon, and by the end of their trip, they were plagued by injuries and still finding a way to play some of their best basketball of the season.

Sophie Sene returned from her injury, Taliyah Logwood, Mia Tarver and Jamisyn Heaton have all transformed into standouts since their last game in Logan, and breakout performances from Carlie Latta, Denae Skelton and Elise Livingston helped ease the pain of an 0-8 road trip.

The Aggies should be as close to full strength as they’ve been in a while when they return to the Spectrum on Wednesday night. Getting Cheyenne Stubbs back will be huge when it happens, but even if she’s not ready, Logwood and Heaton – who took turns missing the last two games – should both be in the lineup again. Gracie Johnson also sat out against GCU, but returned to the lineup against Idaho, and played very well when she did. Utah State will host UC Riverside to close out the non-conference schedule before getting a lengthy (and much-needed) break ahead of the MWC opener against Colorado State on Dec. 29.

UC Riverside is Utah State's third Big West opponent and fifth non-conference rematch from last year's schedule. In last year’s match, Utah State lost a heartbreaker in Riverside, falling 52-51. The Aggies have split their Big West slate so far with a loss to Cal State Northridge and a win over Cal State Bakersfield in back-to-back games just before they started their road trip.

At 5-5, the Highlanders are the first team the Aggies will face since Stetson (which came into the game 3-3), without a winning record. They’ve already played two conference games, dismantling CS Northridge, 72-48, and beating CS Fullerton, 65-59. Northridge beat the Aggies, albeit narrowly, by a score of 69-65. The Aggies and Highlanders also share a common opponent in the Big Sky – the Highlanders fell by 14 to Idaho 56-42 in Riverside, while the Aggies fell by 15 to Idaho 71-56 in Moscow.

For UCR, a sticky-fingered defense has held up this season, allowing only 58.4 points per game. The offense is a bit weaker, but does a good job protecting the ball, which helps to make up for a 35.4 percent hit rate from the field. The Highlanders spread the ball around evenly, but not excessively. Seven players are getting at least one assist per game, but not a single player is averaging two or more. As a team, the Highlanders are averaging 11.4 assists per game.

The offense revolves around Shelley Duchemin and her almost 13 points per game, with Makayla Rose and Esther Matarranz each adding seven more in support. Beyond them, a trio of Highlanders (Zoe Tillery, Seneca Hackley, and Hannah Wickstrom) are earning six points per game.

Players To Know

Shelley Duchemin: Duchemin is a junior who landed in Riverside by way of the transfer portal from Northern Colorado. She's originally from Culver City, California, and has fared well in her return to the Golden State. She is the top Highlander in the scoring column, netting 12.9 points per game.

Scoring is her main responsibility, but as a six-footer, she can snatch boards and has good court vision. She is adding 4.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game, making her a dangerous all-around player. Behind Matarranz, she is tied as the second-leading rebounder with Gemma Cutler.

She has recorded the team-high for points in all but three games this season, while no one else has led the team more than once – Wickstrom led the team against Whittier, Rose led against Pepperdine, and Tillery led against Idaho. Early in the year, Duchemin handled a Mountain West slate with ease, dropping 16 points in back-to-back games against Fresno State and Boise State.

She was held to just one point against Idaho, but had been on a tear in her last four games, averaging 15 points a contest, including her season-high of 18 in her last outing. She filled up the rest of the stat sheet to go along with that scoring output, recording five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block against Fullerton.

Makayla Rose: A transfer from Stanislaus State, Rose is in her second year with the Highlanders. She's a volatile guard with explosive playmaking abilities on offense, and a frustrating defensive skillset for opponents. Rose is still looking to put her entire game together, but the talent is there. In high school, she was rated as a top-35 point guard in California in 2022 by Sports Illustrated.

This season, she is averaging 7.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Behind Duchemin, she and Matarranz are tied as the second-leading scorers for UC Riverside. She's also a pesky defender and is the conference leader in steals. Leading the conference in takeaways is impressive on its own, but Rose is doing it while only picking up half a foul per game. That type of court awareness and self-control is rare, and makes it very hard to play against her. 

She has high-end scoring abilities and has a career-high of 25, which she notched last year in the Big West quarterfinals against Long Beach State. This year, she has reached a high of 14 points, but her scoring has been sporadic. She was held scoreless against Idaho and Boise State, had three points against Saint Mary’s and five against Fresno State. When she is scoring, she can fill it up, entering this game off back-to-back double-digit performances. 

Esther Matarranz: A senior in her fourth year with UCR, Matarranz has become a steady presence and a leader on this Riverside team. She had been contributing from the second unit throughout her career before becoming a starter this year, serving as a valuable complementary player with supplemental scoring, solid rebounding and passing abilities, and, like many of her teammates, pesky defense, averaging 7.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.0 steals per game. She's leading the team in rebounds and just a touch behind the assist leaders, Tillery and Hackley, who are tied at 1.8.

Matarranz notched a double-double outing against Saint Mary’s, recording a season-high in both points and rebounds with 14 and 16, respectively. She also swiped six steals and swatted two shots that game. She has come back to earth since then, but is still putting up impressive numbers. She had six points, nine rebounds and two assists against CSUN, then five points, six boards and two assists against Fullerton.

Stats To Know

Pace: Utah State is one of the fastest teams in the country, averaging 78.1 possessions per 40 minutes. The Aggies like to run. They push the ball and play fast on both ends, applying pressure and sacrificing the occasional easy bucket if they're consistently causing problems with the press.

The Highlanders are a bit different. They play much slower than the Aggies and are averaging 68.5 possessions per 40 minutes. They're careful with the ball and don’t give it away often. The difference in pace will set up a battle of wills, with each team trying to impose its pace on the other.

Turnover Percentage: UCR has plenty of problems, but one thing it does particularly well is protect the ball, which plays especially well alongside a defense that generates plenty of turnovers. The Highlanders are averaging 11.3 steals per game and have a steal rate of 14.3 percent, among the highest in the nation. Meanwhile, they only give away 15.1 turnovers per game with a turnover rate of 18.6 percent.

This could hurt Utah State, as the Aggies are prone to giving the ball away and rely often on getting it back. The Aggies have a turnover rate of 21.9 percent – a damaging figure in its own right, but especially so against a team with a propensity to pickpocket its opponents.

The Aggies will almost assuredly turn the ball over, but that doesn’t have to doom them. If they can get UCR to hurry up and start making mistakes, they could look to even out the turnover margin. On the other side, if the Highlanders can slow the Aggies down and protect the ball, Utah State will be more than willing to give away turnovers, and could fall out of the game.

Therein lies the key for the game. Utah State has come a long way, and while it is good enough to win when it plays its own game, it's not yet good enough to win someone else’s game.