USU Women’s Basketball Adds Pair Of In-State Guards Under Wes Brooks
Apr 30, 2024, 12:12 PM
Utah State women's basketball signee Mia Tarver playing defense for the Salt Lake CC Bruins during the 2023-24 season.
LOGAN, Utah— Utah State women’s basketball under Wes Brooks is building a solid first recruiting class and leaning on in-state talent to rebuild the program.
The Aggies have added former Ridgeline Riverhawk point guard Elise Livingston and former Salt Lake Bruin Mia Tarver.
Hear from new head coach @coachwesbball, who joined Hans and Scotty today on @KSLSportsZone! https://t.co/Zug4692DfE
— USU Women's Hoops (@USUWBasketball) April 2, 2024
Wes Brooks, the first-year Aggie head coach, looks to create a fast, up-tempo style of play, and these guards can act as the tip of the spear.
“We want to get more shots than the other team attempts,” Brooks said after being introduced as the next women’s basketball coach in early April. “We want to get up and down the floor. We’re going to play fast, and we are very analytic-driven because the numbers do work.”
“The standards we set are going to determine our identity. Based off of the standards that create our identity, we’ll hold our kids accountable. That’s how we’ll build our program… We just need to get better one day at a time, and we’re doing everything the right way; we’re going to get the results we like.”
About Elise Livingston
The 5’9 point guard played prep basketball at Ridgeline High School, about a 10-minute drive from the Utah State campus. Livingston is a four-year letter winner, a three-time first-team all-state selection, and helped lead the Riverhawks to back-to-back state championships as a junior and senior.
Livingston propelled Ridgeline to become the No. 28 team in the country, averaging 14.9 points, 2.6 assists, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game. She scored 1,102 points during her prep career and reached double-figure points in 23 of 27 games as a senior.
Welcome to the Aggie Family, Elise! 🔵🤘
🔗 >> https://t.co/SJshlg6bE0#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/8xGHSTcZAL
— USU Women's Hoops (@USUWBasketball) April 19, 2024
“We’re very excited about Elise and bringing in a local kid from Ridgeline who is a state champion,” Brooks said. “She is a winner, which is one thing we love about her. She’ll bring the ability to shoot the ball as well as a defensive presence for our press, so we’re very excited about her game.”
About Mia Tarver
Before signing with Marcilina Grayer’s Salt Lake Community College Bruins, Mia Tarver was a standout performer for the East High Leopards. Tarver scored 660 points as a Leopard and knocked down 77 threes in two seasons.
Tarver averaged 14.3 points, 6.7 boards, three assists, and 4.1 steals in 46 games at East High.
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A tenacious defender, Tarver has shown a knack for creating turnovers.
After averaging 4.9 points and 2.9 rebounds on 36.5 percent shooting as a freshman at SLCC, Tarver became an integral part of the Bruin backcourt as a sophomore. The 5’7 combo guard averaged 9.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while creating 49 steals. Tarver averaged 1.5 steals per contest in 55 games with Salt Lake.
Tarver will be a junior next season at Utah State.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering the Utah State Aggies, Locals in MLB, and Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees, Beehive baseball, and Aggie athletics coverage here.
