Feb. 3, 2007

Final Stats

SAN JOSE, Calif. - A 19-2 San Jose State streak spanning the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half doomed Utah State, as the Aggies lost at San Jose State, 63-57, Saturday afternoon in a Western Athletic Conference game at SJSU's Event Center at San Jose, Calif.

The Aggies were without head coach Raegan Pebley, who gave birth to a baby girl Tuesday. Assistant coach George Brosky was the acting head coach, with assistance from Kristy Flores and Erin Scholz.

Pebley will also not be with the team for USU's game on Monday at Las Cruces, N.M., against New Mexico State at 7 p.m. (MT).

Monday's game at New Mexico State will be broadcast on national television on CSTV.

Utah State lost its third in a row and fourth in last five, as the Aggies are now 7-13 overall and 3-5 in WAC play. The loss continues the Aggies' road woes, as USU is now 1-10 overall on the road this season, losing eight in a row.

SJSU is now 3-21 overall and 2-8 in WAC action, as the Spartans won for just the second time in their last 11 games.

Saturday was the second meeting in just over two weeks between USU and SJSU, after the Aggies beat the Spartans, 58-50, on Jan. 20 at Logan, and fifth meeting overall, and the Spartans now hold a 4-1 advantage.

Utah State shot just 18-69 (26.1 percent) from the field, its second-lowest outing of the season, with both coming in the last three games. For the second game in row, the Aggies had a better percentage from three-point range than inside the arc, hitting 28.0 percent (7-25) from three-point land. USU also was 14-18 (77.8 percent) at the free throw line.

San Jose State shot 42.1 percent (24-57) from the field, including 5-19 (26.3 percent) from three-point land, and were also 12-17 (70.5 percent) at the charity stripe.

The Aggies out-rebounded the Spartans, 43-41, marking the fifth time that USU had more rebounds, but the second loss when doing so. Utah State also had 19 turnovers, as the Aggies had more turnovers than field goals against San Jose State (22 TO's, 17 FG's on Jan. 20). San Jose State committed 20 miscues, but the Spartans were better at turning turnovers into points, tallying 20 points of USU's turnovers, while the Aggies only had 11 points of SJSU's mistakes.

Junior guard Taylor Richards led USU with 15 points, tying a career-high with three three-pointers. Senior forward Brittany Phillips and sophomore forward Lindsey Freeze each tallied 10 points off the bench, leading USU to a 29-9 bench points advantage. Phillips, who scored eight of her points in the second half, also led the Aggies with eight rebounds.

San Jose State was led by 20 points from Natalie White, with 16 coming in the second half, while Brittany Powell and Alisha Hicks netted 12 points apiece. Hicks also had eight rebounds and eight steals.

Utah State trailed 17-14 in the first half, before going on a 16-2 run to take a 30-19 lead, capped by a pair of free throws by Phillips with 2:09 to play in the first half, but SJSU closed out the half with five unanswered points and USU led 30-24 at halftime.

The Spartan streak continued, and San Jose State took a 38-32 lead, completing a 19-2 tear.

Utah State got within 53-50 after a layup from Richards, but the Aggies couldn't get any closer.

USU won its only road game of last season at New Mexico State a year.

USU wraps up its three-game road swing at Idaho on Feb. 10 at 6:30 p.m. (MT), before returning home to host Nevada on Feb. 15 at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

Ticket prices for USU regular-season games are $5 for adults, $1 for youth. Contact the USU Athletics Ticket Office at (435)797-0305 or at 1-888-U-STATE-1 (1-888-878-2831) for more information.

Utah State women's basketball games can be heard on KLGN (1390 AM) in Logan with Evan Nyman calling the play-by-play and Clair Anderson providing color commentary for home games. They can also be heard on the web by going to the women's basketball home page at www.UtahStateAggies.com and clicking on the LISTEN link.

All USU games are also available on wac.tv.