Nov. 26, 2008
LOGAN, Utah -
Texas State (2-2) vs. Utah State (2-2)Fri., Nov. 28, 4:30 p.m. • El Paso, TexasDon Haskins Center (20,000)Broadcast: 1390 AM • www.UtahStateAggies.com
TIP OFF - For the first time since, Nov. 27, 2006, Utah State holds a .500 record. After a hard-fought 42-39 win over Montana State-Northern on Nov. 22, the Aggies are 2-2. After four-straight home games to open the season, USU hits the road for the UTEP Thanksgiving Classic Nov. 28-29 in El Paso, Texas. The Aggies take on Texas State in the first game at the Don Haskins Center, Friday, Nov. 28 at 4:30 p.m. MT.
UTEP Thanksgiving Classic Notes in PDF Format 
LAST TIME OUT - After trailing for the majority of the game, Utah State rallied for a 42-39 win over Montana State-Northern Monday night in women's basketball action. The win evened USU's record at 2-2, the Aggies' first .500 record since Nov. 27, 2006 when they were also 2-2. Senior guard Danyelle Snelgro led USU with 10 points, the only Aggie in double-figures, while the junior forward duo of Lydia Whitehead and Nicole Johnson both had seven rebounds. Whitehead had eight points, and Johnson had a team-high three blocks. Utah State was 15-of-48 (31.3 percent) from the field and were 66.7 percent (12-of-18) at the free throw line, while MSU-Northern was 14-of-49 (28.6 percent) field goal shooting and 73.3 percent (11-of-15) at the charity stripe. Neither team made a three-pointer as the Aggies were 0-of-6 behind the arc, while the Skylights were 0-of-7 from three-point land. USU had a 40-34 rebounding edge and each team had 15 turnovers apiece.
UTEP THANKSGIVING CLASSIC - Utah State, Texas State, Monmouth and host UTEP all converge for the UTEP Thanksgiving Classic at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas Nov. 28-29. After taking on the Bobcats, USU will face either
TEXAS STATE (2-2) - A surge late in the game from the Long Island Blackbirds nearly spoiled a 19-point lead built by the Texas State Bobcats, but Kim Cessna finished with 19 points leading the team to 63-61 victory in the Championship game of the Tyler Ugolyn Columbia Classic in New York City, New York. The Bobcats and Blackbirds conclude the tournament with 2-2 overall marks. With 8:58 on the clock, Megan Homan sank two free throws to give Texas State a 56-37 margin and force LIU into a timeout. Emerging from the break was a three-point play from Maryann Abrams that sparked a damaging 22-4 run from Long Island. This is the first meeting between the Bobcats and the Aggies. Texas State has three players who average in double digits, Kim Cessna (10.0 ppg), Ashley Cole (12.3 ppg) and Victoria Davis (11.5 ppg). Texas State has wins over Navy and Long Island to capture the Columbia Classic in New York. The Bobcats dropped their first two games on the road against Drake and Iowa to start the season.
MONMOUTH (2-1) - Monmouth's team defense held Rider to just two overtime points as the Hawks won their second game of the season 50-48 in overtime on Nov. .24 in Boylan Gym. MU improved to 2-1 on the season with the win, while Rider fell to 2-2. Rider's 48 points was the lowest amount a Monmouth defense has allowed ever in an overtime game and the fewest given up since holding St. Francis (Pa.) to 47 points in a 2007 victory. The Hawks are led by Jennifer Bender who averages 17.3 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game. MU has one other player averaging in double digits, LaKia Barber who averages 15.0 ppg. As a team, Monmouth has out scored its opponents 160-148 in its three games this season. If the Hawks and the Aggies meet, this would be the first encounter.
UTEP (2-2) - In their last game, the Miners defeated Savannah State 103-46 in a record-setting game Saturday evening. The festivities commenced with the unveiling of the 2008 Conference USA Championship and NCAA Tournament banners. UTEP established single-game-program records for assists (33), three-pointers made (14) on the way to posting the largest margin of victory against a Division I opponent (57) while scoring the second-most points ever against a DI foe. The Miners are led by Dietra Caldwell who averages 11.8 ppg and 4.0 rpg. Brittnay Jones averages 11.3 ppg to help UTEP to wins over Savannah State and rival New Mexico State. UTEP started the season with losses to Kansas State and UC Irvine in overtime. Utah State holds a 5-0 series lead against UTEP with the last meeting taking place in 1979. In that meeting, the Aggies topped the Miners, 90-67 in an Intermountain Athletic Conference game.
ADMISSION - Admission to Utah State's women's basketball games is $5 for adults, $1 for youth. Season tickets are also available $65 for adults and $10 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 or visit the Utah State athletic web site at www.UtahStateAggies.com.
FIRST-HALF WOES - The Aggies continue to have first-half scoring problems. Against Montana-State Northern, USU only scored 19 points in the first half. Despite the 2-2 record, USU has been trailing at half time in all four games. Utah State has been out-scored by its opponents 109-82 in the first stanza.
TOUGH D - Utah State has been stingy in allowing points this season only allowing 54.2 ppg. The Aggies have 19 steals this season, including six from senior guards Danyelle Snelgro and Ana Pares. Junior Nicole Johnson has 10 blocks this season, which places her second in the WAC in blocks per game (2.50 bpg).
LOVING LYDIA - Junior Lydia Whitehead had a great coming out party against Portland. She had 12 points and a team-leading 15 rebounds. Whitehead kept it going against Northern Arizona with her second-straight double-double. She had 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win.
AGGIES IN THE WAC STATS - Utah State is first in the WAC in scoring defense, holding teams to 54.2 points per game. The Aggies are also first in field goal defense (.348), while standing second in rebound margin (+7.0). USU is also first in blocks, averaging 4.75 blocks per game. Individually, junior Lydia Whitehead third in rebounding, averaging 9.8 rpg. Junior Nicole Johnson is second in blocks per game, averaging 2.50 bpg.
CAREER HIGH: THE SEQUEL - With 18 points against Northern Arizona on Nov. 19, senior guard Ana Pares topped her career high for the second-straight week. Against Portland on Nov. 14, the senior scored 11 points in the Aggies loss. Before the 11-point outburst against the Pilots, her previous high was 10 also against Portland in 2006.
PARES CONTINUES HOT START - After setting career highs in scoring back-to-back games, Ana Pares switched gears and set a career high in rebounds with eight in the Nov. 22 loss to Idaho State. Her previous high was five rebounds at New Mexico State on Jan. 12, 2008.
WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY - Junior forward Nicole Johnson had a career-high six blocked shots in the win against Northern Arizona on Nov. 19, which is tied for third all-time single-game blocks, matching Jill Swainston, Taylor Richards and Jessica Freeman who had all had six. As a team, the Aggies had eight blocks in the game to go along with eight steals. Johnson's previous high was three blocks which she had accomplished twice. The last time she had three blocks was also against the Lumberjacks last season. Johnson also had a career high with eight rebounds. Her previous high was five at Southern Utah on Jan. 2, 2008.
TURNING 21 - The 2008-09 season marks the 21st year of women's basketball at USU, and just the sixth since the program was restarted prior to the 2003-04 season. The women's hoops program at USU had been disbanded following the 1987 season due to budget cuts. USU is playing in its fourth season in the Western Athletic Conference after playing its first two seasons in the Big West Conference.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS - The Aggies have two remaining games this month before December hits. USU has three home games in the month of December. On Dec. 6, USU will take on Eastern Washington at 11 a.m. The early start is due to the fact that the Utah State men's team will take on BYU at 5 p.m. in Salt Lake City. On Dec. 16 USU will face Portland State before closing out the month against Southern Utah on Dec. 20.
AGGIES ON THE RADIO/WEB - All Utah State home games can be heard on KLGN (1390 AM) in Logan with Evan Nyman calling the play-by-play and Ashley Rutledge providing color commentary for home games. They can also be heard on the web by going to the Utah State Athletics home page at www.UtahStateAggies.com.
GAMETRACKER - Fans can follow Aggie home games through the USU web site at www.UtahStateAggies.com via GameTracker, a free service, which updates play-by-play and statistics throughout the game.
ON THE INTERNET - All of Utah State's home games are available to watch live through Utah State TV via the internet at www.UtahStateAggies.com. USU fans can also listen to every game both home and away, via USU's web site.
FAMILIAR FACES - Head coach Raegan Pebley and the Aggies have two starters among nine letterwinners returning from last season's squad that posted an 9-20 overall record and 5-11 in the WAC in senior guard Danyelle Snelgro and senior center Ndoumbe Diop.
AROUND THE COURT - News and Notes from around the Aggie basketball court.
• After sitting out last season, junior Lydia Whitehead finally sees the court this season. The transfer from Utah is a center who looks to make an impact this season.
• The Aggies are a very international team with players from six different countries, including Australia (Stacey Howard), Japan (Erika Guatavai), Canada (Zana Williams), Senegal (Banna Diop and Ndoumbe Diop) and the United States (10 players).
• The 2008-09 team has only two players from the state of Utah, Ana Pares (Provo) and Lydia Whitehead (Nibley).
• Six different returning players saw time in at least 20 games last season (Snelgro, Pares, Johnson, Ndoumbe Diop and White). Four different returners (Snelgro, Johnson, Coddington and Diop) logged at least 300 minutes.
COACH PEBLEY - Head coach Raegan Pebley is entering her sixth season as head coach at Utah State, which is the longest tenure in the program's history. Five games into last season, Pebley overtook the lead for the most games coached in Utah State history (116). She has now coached 143 games for the blue and white. Pebley now has 43 wins as Aggie head coach which places her behind Fern Gardner (45) and Cindy Perkins (51) on the all-time win list.
AGGIES SIGN THREE - Utah State women's basketball is proud to announce the signing of three student-athletes in the early period for the 2009-10 season, including guards Jenna Johnson, Ashley Mitchell and Devyn Christensen. Devyn Christensen is a native of Caldwell, Idaho and attends Vallivue High School, where she was the Idaho 5A Player of the Year last season. Vallivue is also the alma mater of Utah State-great Jenny Gross-Brown. On the court, Christensen, a 5-7 guard, averaged 16 points last season, including scoring 19 points in the state tournament. She had a season-high 25 points last season. The guard is on pace to score 1,100 points in three seasons. Christensen set a record with eight three pointers in the state tournament last season. They lost in the state championship game last season. Jenna Johnson is a 5-9, guard from Wasilla, Alaska. While averaging 17 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists Jenna is the starting guard for Wasilla High School, the same basketball program Republican VP Candidate Sarah Palin played for in high school. Alaska has produced some recent outstanding women's basketball players such as Azella Perryman (Stanford, `07), Natalie Jones (Arizona, '06), Sylvia Bullock (Miami), and Telisa Rhea (Oregon State). She was first team all-state last season, and her team finished in third-place at the Alaska State Tournament. Johnson is projected to be the 2008 Alaska MVP. Ashley Mitchell is a native of Long Beach, Calif., where she attends Long Beach Millikan High School. Mitchell, a 5-8 guard, averaged over 10 points, six rebounds, six assists, while shooting 54 percent from the field last season. Against Cajon High School, she nearly had a triple-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, while also adding six steals.
Last January, the guard and her Millikan High School teammates defeated Long Beach Poly which was the top-ranked team in the country at the time. Millikan, under the guidance of head coach Lorene Morgan, was ranked as high as No. 13 in the country last year.
The Schedule -This season, Utah State will play 31 regular season home games, including two home exhibition contests With the two exhibitions, the Aggies have 15 games this season at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, a place where Utah State won five of its nine games last season. This is the most home games that the Aggies have ever played. USU could play up to five teams that reached the postseason in 2007-08, including UTEP who ended the season ranked No. 23 in the Associated Press poll. Texas State advanced to the Women's Basketball National Invitational last season. WAC-foe Fresno State earned its first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament last season. The Bulldogs will host Utah State on Feb. 1 and will travel to Logan to end the regular season on March 7. Utah State tips off the 2008-09 season with two exhibition games against Montana Tech and Dixie State before starting the regular season against Portland on Nov. 14 in a doubleheader with the men's team which is one of three doubleheaders with the men's team this year. Utah State will play 14 games away from the friendly confines of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The Aggies' only travel in November will be to the UTEP Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 28-29. Utah State will start the Thanksgiving Classic against Texas State on Nov. 28. The tournament will conclude with the Aggies taking on either host UTEP or Monmouth. Other non-conference road contests are instate rivals BYU (Dec. 13), Weber State (Dec. 22) and Utah Valley (Jan. 3), along with UNLV. Before conference play starts, the Aggies will have seven non-conference home games, including Northern Arizona, Idaho State and Montana State-Northern in the month of November. The Aggies conclude non-conference play with Eastern Washington (Dec. 6), Portland State (Dec. 16) and Southern Utah (Dec. 20).
AGGIE ALGEBRA
1-Total number of first-place votes that Utah State received in the WAC Coaches' poll. Boise State was picked to finish first.
2A-The number of players on the 2008-09 roster hailing from the Beehive state of Utah (Lydia Whitehead and Ana Pares). It is also the number of players from Senegal (Banna Diop and Ndoumbe Diop).
2B-The number of double-doubles junior Lydia Whitehead has had this season.
4A-The number of seniors leading this year's Aggie squad, including Danyelle Snelgro, Ndoumbe Diop, Shawnta Pope and Ana Pares.
4B-The most consecutive road games that USU will play from Dec. 22 to Jan. 5 (Weber State, UNLV, Utah Valley and Idaho).
5-Total number of players on this year's roster standing 6-0 or taller.
6-The number of home games, including exhibitions that the Aggies will play to start the season.
8-Ana Pares had a career-high eight rebounds in a loss to Idaho State on Nov. 22.
10-The number of wins that it would take to pass the nine-win total from 2007-08.
14-Ana Pares leads the team in scoring averaging, 14.0 points per game.
15-The team-high number of points that Danyelle Snelgro scored against Portland on Nov. 14.
18-Ana Pares scored a career-high 18 points against Northern Arizona on Nov. 19. Her previous high was 11 also against the Portland on Nov. 14.
44- Head coach Raegan Pebley's win total at the helm of the USU team.
82- Number of assists that Aggie senior Danyelle Snelgro had last season. Snelgro is fifth all-time in assists with 221.
200-Total number of points that the Aggies have scored this young season.
2006-The last time that USU has been .500 on Nov. 27, 2006 after the Aggies defeated Saint Mary's, 67-61.
