Jan. 31, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. -
GAME #22Utah State (10-10, 4-3 WAC) at Fresno State (14-6, 5-2 WAC)Sunday, Feb. 1, 3:00 p.m. MT • Fresno, Calif.Save Mart Center (15,596)Broadcast: KLGN 1390 AMwww.UtahStateAggies.com
TIP OFF - As the calendar moves from January to February, Utah State will have played all eight Western Athletic Conference teams after taking on Fresno State on Sunday, Feb. 1 at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif. USU is 10-11 overall and 4-4 in the WAC. The even 4-4 WAC record is the Aggies best start since joining the league during the 2005-06 season. For the third-straight game, Utah State will be featured as part of the WAC's Play Up Tour. The Aggies are now 1-1 in Play Up games with a win against the Rainbow Wahine in Honolulu and a loss to Hawai`i in Logan on Jan. 30.
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SCOUTING FRESNO STATE - After trailing early, Fresno State took the lead at the 15:56 mark of the first half and never looked back, defeating San Jose State 73-44 Friday at the Save Mart Center. With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 14-6 overall and 5-2 in the WAC. The Spartans fall to 2-18 overall and 1-6 in WAC play. Fresno State shot 44 percent (24-of-55) from the field, 44 percent (8-of-18) from three-point range and 81 percent (17-of-21) from the free throw line on the game. San Jose State connected on 28 percent (16-of-57) from the field, 20 percent (3-of-15) from downtown and 69 percent (9-of-13) from the charity stripe. The Bulldogs also out-rebounded the Spartans 43-34. Hayley Munro led all players with 22 points, while Jaleesa Ross and Bailey Amundsen added 15 and 12, respectively. After taking on Hawai`i on both Sunday, Jan. 25 in Honolulu and Friday, Jan. 30 in Logan, USU will take on defending WAC Tournament Champion, Fresno State on Feb. 1 in Fresno on Super Bowl Sunday. The Bulldogs hold a 4-2 advantage over the Aggies, despite splitting the series last season with both teams winning at home. Both of USU's wins over the Bulldogs have come in Logan. The Bulldogs are currently 14-6 overall and 5-2 in the WAC. Fresno State is second in the WAC standings behind undefeated Nevada (6-0). The Bulldogs only WAC losses were to New Mexico State on the road and Idaho at home. After facing Fresno State, Utah State will have completed its first round through the league. The only team that USU has faced twice is Hawai`i.
AGGIES VS FRESNO STATE IN THE WAC2005-06Fresno State 60, USU 58 (in Logan)Fresno State 70, USU 52 (in Fresno)
2006-07USU 81, Fresno State 75 (in Logan)Fresno State 70, USU 61 (in Fresno)
2007-08Fresno State 69, USU 52 (in Fresno)USU 44, Fresno State 40 (in Logan)
WE ARE HALF WAY THERE - In the loss to Hawai`i on Jan. 30, the Aggies reached the half way point of the conference season. With the 4-4 record, USU has its best WAC record eight games into WAC play. Last season, USU was 2-6 eight games into the season for a two win improvement from last year.
CHASING THE BEST - Senior guard Danyelle Snelgro is second in the WAC in both assists and steals. The only person standing between her and the top spot in the league is WAC Preseason Player of the Year, Dellena Criner from Nevada. Criner is first in assists, averaging 4.42 apg, while Snelgro is second, bringing in 4.14 helps per game. Criner is the top thief in the league, averaging 2.53 steals per game, while Snelgro is close on her heels with 2.48 spg. Snelgro has bested Criner in one category, USU's guard is first in the WAC in assist/turnover ratio (2.53), while the Wolf Pack guard is 10th in the WAC (0.86.) In WAC games only, Snelgro is first in both categories, averaging 6.00 assists and 3.13 steals per game.
PLAY UP TOUR 2009 - The Western Athletic Conference Play Up Tour for women's basketball will be at Utah State this week. The Aggies are 1-1 this season in Play Up Tour games, defeating UH last week in Honolulu and losing to the Rainbow Wahine on Jan. 30. WAC staff will be on site to distribute WAC giveaway items. Fans will also have the opportunity to sign up to win a WAC prize pack that includes WAC apparel and other WAC related items. All fans that enter the drawing will be eligible for the grand prize of a WAC Basketball Tournament package. The Play Up Tour is designed improve perceptions of the WAC and its members through national, local and regional touch-points. Collectively, the nine members of the WAC are committed to growing and improving both the league and themselves.
Sunday, Feb. 1 - Fresno, Calif Utah State at Fresno State, 2 p.m. (PT)
Sunday, Feb. 8 - Reno, Nev. Utah State at Nevada, 2 p.m. (PT)
SCORING MACHINE - Senior Ana Pares is climbing the scoring charts in the WAC. She is now fifth in scoring, averaging 14.0 points per game. She has scored more points this season (294) than her previous three years combined (146). In conference games only, she is second, averaging 16.1 points per game. She has scored in double figures 12-straight games.
IT'S ALL IN THE BOARDS - In USU's 56-49 loss to Nevada, the Aggies were out-rebounded 39-28 and lost by seven points. In the loss, Utah State only had seven offensive rebounds. The Aggies turned things around in the win over Boise State. USU out-rebounded the Broncos 42-33, including 17 offensive boards. It was the first time since the defeating Weber State on Dec. 22 that the Aggies had broken the 40 rebound plateau.
STANDING ALONE IN SECOND - With a win against Hawai`i on Jan. 25, USU head coach Raegan Pebley earned her 52nd win at Utah State. Pebley now has 52 wins as Aggie head coach which places her second ahead of Cindy Perkins and just behind Fern Gardner (55) on the all-time win list.
SWATTING THE RECORD BOOKS - Several Aggies are forging their way into the Utah State record book, with 39 blocks this season, junior forward Nicole Johnson is already fifth in the all-time single season list. She is now in fourth, passing Ali Marchant who had 38 blocks in the 2005 season. With 52 steals and 87 assists, senior guard Danyelle Snelgro is nearing the top 10 in both categories. Junior forward Lydia Whitehead is also close to making the top 10 in blocks. Her 24 blocks this season is tied for ninth with Sharon Epps during the 1983 season.
LOOKING AT THE STANDINGS - With a 4-4 WAC record, Utah State stands sixth in the WAC standings. But they are close to the two teams tied at 4-3, defending WAC regular season champions, Boise State and Louisiana Tech. Nevada is still undefeated in WAC play (5-0). On Sunday Feb.1, Hawai`i travels to Idaho, while San Jose State visits Nevada.
LAST TIME OUT - Utah State women's basketball lost to Hawai'i, 63-61, Friday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, snapping the Aggies' three-game win streak. Rainbow Wahine Megan Tinnin's layup with 17.5 seconds left proved to be the game-winner, as the Aggies had two shots in the waning seconds rattle off the iron and out. USU entered Friday with a three-game win streak and was going for its first four-game victory spurt since the 1980-81 season, but Hawai'i avenged its loss to Utah State last Saturday, after the Aggies beat the Rainbow Wahine, 52-43, in Honolulu. The defeat drops USU to 10-11 overall and 4-4 in Western Athletic Conference play, while UH won its first league game, improving to 1-6 in conference play and 4-16 overall. The Aggies are now 2-6 in WAC meetings with the Rainbow Wahine and are 4-7 all-time against them. Senior guard Danyelle Snelgro led USU with 16 points, as well as tying game-bests with six assists and four steals, while her classmate and back court mate Ana Pares tossed in 10 points. It was Pares' 12th-straight double-digit scoring outing, while Snelgro tallied double-figures for the ninth time in her last 11 games. Sophomore guard Alice Coddington tied a game and career high, leading USU with seven rebounds, as well as tying a career-high with four steals
FOUR TIMES THE FUN - In the win against San Jose State, four different Aggies scored in double figures. It was the second time that four different players scored 10 or more points in a single game. Against New Mexico State, Lydia Whitehead, Ana Pares, Danyelle Snelgro and Chelsea Burns all scored in double figures. Against SJSU, Whitehead, Pares, Snelgro and sophomore Alice Coddington scored in double digits.
ON THE BOARDS - Utah State is 7-1 when out-rebounding its opponents. In the win against Southern Utah, the Aggies out-rebounded the Thunderbirds, 48-34, including a season-high 27 offensive rebounds. USU had 20 offensive rebounds in the win against Northern Arizona and 50 total. USU earned its sixth win when out-rebounding its opponents against Boise State on Jan. 17. In the win over the Broncos, USU had 17 offensive boards.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN - After a short one-game homestand, the road savvy Aggies hit the road for a three-game road trip. This trio of road games will be against some of the top teams in the league. USU begins the treacherous road trip against second-place Fresno State. On Feb. 8, the Aggies will take on first-place and undefeated Nevada in Reno. The road trip will conclude with the defending champion Boise State Broncos in Boise on Feb. 20. Once USU returns home, the games do not get much easier as the Aggies will take on third-place Idaho in Logan on Feb. 22
TOP THIEF - With a season-high five steals, senior guard Danyelle Snelgro tied all-time steal leader Margaret Johns (1980-83) with 175 steals. In the win against New Mexico State, Snelgro passed former teammate Taylor Richards (2005-08) who ended her storied Aggie career with 172 steals. She took sole possession of first place with her first steal against Louisiana Tech on Jan. 10. Snelgro now has 191 career steals and 48 this season.
WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS - The Aggies had a season-high 20 assists in the win against New Mexico State on Jan. 8. Danyelle Snelgro had a season-high nine assists, while sophomore Alice Coddington had six assists. Snelgro is now second all-time in assists with 289. Taylor Richards is the all-time assists leader with 371. Snelgro is second in the league in assists, averaging 4.05 apg. In WAC games, Snelgro is first in assists with 42 helps for an average of 6.00 apg.
ON THE HORIZON: NEVADA - After taking on Fresno State on Feb.1, the Aggies next game is not until the following Sunday on Feb. 8 against Nevada in Reno. The Wolf Pack stand alone in first place in the WAC with a perfect 6-0 record. Under first-year head coach Jane Albright, the Wolf Pack are off to their best start since joining the WAC for the 2001-02 season. In WAC meetings, Nevada holds a 6-2 record, including a 56-49 win in Logan earlier this season. Overall Nevada has a 6-4 advantage.
AGGIES VS NEVADA IN THE WAC2005-06Nevada 64, USU 54 (in Reno)Nevada 61, USU 57 (in Logan)
2006-07USU 59, Nevada 44 (in Logan)Nevada 61, USU 49 (in Reno)Nevada 61, Utah State 60 (@ WAC Tournament in Las Cruces )
2007-08Nevada 75, USU 55 (in Reno)USU 56, Nevada 48 (in Logan)
2008-09Nevada 56, USU 49 (in Logan)
Overall Record: 2-6
AGGIES IN OPENERS- Utah State began its fourth season in the WAC on Jan. 5 with a loss at Idaho. This was the first year that USU will start WAC play on the road. It is also the first time that the Aggies begin with the Vandals of Idaho. In its first season, USU fell to San Jose State in Logan, 63-51, while losing to Boise State in 2006-07, 80-70. Last season, the Aggies earned their first WAC opener win with a 68-58 win over San Jose State. While this is the first WAC opener against Idaho, USU has opened conference play against the Vandals when both teams were in the Big West. Idaho defeated the Aggies to open the 2003-04 season with a loss to Idaho, 62-51. Since the reinstatement of the program in the 2003-04 season, the Aggies are 1-5 in conference openers.
Utah State in WAC Openers 2005-06 L, vs. San Jose State, 51-63 2006-07 L, vs Boise State, 70-80 2007-08 W, vs. San Jose State, 68-58 2008-09 L, at Idaho, 63-71
DANDY DOZEN - Senior guard Ana Pares continues her scoring barrage this season. With 10 points in the loss against UH, she now has had 12-straight double-digit scoring games. The guard has had three 20-point games this season. Pares topped her career high in points when she scored 25 in a loss to Utah Valley on Jan. 3. Starting the season, her high was 10 points against Portland in 2006. To start this season, Pares scored 11 points once again against Portland for a new career high. This high would not stand long as the senior scored 18 points against Northern Arizona on Nov. 19.
FAMILIAR FIVE - Utah State has been nothing if not consistent. In 21 games this season, the Aggies have started the same five for every game. Danyelle Snelgro, Ana Pares, Alice Coddington, Lydia Whitehead and Nicole Johnson have started all 21 games for USU this season.
SNELGRO REACHES CAREER HIGH AGAIN - Senior guard Danyelle Snelgro tied her career high with 19 points in the loss to Louisiana Tech on Jan. 10. She also scored 19 points as the Aggies defeated Weber State for the first time since 1984 on Dec. 22. Snelgro scored 19 points, 13 in the first half, en route to a 44-41 win over the Wildcats. Her previous high was 18 points at Utah Valley in 2006. Snelgro's point explosion helped the Aggies capture their second road win of the season.
NIFTY NIKKI - Junior Nicole Johnson is having a solid season. The forward is tied for third in the WAC in blocks, averaging 1.86 blocks per game, just behind Louisiana Tech's Shanvia Dowdell and San Jose State's Shaunna Ridge. She is tied with New Mexico State's Nikie Holt. She now has 39 total blocks this season. She has already passed her block total from last season as Johnson ended the 2007-08 season with 22 blocks.
ENDURANCE AGGIES - Four of the Aggies' five starters are among the leaders in the WAC in minutes played. Ana Pares is now second behind Idaho's Charlotte Otero, averaging 37.75 minutes per game. Danyelle Snelgro is third in the WAC in minutes played, averaging 37.65. Nicole Johnson averages 31.60 mpg which places her 12th, while Alice Coddington rounds out the quartet of fit Aggies. Coddington averages 30.70 mpg, which places her tied for 17th in the WAC.
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.
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.
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.
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.
UTEP THANKSGIVING CLASSIC - Both Danyelle Snelgro and fellow guard Ana Pares were named to the UTEP Thanksgiving Classic all-tournament team as voted on by the tournament's four coaches. Hawk Jennifer Bender was named both Defensive and tournament Most Valuable Player.
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 160 games for the blue and white. Pebley now has 52 wins as Aggie head coach which places second ahead of Cindy Perkins in wins and just behind of Fern Gardner (55) on the all-time win list.
AGGIES AGAINST EVERYONE - The Aggies rounded out non-conference play against Utah Valley on Jan. 3. Portland State was the fourth team from the Big Sky Conference that the Aggies have faced this season. USU is 2-2 against the Big Sky with a win against Northern Arizona and Eastern Washington and a loss to Idaho State. USU is 0-1 against the Northeast Conference after a loss to Monmouth, while the Aggies hold a 1-0 record against the Southland Conference with a win against Texas State. Finally, the Aggies are 0-1 against the West Coast Conference after a season-opening loss to Portland. USU is now 0-2 against the Mountain West Conference with a loss to BYU on Dec. 13 and a loss to UNLV on Dec. 30. USU played its fifth and final Big Sky Conference team when it defeated Weber State.
Aggies vs. Conferences Big Sky Conference 3-2 Mountain West Conference 0-2 Northeast Conference 0-1 Southland Conference 1-0 Summit League 1-0 Non-Division I Opponents 1-0 Provisional Division I 0-1 West Coast Conference 0-1 Total 6-7
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR - The Aggies are a very international team with players from five different countries, including Australia (Stacey Howard and Alice Coddington), Japan (Erika Guatavai), Canada (Zana Williams), Senegal (Banna Diop and Ndoumbe Diop) and the United States (10 players).
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.
Aggies Women's Basketball Announces Three Signing - 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. 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). 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. 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.
