Dec. 20, 2009

LOGAN, UTAH -

GAME #10Weber State (6-6) at Utah State (4-5)Monday, Dec. 21, 2:00 p.m. • Logan, Utah • Dee Glen Smith Spectrum (10,270)Radio Broadcast: 1390 AM •  www.UtahStateAggies.com •

TIP OFF - Utah State women's basketball looks to get back on track after a tough, 61-48, loss to BYU on Saturday, Dec. 19. USU has a quick turnaround, facing another instate rival, Weber State on Monday, Dec. 21. The game with the Wildcats is the first part of a tripleheader with the USU men's team. The Weber State men's team will take on Cal State Fullerton at 5;30 p.m., while the Utah State men's team will meet Morehead State at 8 p.m. In the Aggies' loss to BYU, USU was led by junior guard Amber White who scored a team-high 12 points in the loss.

Complete Release in PDF Format

THE OPPONENT - Tonya Schnibbe handed out four assists on Dec. 18, becoming Weber State's all-time assist leader for the lone bright spot on the night as the Wildcats were defeated 78-40 by Wyoming at Arena Auditorium.

The Wildcats shot just 27.6 percent from the floor, hitting 16 of 58 shots, including a 1 for 13 performance from three-point territory. Meanwhile, the Cowgirls hit 28 of 55 shots for 50.5 percent. Anderson led the Wildcats with 10 points on five of eight shooting from the floor. Sarah Conner added nine points, but hit just 3 of 13 shots.

Weber State holds a 13-22 series advantage against Utah State with the first meeting between the instate rivlals taking place in 1975. In the last meeting between the Aggies and Wildcats in Ogden, the Aggies battled the weather and the Wildcats. The game was delayed an hour due to bad weather en route to Ogden. USU had two players in double-digits, Ana Pares and Danyelle Snelgro. The Aggies also had two players in double-digits in rebounds, Nicole Johnson and Lydia Whitehead.

HOME SWEET HOME - The Aggies lost their first game at home with the, 61-48, loss to BYU on Dec. 19. Utah State was 3-0 at the friendly confines of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum this season with wins against Utah, Montana Western and North Dakota State. USU had won its home games by an average of 19 points per game, including a 37-point win over Montana Western.

READY FOR THE NEW YEAR - Utah State will be ready for the holidays to be over as the Aggies are 1-4 in the month of December. USU's lone win in December is a 58-46 win over North Dakota State. The Aggies have three more games remaining in this month at home against Weber State (Dec. 21) and Utah Valley (Dec. 31). USU has one road game on the road against Southern Utah (Dec. 23).

AMONG THE TOP IN THE WAC - Senior Lydia Whitehead is fifth this week in the WAC in rebounding. The center has 63 total rebounds this season for an average of 7.0 rebounds per game. She has 22 offensive and 41 defensive this season. Junior guard Alice Coddington is third in the league in steals, averaging 2.00 steals per game. The junior has 21 steals in eight games. As a team, Utah State is first in the league in scoring defense, allowing only 55 points per game.

WHITEHEAD IS WHITE HOT - For the third time this season, senior center Lydia Whitehead had double-digits in rebounds. In the game against BYU, Whitehead had 10 rebounds. She brought down two offensive and eight defensive rebounds. She also added 12 rebounds against San Francisco on Nov. 22 and 10 against Pepperdine on Dec. 4.

PRIMETIME PLAYERS - This season, Utah State was on television two times. The game against Utah on Nov. 13 was on the CW30. Another game against an instate rival will also be on television for Aggie fans to enjoy. USU's match up with BYU on Dec. 19 was also on the CW30. Talent was Rob Flygare doing play by play with Brooks Hansen as the color commentator.

AGGIES SET RECORD IN WIN AGAINST BISON - Utah State's 11 blocks against North Dakota State set a new USU record. Both Nicole Johnson and Banna Diop swatted five shots each, while TJ Goddard added one block. The previous record was 10 blocks against Northern Arizona in 1984.

TAKING A LOOK BACK - USU eighth game last season was the close one-point loss to BYU on Dec. 13, 2008. After eight games last season, the Aggies were also 4-4 just like this season. Both last season and this season, Utah State has been giving up an average of 54.8 points per game. One difference is that last season at this time USU was only scoring 53.1 ppg, while this season the Aggies are scoring 58.0 ppg. Last season, the Aggies were rebounding better, averaging 39.9 rebounds per game, while this season's version is averaging 35.8 rpg.

Tahara Williams OFF THE BENCH - Senior guard Tahara Williams has been solid off the bench this season as part of the Aggies very productive bench. USU has scored 30% of its points off the bench this season led by Williams. Williams scored a career-high nine points in the win against North Dakota State on Dec. 14. She added seven points against BYU on Dec. 19. In the last two games, Williams has averaged over 25 minutes per game off the bench as her playing time has increased.

JOHNSON FIRST IN THE WAC IN BLOCKS - Senior forward Nicole Johnson had one block in USU's loss to BYU on Dec. 19. With the one block, Johnson now has 102 career blocks which places her second all-time behind Jessica Freeman who had 127 from 2003-06. Johnson now needs 25 more blocks to tie Freeman. Last season, the senior had 56 blocks.

As a team, Utah State has an impressive 38 blocks in eight games this season, averaging 4.75 bpg. This week, Johnson is first in the WAC in blocks per game, averaging 1.57 bpg. She has 11 blocks in seven games for the Aggies.

IN THE WINS... - In Utah State's four wins this season, the Aggies have won all of them by at least six wins. Two of the four wins have been by at least 12 points (North Dakota State and Montana Western). Utah State has out-rebounded its opponents in two of the four wins this season. USU has also shot better from three in all of its wins this season.

AS WHITE GOES SO DO THE AGGIES - Junior guard Amber White has led or had a share of the lead Aggies in scoring in five of the Aggies eight games. USU is 3-3 in games in which White is the leading scorer. White scored a career-high 25 points in the Aggies season-opening win over Utah. Despite getting into early foul trouble against Idaho State on Dec. 12, White ended the game with 14 points. She scored a team-high 13 points in USU's win over North Dakota State on Dec. 14.

PRINGLE-BUCHANAN CONTINUES HOT PLAY - Junior guard LaCale Pringle-Buchanan has had back-to-back games scoring 14 points. Pringle-Buchanan has increased her minutes in all of the six games in which she has played. She played 23 minutes in the loss to Idaho State on Dec. 12. Pringle-Buchanan averages 6.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game through the first eight games. She also has 12 steals in the eight games for the Aggies.

SHARP SHOOTING AGGIES - There are three Aggies in the top 10 in the WAC in three-point shooting. Amber White is still first in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.667). Freshman guard TJ Goddard is second in the WAC, shooting .560, while junior guard Alice Coddington is seventh, shooting .385. As a team, USU is first in the WAC from beyond the arc (.373). The Aggies have made 44 three pointers so far this season.

UP NEXT - After the game against instate rival Weber State, USU prepeares to take on two more instate teams before the year ends. The Aggies will take on Southern Utah on Wednesday, Dec. 23 at Noon. Following the match up with the Thunderbirds, USU ends the 2009 portion of the of the schedule against Utah Valley on Dec. 31 at 7 p.m. In all, the Aggies will have faced five schools from the Beehive State, Utah, BYU, Weber State, Southern Utah and Utah Valley. So far this season, the Aggies are 1-1 against instate schools with a win against Utah and a loss to BYU.

GETTING INVOLVED - Every Utah State player capable of playing saw time in the Aggies win over Montana Western on Nov. 28. There were 12 different Aggies that scored of the 13 that played. Only freshman guard Pualei Furtado didn't score, but she contributed in different ways adding four rebounds and two steals in her first action of the season. Redshirt-freshman Banna Diop scored a career-high 13 points in a career-high 21 minutes. USU scored more points off the bench than the Montana Western did in the game with the Aggies edging the Bulldogs 35-34. Senior guard Tahara Williams started her first game as an Aggie and scored a career-high six points. Junior forward Stacey Howard had a career-high nine rebounds off the bench for Utah State.

CAREER DAY - A trio of juniors had career days for Utah State in the Aggies' win against Utah on Nov. 13. Guard/forward Amber White scored a career-high 25 points in the win. Her previous high was 10 points in a loss to Fresno State last season. Guard Alice Coddington also had a banner day, scoring a career-high 18 points. Her previous high was 12 points against San Jose State last season. Forward Stacey Howard also added a career-high seven points. Last season, she set a career-high with five points against UNLV.

ADMISSION - Admission to Utah State's women's basketball games is $5 for adults, $1 for youth. Fans can buy a women's sport pass for $75 which will gain admittance to women's basketball, volleyball and gymnastics. 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.

This season, Utah State introduces the Aggie Incentive Plan which allow fans to earn points for attending women's basketball games. Fans can earn 10 points for attending the game against Utah on Friday. Aggie fans can accumulate points throughout the season and earn prizes like USU water bottles, clothing and a USU women's team autographed basketball. Parents of Jr. Aggies will also receive free admittance to the game against Utah. Aggie women's basketball will also welcome schools on Dec. 14 for School Day against North Dakota State at 12 p.m. With the Aggie Incentives Plan fans can attend as many USU women's basketball games as possible and accumulate points, for a chance to win great prizes!!

SEASON OPENER - The Aggies win against Utah on Nov. 13 was Utah State's first season-opening win since Nov. 17, 1981 with a 78-59 win against Southern Utah in Cedar City. It was the third season-opener that the Aggies have won since 1974.

LAST TIME OUT - An eight-minute scoring drought and a second-half scoring slump sunk Utah State in a 61-48 loss to Brigham Young on Saturday at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in a women's basketball match-up.

Saturday was USU's first home loss in four home contests, in falling to 4-5 overall, while BYU won its fourth game in the last five outings to improve to 7-3. The Cougars now lead the all-time series, 27-3. Utah State is now 1-1 vs. instate foes after Saturday's loss to BYU, after beating Utah, 67-58 in the Aggies' season-opener on Nov. 13. USU has three more match-ups with Beehive state foes, all in the next three games, starting on Monday, Dec. 21 at home vs. Weber State, then at Southern Utah on Wednesday, Dec. 23 before hosting Utah Valley on Thursday, Dec. 31.

Junior guard Amber White netted 12 points to lead USU and tie for game-high honors. It was White's third-straight double-digit scoring outing and the seventh time in nine games. White was the lone Aggie in double-figures, as the next leading scorers were senior guard Tahara Williams and junior guard Alice Coddington with seven points each.

Junior guard/forward Amber White scored 13 points to lead the Aggies. She has now scored in double-digits in six of USU's eight games this season, including all three home games. Freshman guard TJ Goddard also scored in double digits with 10 points. It was the third time this season that Goddard has hit the double-digit mark.

TURNING 22 - The 2009-10 season marks the 22nd 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 fifth season in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) after playing its first two seasons in the Big West Conference.

AGGIES ON THE RADIO/WEB - Utah State games can be heard on KLGN (1390 AM) in Logan with Evan Nyman calling the play-by-play. They can also be heard on the web by going to the Utah State Athletics home page at www.UtahStateAggies.com and cling on the Yahoo Sports link in the right hand column.

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.

COACH PEBLEY - Head coach Raegan Pebley is entering her seventh season as head coach at Utah State, which is the longest tenure in the program's history. Five games into the 2007-08 season, Pebley overtook the lead for the most games coached in Utah State history (116). She has now coached 179 games for the blue and white and has 62 wins as Aggie head coach which is first ahead of Fern Gardner (55) on the all-time win list.

REWIND: UTAH STATE VS. BYU - The last two games between the Cougars and the Aggies have been decided by six points or less. The last time the two teams met was Dec. 13, 2008.

Despite holding Brigham Young to 28.2 percent (20-of-71) from the field shooting, Utah State women's basketball lost a double overtime heartbreaker, 61-60, at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah on Saturday. BYU moves to 7-2 with the win, while Utah State is now 4-4 with the loss.

Senior guard Danyelle Snelgro was one of three Aggies to score in double figures with a game-leading 16 points. Fellow senior and Provo native, Ana Pares scored 10 points. Sophomore Alice Coddington tied a career high with 11 points. She also scored 11 points against Saint Marys on Dec. 22, 2007.

Coriann Wood led the Cougars in scoring with 13 points. Five different BYU players had at least five rebounds, including Jazmine Foreman, Shawnee Slade and Keilani Moeaki who all had eight rebounds.

BYU started strong taking as big a lead as five points before the Aggie offense woke up. The Cougars dominated the boards in the first half, especially the offensive rebounds. BYU out-rebounded Utah State 20-11 in the first half, including 11 offensive rebounds. USU did not have its first offensive rebound until 6.5 minutes left in the first half.

The Aggies began to cut down the Cougar lead with the help of senior Ndoubme Diop's four points in four minutes as USU would eventually tie the score 12-12. USU would extend its lead to 18-14 off a fast break layup from Danyelle Snelgro, but a 6-0 run by BYU would give the Cougars back the lead. BYU would hold on to the two-point lead with a 24-22 halftime lead.

LAST TIME AGAINST WEBER STATE - Neither snowstorms, bus problems or the tough Weber State Wildcats could stop the Utah State women's basketball team from winning its second-straight game with a, 44-41, over Weber State in Ogden on Monday.

The game was delayed an hour due to inclement weather as USU travels from Logan to Ogden, and the game eventually tipped off at 1 p.m.

With the win, Utah State heads into the holiday break with a 6-5 record, while Weber State falls to 5-6 with the loss. The Aggies are now only three wins away from tying last season's win total of nine games. Last year at this point, USU was 3-7.

The Aggies had lost seven-straight games to Weber State. This was the first win since a, 85-75, win in 1984.

Senior guard Danyelle Snelgro lead all scorers with a career-high 19 points. After a slow start, senior guard Ana Pares ended the game with 17 points. Junior forward Nicole Johnson had a career-high 11 rebounds to go along with four blocks.

In the second half, USU scored the first four points before the Wildcats fought back to cut the lead to five. The Aggies went on an 8-0 run to increase the lead to a game-high 13 points. Both Lydia Whitehead and Ana Pares caught fire in the second half. Whitehead scored four, while Pares had 13 points in the second half.

NEWCOMERS - This season, the Aggies welcome five newcomers this season, including LaCale Pringle-Buchanan a junior guard from College of Southern Idaho and fellow junior forward Ashlee Brown, a transfer from UC Santa Barbara. Due to transfer rules, Brown will have to sit out the 2009-10 season. Utah State also added three freshman guards from all around the country. Jenna Johnson is freshman guard from Wasilla, Alaska, while Pualei Furtado is a freshman guard from Kaneohe, Hawaii. Devyn Christensen is another freshman guard from Caldwell, Idaho.

UTAH STATE VS. WCC CHALLENGE - Utah State concluded its tour through the West Coast Conference. Pepperdine was the third WCC team that USU has faced when the Waves defeated the Aggies on Friday, Dec. 4. at the ASU Classic. USU is 1-2 against the West Coast Conference this season with a road win against Portland on Nov. 16 and a loss to San Francisco on the road on Nov. 22.

SPANNING THE GLOBE - The 2009-10 Utah State team is an international group. There are Aggies from three different countries and all across the United States. Juniors Stacey Howard and Alice Coddington hail from Australia, while redshirt freshman Banna Diop hails from Senegal. The players from the states hail from one end to the other. Pualei Furtado is from Hawaii, while fellow freshman Jenna Johnson is from Alaska. But there is only one player from the Beehive State, senior center Lydia Whitehead hails from Nibley, Utah.