Dec. 23, 2009

Box Score

CEDAR CITY, Utah - Utah State women's basketball used a strong second half to capture a 53-44 win over Southern Utah in Cedar City on Wednesday, Dec. 23. The win was the Aggie's first away from the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum since defeating Portland on the road on Nov. 16. USU had lost four-straight games on the road or at neutral sites.

The Aggies have now won two-straight games after earning a win against another instate foe, Weber State, on Dec. 21. With the win Utah State improves to 6-5 overall, while Southern Utah falls to 3-10. The Aggies are now 4-2 all-time against Southern Utah, including winning the last four match ups.

USU was lead by senior guard Amber White's eighth double-digit scoring performance in 11 games. White scored 10 points and added four rebounds to lead Utah State. Both senior guard Tahara Williams and junior guard Alice Coddington scored eight points.

Southern Utah was led by Cassie Burgess' nine points. Two Thunderbirds scored in double-digits in rebounding. Challis Pascucci had 13 rebounds to lead all players, while Chanel Thorley had 10 boards.

Despite jumping out to an early 8-3 lead, Utah State let Southern Utah back into the game. The Thunderbirds tied the score 8-8 with 5-0 run. The Thunderbirds used rebounds to stay close to the Aggies during the first half. Southern Utah out-rebounded Utah State 14-4 in the first eight minutes of the game.

USU stopped a 7-0 run by the T-birds with a 8-0 run of its own off of a layup by Howard and three-pointers from Coddington with less than eight minutes left in the first half. The Aggies ended the half strong as freshman guard Pualei Furtado scored her first field goal of the season, a three pointer to give USU the 25-21 lead.

The Aggies entered the locker room at half time clinging to a 25-21 lead despite being out-rebounded in the first 20 minutes 24-12. SUU's Burgess led all scorers in the first half with seven points. USU was led by Amber White's six points and two rebounds. On the glass, the Thunderbirds were led by Challis Pascucci's eight rebounds, including five defensive boards.

USU continued its strong defensive play as the Aggies had 10 steals in the first half led by Pringle-Buchanan's three and Coddington's two grabs.

The Aggies came out strong in the second half stretching their lead to 31-23 after scoring six of the first eight points of the half. USU took what was its biggest lead of the game with 16:14 left in the second half 36-25 due in part to TaHara Williams' six points early in the half.

USU extended its lead to 42-28 off of a two-man fast break from Coddington and Williams. The basket was Williams' eighth of the half. A 9-0 run by USU was halted by SUU's Caitlyn Sears to cut the lead to 45-30 with 10:12 left in the game. SUU would not go down without a fight using a 6-0 run to cut the lead down to 11, 49-38, after a basket by Burgess. Baskets by senior Lydia Whitehead and freshman Jenna Johnson gave USU a 15-point lead, 53-38. Despite the Thunderbirds scoring the final six points, USU was able to hold on for the win.

For the game, SUU out-rebounded USU 42-27. The Aggies shot 47.9 percent from the field (23-of-48) and 38.5 percent from three (5-of-13). Utah State shot 40 percent from the free throw line (2-of-5). The Thunderbids shot 31.6 percent from the field (18-of-57) and 23.1 percent from three (3-of13). SUU shot 62.5 from the free throw line (5-of-8).

USU is now 3-1 against schools from the Beehive State with wins against Southern Utah, Weber State and Utah and a loss to BYU. The Aggies still have to play Utah Valley on Thursday, Dec. 31 in Logan before they say goodbye to the decade. The Wolverines come to the Spectrum to take on the Aggies for a game tipping at 7 p.m.

Live stats will be available for most Utah State women's basketball games through the women's basketball page on www.utahstateaggies.com, by clicking on GameTracker in the current events box. All home games can be viewed by clicking on "Watch Live", while they can be heard by clicking on "Listen Live." Both can be accessed on www.utahstateaggies.com on the front page or the women's basketball page.

For tickets 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.