Feb. 21, 2009
LOGAN, Utah - -
Idaho (11-12, 8-4 WAC) at Utah State (12-12, 6-5 WAC)Sunday, Feb. 22, 2:00 p.m. MT • Logan, UtahDee Glen Smith Spectrum (10,270)Broadcast: KLGN 1390 AMwww.UtahStateAggies.com
TIP OFF - On Sunday, Feb. 22, Utah State will "Think Pink and Bleed Blue" in its annual Pink Zone game against Idaho at 2 p.m. Anyone that comes to the game wearing pink will get free admittance. Also the first 150 fans will get a free pair of pink Crocs provided by the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association (WBCA). The team will wear pink shooting shirts and the Aggie cheerleaders will also be dresses in pink. Women's basketball teams across the nation are challenged to dedicate one game between February 13-22 to raise breast cancer awareness and funding. The WBCA Pink ZoneTM initiative is a global, unified effort for the WBCA nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. Over 1,200 teams are involved and both New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech in the WAC will also host Pink Zone events. Coach Pebley is on the cusp of becoming the all-time winningest coach in Utah State history. She is now second with 54 wins. Fern Gardner is now the all-time leader with 55 wins.
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SCOUTING IDAHO - The University of Idaho women's basketball team held a 10-point lead early in the second half in a Western Athletic Conference matchup at Nevada, but the Vandals went ice-cold from then on and fell by a 69-53 margin. For the first 27 minutes of the game, the Idaho (11-12, 8-4 WAC) women shot lights-out from the floor and built up a 47-43 lead, but from then on, Nevada (14-11, 8-4 WAC) outscored the Vandals 22-10. Idaho made 18 of its first 34 shots for a .529 clip through the 13:20 mark of the second half, but the Vandals made just two of their final 10 over the last 6:40 of the game and also turned it over 11 times during that span. In the first meeting this season, the Aggies had an eight-point lead, but the Vandals took control in the second half. Derisa Taleni scored a game-high 31 points, going 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. Since joining the WAC, the Vandals hold a 4-3 lead and overall hold a 11-3 advantage.
AGGIES VS IDAHO IN THE WAC 2005-06 Idaho 54, USU 51 (in Moscow) USU 63, Idaho 53 (in Logan)
2006-07 USU 78, Idaho 70 (in Logan) USU 57, Idaho 53 (in Moscow)
2007-08 Idaho 70, USU 64 (OT) (Moscow) Idaho 67, USU 55 (Logan)
2008-09 Idaho 61, USU 63 (in Moscow)
Overall Record: 3-4
SNELGRO TOPS IN THE WAC - Senior guard Danyelle Snelgro is still ahead fellow senior Dellena Criner of Nevada in steals, averaging 2.46 steals per game just ahead of Criner's 2.36 spg. She and Criner are tied for first with 59 steals. In assists, Criner has the edge, averaging 4.48 assists per game. Snelgro is second with 4.36 apg.
WAC FINISHES - With five conference games left to play, the Aggies are looking for their best finish ever in the Western Athletic Conference. In 2006-07, USU was 7-9 in the WAC which was good for sixth which was its best finish since joining the league for the 2005-06 season. Last season, the Aggies were 5-11 and finished seventh. In 2005-06, USU was 2-14 which placed it in ninth.
300 CLUB - With six assists in the Aggies win over Boise State on Feb. 20, senior guard Danyelle Snelgro became just the second Utah State women's basketball player to reach the 300 club with assists. Snelgro now has 300 career assists. The all-time Aggie leader in assists is Taylor Richards with 371.
SEASON OF FIRSTS - Utah State continues to have several firsts this season, including sweeping Boise State for the first time since joining the WAC. USU had not even beaten the Broncos in WAC action until the win in Logan earlier this season. When the Aggies defeated Nevada in Reno on Feb. 8, it was the first they had won at the Lawlor Events Center.
CHANGING IT UP - In the first 21 games of the season, the Aggies started the same five for every game. Danyelle Snelgro, Ana Pares, Alice Coddington, Lydia Whitehead and Nicole Johnson started the first 21 games for USU this season. In the 22nd game against Fresno State, head coach Raegan Pebley made a change. Freshman Chelsea Burns made her first start of the season, while Whitehead came off the bench.
SWEET HOME LOGAN - After nearly a month without a game at home, the Aggie return home to the friendly confines of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Sunday, Feb. 22 against Idaho. The last time that Utah State played at home was a 63-61 loss to Hawai`i on Jan. 30.
SWATTING THE RECORD BOOKS - Several Aggies are forging their way into the Utah State record book, with 45 blocks this season, junior forward Nicole Johnson is already in the top 10 in the all-time single season list. She is now in fourth, passing Ali Marchant who had 38 blocks in the 2005 season. Johnson is only three blocks from tying Jessica Freeman who had 48 blocks in both 2005 and 2006. With 59 steals and 102 assists, senior guard Danyelle Snelgro now in the top 10 in both categories. She is tied for eighth in steals and seventh in assists. 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 - Utah State has returned to action after a week off from WAC play. With a win against Boise State, the Aggies improve to 6-5 in the WAC which still places them in sixth. Fresno State remains in first place with a 9-3 record. There are three players tied for second with 8-4 records, Louisiana Tech, Nevada and Idaho. Boise State is in fifth place with a 7-5 record. New Mexico State still holds the seventh spot with a 4-8 WAC record. Hawai`i and San Jose State round out the league. The Rainbow Wahine are eighth with a 3-9 record, while San Jose State is ninth a 1-12 mark.
POPE POWER - After averaging 3.0 ppg and 2.3 rpg during non-conference action, led by seven points at Utah Valley on Jan. 3, senior forward Shawnta Pope has come on strong during league play, averaging 6.7 ppg and 4.0 rbg, highlighted by 14 points at Idaho on Jan. 5 and a career-high 15 points at Fresno State on Feb. 1.
LAST TIME OUT - For the first-time since joining the WAC in 2005-06, the Utah State women's basketball team swept two-time defending Western Athletic Conference Champion, Boise State, with a thrilling 65-61 win over the Broncos. The Aggies crawled back from an 18-point deficit to earn the win. USU also defeated the Broncos in Logan, 58-44. With the win the Aggies even out there record at 12-12 and 6-5 in WAC play, while the Broncos fall to 14-12, 7-5 in conference action. USU is one win away from matching its most ever conference wins since joining the WAC. Overall, this is the best record the Aggies have had at this point in the season since the 2004-05 season when USU ended the season 14-14. Three-straight baskets by freshman forward Chelsea Burns helped preserve the Aggie win. With a 57-56 lead and two minutes remaining, Burns sunk a three-pointer to extend the lead to 60-56. A Heather Pilcher lay up closed the gap to 60-58. Burns responded again with another three and would hit one more jumper to seal the four-point victory. After having her double-digit scoring streak stopped at 13 against Nevada on Feb. 8, senior guard Ana Pares returned to form against Boise State, scoring 16. Senior guard Danyelle Snelgro led the Aggies with 17 points. Burns ended the game with 11 points, while senior forward Shawnta Pope added nine. After being down by as many as 18 points in the first half, the Aggies cut the lead down to as few as three with 14 minutes left in the second half. But a 6-0 run by Boise State increased its lead to nine points. The Aggies responded with an 8-0 led by Shawnta Pope and Amber White to cut the lead down to 41-40, the closest it had been since the start of the game. A three-point basket by junior forward Nicole Johnson gave the Aggies their first lead of the game, 43-41.
UNLUCKY 13? - Senior guard Ana Pares had her double-digit scoring streak stopped at 13 in the Aggies' win against Nevada on Feb. 8. She came close, scoring eight points in the win. Pares returned to form with 16 points against Boise State on Feb. 20. 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.
SNELGRO REACHES CAREER HIGH AGAIN - With 29 points in the win against Nevada on Feb. 8, senior guard Danyelle Snelgro broke her career high in points scored. The 29 points were the most scored by an Aggie this season. Her previous career high was 19 points against 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.
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 9-1 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. In the win against Boise State, 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.
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 198 career steals and 58this 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 299. Taylor Richards is the all-time assists leader with 371. Snelgro is second in the league in assists, averaging 4.17 apg. In WAC games, Snelgro is first in assists with 57 helps for an average of 5.70 apg.
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
NIFTY NIKKI - Junior Nicole Johnson is having a solid season. The forward is first in the WAC in blocks, averaging 1.95 blocks per game, just ahead of 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 43 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. Danyelle Snelgro is now second behind Idaho's Charlotte Otero, averaging 37.33 minutes per game. Ana Pares is third in the WAC in minutes played, averaging 37.17. Alice Coddington averages 31.38 mpg which places her tied for ninth, while Nicole Johnson rounds out the quartet of fit Aggies. Johnson averages 31.17 mpg, which places her 15th 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 164 games for the blue and white. Pebley now has 54 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.
