Jan. 5, 2010

Logan, Utah -

GAME #14Utah State (8-5) at Louisiana Tech (9-3)Wednesday, Jan. 6, 6:00 p.m. • Ruston, La. • Thomas Assembly Center (8,000)Radio Broadcast: 1390 AM •  www.UtahStateAggies.com

TIP OFF - Utah State women's basketball (8-5) won its fourth-straight game and improved to 6-1 in home games with a 78-70 win over UNLV on Jan. 2. Utah State will open its fifth Western Athletic Conference season against Louisiana Tech on Wednesday, Jan. 6 in Ruston. The Lady Techters are 9-3 this season and have won five-straight games, including three last week.

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THE OPPONENT - In its last game, sophomore guard Jasmine Bendolph scored 14 points and recorded a career-high eight assists to lead Louisiana Tech a 76-68 come-from-behind win over Southern Mississippi at Reed Green Coliseum.

Bendolph, who had only played a total of 26 minutes due to health reasons in Tech's last three games, played 38 minutes and hit a key basket with 36 seconds remaining to propel LA Tech to its fifth-straight win.

With the Lady Techsters clinging to a 69-68 lead, Bendolph drove the right side of the lane and hit a running one-hander off the glass with the shot clock running down to push the advantage to three. USM (4-9) would get no closer the rest of the way.

The Lady Techsters enter WAC play with a 9-3 record. Louisiana Tech have the most potent offense in the WAC, averaging 77.0 points per game. LTU is led Shanavia Dowdell who averages 17.7 ppg, while Adrienne Johnson averages 16.7 ppg. Dowdell was picked preseason WAC Player of the Year.

The Aggies are still looking for their first win against the Lady Techsters as Louisiana Tech holds an 8-0 series record against Utah State. The closest that the Aggies have been was an eight-point loss, 90-82, in Logan last season.

AGGIES VS LOUISIANA TECH IN THE WAC2005-06Louisiana Tech 73, USU 56 (Logan)Louisiana Tech 88, USU 54 (Ruston)
2006-07Louisiana Tech 69, USU 54 (Ruston)Louisiana Tech 71, USU 58 (Logan)
2007-08Louisiana Tech 71, USU 56 (Logan)Louisiana Tech 62, USU 46 (Ruston)
2008-09Louisiana Tech 90, USU 82 (Logan)Louisiana Tech 53, USU 46 (Ruston)Total 0-8

CODDINGTON BREAKS WAC RECORD - Junior guard Alice Coddington set a new Western Athletic Conference record with 13 steals in the Aggies win over Weber State on Dec. 21. Her previous career high was eight against Idaho State on Dec. 5. The 13 steals was also a Utah State record. She broke Carol Garrison's record of 12 steals against Northern Arizona in 1981. It was one shy of tying the NCAA record for steals in a game. The last player in the nation to reach 13 steals was IUPUI's Jernisha Cann against Gardner Webb on Nov. 24, 2007. The last player to reach 14 grabs was Georgia Tech's Jillian Ingram against Virginia Tech on Feb. 20, 2008. The 13 steals also bested the Western Athletic Conference record by two. Nevada's Cherlanda Franklin had 11 steals during the 2007-08 season and BYU's Tomika Young had 11 during the 1991-92 season.

PRINGLE-BUCHANAN STEPPING UP - Junior guard LaCale Pringle-Buchanan scored in double-digits in both the Aggies' wins last week against Utah Valley and UNLV. Pringle-Buchanan set a new career high with 18 points in the win against UNLV. She has now scored in double-digits in four of the 12 games in which she has played this season. Off the bench, the junior guard is averaging 7.5 points per game.

GODDARD BACK ON THE COURT - Freshman TJ Goddard is back in action after missing two games due to injuries. The guard missed games against Southern Utah and Utah Valley before returning for the game against UNLV. Goddard averages 8.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.

FUN FACTS - The last time that the Aggies and the Lady Techsters met in February of 2009, USU had won four-straight games. Same is true heading into this game as well. Those four-game winning streaks are the longest for the Aggies since winning five-straight games during the 1974-75 season.

HEADING INTO LEAGUE ACTION - As Utah State heads into WAC action, the Aggies are currently in fifth place in the league. Boise State is first in the WAC with an 11-3 record, while Louisiana Tech is in second place with a mark of 9-3. The Aggies of New Mexico State are currently third in the league with a 10-4, while Fresno State is fourth with a record of 9-5. After USU, Hawai`i and Nevada are tied for sixth with matching 6-7 records. San Jose State is eighth with a record of 4-9, while Idaho rounds out the league with a 2-11 mark.

BLOCK PARTY - Utah State is having a stellar blocking season so far this season. The Aggies have 60 blocks compared to 23 by its opponents. USU is second in the league in blocks, averaging 4.62 blocks per game. The Aggies' 60 blocks is the most by any team in the WAC. USU has three players in the top 10 in blocks. Senior forward Nicole Johnson is second in the league, averaging 1.77 bpg. Red-shirt freshman is seventh, averaging 1.33 bpg, coming off the bench. Senior center Lydia Whitehead is 10th, averaging 1.00 bpg.

HOME SWEET HOME - Utah State improved to 6-1 at home with a win against UNLV on Jan. 2. The Aggies lost their only game at home with the, 61-48, loss to BYU on Dec. 19. Utah State has wins against Weber State, Utah, Montana Western, Utah Valley and North Dakota State. The Aggies have 37-point win over Montana Western and a 21-point win over Weber State. USU is only two wins away from tying last season's home win total as USU was 8-7 at home last season.

WAC ACTION BEGINS - The Aggies concluded non-conference play against UNLV on Jan. 2. Utah State opens its fifth season in the WAC against Louisiana Tech on Wednesday, Jan. 6 in Ruston, La. The Aggies are 1-3 in WAC openers.

Utah State in WAC Openers2005-06 L, vs. San Jose State, 51-632006-07 L, vs Boise State, 70-802007-08 W, vs. San Jose State, 68-582008-09 L, at Idaho, 63-71

PRINGLE-BUCHANAN EARNS HONOR - Guard LaCale Pringle-Buchanan has been named the America First Credit Union Student Athlete of the Week for the week of Dec. 28-Jan. 3.

Pringle-Buchanan (Seattle, Wash.) came off the bench to lead Utah State to a pair of home wins against Utah Valley (63-45) and UNLV (78-70) last week. Against the Wolverines, she tied her career-high with 14 points to go along with three rebounds, two steals and one assist. Against the Rebels, she scored another career-high with 18 points in 24 minutes of action. She also added eight rebounds and three steals in the game. For the week, Pringle-Buchanan averaged 16.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals, and shot 50.0 percent (10-of-20) from the field and 66.7 percent from three-point range (4-6). This is the first honor for Pringle-Buchanan.

UP NEXT - Following the game at Louisiana Tech, the Aggies return home to host San Jose State on Saturday, Jan. 9. USU remains home to take on Nevada on Wednesday, Jan. 13. Following the two-game homestand, Utah State will travel to Fresno State (Jan. 16) and Hawai`i (Jan. 18).

AMONG THE TOP IN THE WAC - Senior Lydia Whitehead moved up to third this week in the WAC in rebounding. The center has 98 total rebounds this season for an average of 7.5 rebounds per game. Junior guard Alice Coddington is tops in the league in steals for the third-straight week, averaging 3.15 steals per game. The junior has 41 steals in 13 games. Junior guard Amber White is still in the top 20 in scoring. She stands 14th in the WAC in scoring, averaging 11.3 points per game. She is the only Aggie averaging in double digits on the team. Coddington is close averaging 8.4 ppg.

TOP 20 IN THE NATION - Junior guard Alice Coddington is 18th in the NCAA in steals per game averaging, 2.17 spg. As a team, Utah State is 83rd in the nation in steals, averaging 9.8 spg.

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.

FIRST-HALF FRENZY - The Aggies have led at halftime 10 times in 13 games so far this season. Utah State is 7-3 when leading at the half. The only three times this season that the Aggies have entered the locker room trailing were twice at the ASU Tournament in Tempe and against UNLV on Jan. 2. USU trailed at halftime in losses to Pepperdine and Idaho State. Overall, the Aggies have out-scored its opponents 404-343 in the first half. Conversely, USU's opponents half out-scored the Aggie 374-366 in the second half.

WAC ANNOUNCES PLAY UP TOUR DATES - The WAC has announced its dates for the women's basketball Play Up Tour for the 2009-2010 season. WAC giveaway items will be distributed and fans will have a chance to enter a drawing for a WAC Basketball Tournament package that includes two tickets to the tournament, airfare and hotel accommodations. The winner will be announced at the end of February.

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 - Guards Tahara Williams and LaCale Pringle-Buchanan netted career-highs of 18 points each to lead Utah State to a season-high scoring outing in a 78-70 win over UNLV at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in women's basketball action Saturday afternoon.

Williams, a senior, and Pringle-Buchanan, a junior, helped the Aggies match their longest win streak since reinstating women's basketball, with a four-game streak, matching last year. Before that, USU, which discontinued women's basketball from 1987-2003, hadn't won four in a row since the 1981-82 season.

Utah State finishes non-conference action with an 8-5 record, as the Aggies open up Western Athletic Conference action next week at Louisiana Tech. UNLV leveled its ledger at 7-7, losing two of its last three games. Saturday was just the Lady Rebels' second road loss in six games.

Additionally, Saturday was just the second-ever win over UNLV by Utah State, and the Aggies are now 2-14 all-time against the Lady Rebels, snapping a 14-game losing streak since USU's only other win, back in 1974. Saturday was just the second meeting between the teams since USU's reinstatement, facing off last season at Las Vegas, Nev., with UNLV winning, 84-79.

The 78 points scored by Utah State Saturday was a season-high, as the Aggies improved to 3-0 when topping 70 points and 6-0 now when scoring 60 or more points. It was the most points scored by USU since a 90-82 OT loss to LA Tech on Jan. 10, 2009 and the most points scored in a victory since Dec. 22, 2007 when the Aggies beat Saint Mary's, 81-60.

LAST TIME AGAINST LOUISIANA TECH - Offensive woes led to the Utah State women's basketball team's longest winning streak of the season to come to an end when it lost to second-place Louisiana Tech, 53-46, at the Thomas Assembly Center Saturday night. USU had won a season-high four-straight games prior to the loss.

With the loss, Utah State stands 14-13 overall and 8-6 in the Western Athletic Conference. With two games to play in WAC action, the Aggies will finish no worse than 8-8.

Senior forward Shawnta Pope led the Aggies with her first double-double of the season. Pope, who has been red hot of late, ended the game with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Louisiana Tech defense was tough on Aggie leading scorer Danyelle Snelgro, who scored only nine points to go along with four rebounds. Sophomore guard Alice Coddington added eight rebounds for the Aggies.

The Lady Techsters were led by three players who scored in double figures. Adrienne Johnson led all scorers with 20 points, while Shanavia Dowdell added 18 and Whitney Jones scored 10. In the first half Johnson, Dowdell and Jones accounted for all 26 Louisiana Tech points.

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.

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.

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 184 games for the blue and white and has 66 wins as Aggie head coach which is first ahead of Fern Gardner (55) on the all-time win list.