Nov. 9, 2010
LOGAN, Utah - TIP OFF - After an 84-50 exhibition win against the University of Mary, USU beings the 2010-11 season at home against Dixie State, Friday, Nov., 12 in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum at 4 p.m.
Complete Notes in PDF Format
THE OPPONENT - This will be the second meeting for the Aggies and the Red Storm, but the first in regular season action. In November of 2008, USU hosted Dixie State and was able to defeat them, 74-58 in an exhibition game. The Red Storm Dixie has competed in two road exhibition games, earning a win in each. The Red Strom defeated Utah Valley, 75-72 on Oct. 30 and traveled to Cedar City, Utah on Nov. 5 where they took down Southern Utah, 67-65.
PRACTICE IS OVER - While Utah State (0-0, 0-0 WAC) and Dixie State have both participated in at least one exhibition game, Friday night will open the regular season for both teams. The game is a doubleheader with tip off at 4p.m. and the USU's women's volleyball game to follow as they host Nevada at approximately 7 p.m., which will also be the volleyball team's Senior Night.
UP NEXT - Following the season opener against Dixie State the Aggies will hit the road for a game against North Dakota State, in Fargo, N.D. It will be the second time USU has taken on NDSU, as the Aggies defeated them, 58-46 on Dec. 14 in Logan.
LAST TIME OUT - Behind two starters in double-figures and a career-high rebounds from sophomore Diop, Utah State devastated the University of Mary in an exhibition game on Nov. 5. Junior Ashlee Brown netted 20 points in her first time in blue and white. Brown shot 50 percent from free-throw line (2-of-4), and was 9-of-15 from the field (60 percent) while adding two assists and a block on the night. Senior Amber White had 16 points and was perfect from the free-throw line (2-of-2). White also sunk two three-point shots and added an assist and two steals for the Aggies. Sophomore Banna Diop earned a career-high 14 rebounds, nabbing five of them during offensive action which proved beneficial for the Aggies attack.
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.
TURNING 23 - The 2010-11 season marks the 23rd year of women's basketball at USU, and just the eighth 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 sixth season in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) after playing its first two seasons in the Big West Conference.
AGGIES ON THE RADIO/WEB - All Utah State games can be heard on KLGN (1390 AM) in Logan with Evan Nyman. They can also be heard on the web by going to the Utah State Athletics home page at www.UtahStateAggies.com and clink on the"Listen Live" 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.
FAMILIAR FACES - Head coach Raegan Pebley and the Aggies have two starters among eight letterwinners returning from last season's squad that posted a 13-17 overall and 5-11 WAC record in senior guard/forward Amber White and senior guard Alice Coddington.
AROUND THE COURT - News and Notes from around the Aggie basketball court.
• After sitting out last season, junior Ashlee Brown and redshirt sophomore Chelsea Burns will dress in blue and white this season. Brown, a transfer from UC Santa Barbara, is a forward who looks to make an impact this season, while Burns sat our last year after an early-season injury.
• The Aggies have five newcomers this season, including three freshmen and two transfers.
• The Aggies are an international team with players from three different countries, including Australia (Stacey Howard, Alice Coddington and Maddy Plunkett), Senegal (Banna Diop) and 11 players from United States, none of which are from the state of Utah.
• USU returns its top three scores in White, averaging 11.5, senior LaCale Pringle-Buchanan at 8.4 and Coddington with an 8.3 ppg average.
COACH PEBLEY - Head coach Raegan Pebley is entering her eighth season as head coach at Utah State, which is the longest tenure in the program's history. Five games into 2007-08 season, Pebley overtook the lead for the most games coached in Utah State history (116). She has now coached 201 games for the blue and white. Pebley now has 71 wins as Aggie head coach which places above Cindy Perkins (51) on the all-time win list.
NEWCOMERS - The Aggies add five newcomers this year from all around the country. Juni transfrer Reyneisha Mays joins the squad from Moorpark College (Granada Hills, Calif.) Junior Maddy Plunkett is a transfer from College of Southern Idaho, following in the footsteps as team mate senior LaCale Pringle-Buchanan. The three freshman joing the Aggies this year include Kamie Imai ( Waiakea HS) comes to USU from Pahoa, Hawaii. Jennifer Schlott from Mesa, Ariz. (Mountain View HS) and Stephanie Larson from Tustin, Calif. (Foothill HS).
IN THE CLASSROOM - Nine players earned academic all-WAC honors in 2009, including Alice Coddington, Bana Diop, Stavey Howard, Nicole Johnson, Tahara Williams, Lydia Whitehead, Devyn Christensen, Paulei Furtado and Jenna Johnson.
2010-11 AGGIE OUTLOOK -Entering the 2010-11 season the Aggies look to experience on the offensive end of the court as they return 65 percent of their offense from last season, including their top-three scorers in seniors Amber White, Alice Coddington and LaCale Pringle-Buchanan. Coddington led the WAC in steals last year, White was the Aggies' points leader and Pringle-Buchanan was the second-leading scorer for the Aggies. "We, as a team, have high expectations for the season," said head coach Raegan Pebley. "I feel this group is willing to have their commitment level match those expectations." Utah State enters its sixth year in the Western Athletic Conference, returning eight players from the 2009-10 roster, including two starters in Coddington and White. USU finished 13-17 overall and 5-11 in league play. After a loss in the first round last year to eventual-ournament champion Louisiana Tech, USU has set its sights set higher this season. In 2009, The Aggie reached the semi-finals for the first time since joining the WAC in the 2005-06 season. "As a team we worked to redefine ourselves after the loss of the 2008-09 senior class of Ana Pares, Danyelle Snelgro, Shawnta Pope and Ndoumbe Diop. That group played a lot of minutes and often willed us to win. I feel like the 2009-10 season was a step forward in the right direction," Pebley said. USU returns eight letterwinners, including a quartet White, Coddington, Pringle-Buchanan and forward Stacey Howard. The Aggies' sophomore lineup is deep as they bring back four, among them sophomore-guard/forward Chelsea Burns who missed last season due to an injury, guard Devyn Christensen, forward/center Banna Diop, guard Pualei Furtado and guard Jenna Johnson. USU also welcomes to the court redshirt, junior forward Ashlee Brown a transfer from UC Santa Barbara. "We found ourselves in a lot of tight games last year that came down to 3-4 crucial possessions. I believe that experience helps teams win those games. We were 16 points away from five more wins last season. This season is a chance to show what we learned and turn those tight losses into big wins," Pebley said. Five newcomers will hit the hardwood for USU this year including, junior Reyneisha Mays, a transfer from Moorpark College and junior Maddy Plunkett, a transfer from College of Southern Idaho. USU adds three true freshmen in Kamie Imai (Pahoa, Hawaii/Walakead HS), Stephanie Larson (Tustin, Calif./Foothill HS) and Jennifer Schlott (Mesa, Ariz./Mountain View HS). "With effective internal leadership, solid practice habits and health, I believe that this team can accomplish their goals," Pebley said.
Guards Some of the leadership will come from returning starter and senior guard Alice Coddington was named to the WAC's all-defensive team. The Canberra, Australia native led the team in assists with 81 (2.9 per game) and steals with 75 (2.5 ppg) last season which also led the WAC. She also added 8.3 ppg for the Aggies. Senior Amber White will undoubtedly make a strong appearance for the Aggies as a guard this season. Along with being USU's leading scorer, she was one of three Aggies to earn conference honors as she was named second-team all-WAC. LaCale Pringle-Buchanan was the Aggies second leading-scorer behind White, with 8.4 ppg. Pringle-Buchanan was also second on the team behind Coddington, in steals with 60 (2.0 ppg). Pringle-Buchanan sits behind Diop (46) as the returner with the most offensive rebounds at 43 (1.43 ppg). Pebley sees promise in the experience returning to the court. Sophomore Devyn Christensen ended the 2009-10 with a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line and nabbed 42 points in 21 games. In addition to Christensen USU also welcomes back sophomore guard Pualei Furtado, Jenna Johnson and "I am excited about not only returning Alice, Amber and LaCale, but also the depth that our other guards will bring. I feel that our sophomore class of guards worked really hard last year to develop within our system and they are ready to be more consistent contributors to the team's success."
Forwards Sophomore Chelsea Burns will return to the court for USU and will build off her freshman year, where she was third on the team in three-point percentage and scored 3.4 ppg before an injury landed her on the sideline for the 2009-10 campaign. Stacey Howard should also be a notable contributor for the team this year, after seeing action in 26 games. She was third in rebounds with 117 during the 2009-10 season. "Our point forward position has a critical role in what we do on the court," Pebley said. "While they need to defend opponents' posts, they need to make decisions with the ball like a point and have immense versatility in scoring. This position allows us some creativity and flexibility in what we do on both sides of the floor. I really like the depth and competition that Stacey, Chelsea, Maddy and Ashlee bring to this position this season."
Centers Despite losing Nicole Johnson and Lydia Whitehead at the four - five spots, the Aggies still have depth and height in redshirt sophomore center Banna Diop who was the second-leading rebounder, bringing down 142 rebounds in 2009-10. Diop earned WAC all-freshman team honors last season. USU also adds experience and talent with junior transfer from Moorpark College, Reyneisha Mays. Junior transfer Maddy Plunkett will also join the Aggies on the court. Plunkett is a transfer from College of Southern Idaho, from where fellow CSI Alum Pringle-Buchanan transferred and made a immediate impact for USU last season. "The size and experience in our post position is a force that our opponents will have to deal with. There is no question that the potential is there for our posts to be one of the best front courts in the WAC. This group needs to take this as a challenge to collectively commit themselves to not only be a scoring presence, but a rebounding and defensive force," Pebley said.
The Schedule This season, Utah State will play 29 regular season games, including one exhibition and 15 at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Last year the Aggies were 6-1 in non-conference action at home. Utah State will face six in-state rivals this season including BYU, Weber State, Southern Utah, Utah Valley, Utah and Dixie State. Last year, the Aggies were a stellar 4-1 against in-state rivals only losing to BYU. This is the first year USU will face Dixie State. The Aggies will face eight teams that reached the NCAA Tournament or the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) in 2009-2010, including BYU (Quarterfinal, WNIT), Utah (second round, WNIT), Wyoming (third round, WNIT), Nevada (first round, WNIT), New Mexico State (first round, WNIT), South Dakota State (first round, NCAA Tournament), Fresno State (first round, NCAA Tournament), Louisiana Tech (first round, NCAA Tournament). Once again, the WAC will play a double round-robin format. This season, the Aggies will play the bulk of their WAC schedule on Thursdays and Saturdays. The top eight teams after regular season play will advance to the WAC tournament.
Pre-Season Notes
• Raegan Pebley is entering her eighth 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 201 games for the navy and white and has 71 wins as Aggie head coach, which is first ahead of Fern Gardner (55) on the all-time win list.
• USU's coaching staff is excited to welcome back former stand-out guard Danyelle Snelgro as an assistant coach. Snelgro was the team's career leader in steals and is the sixth player all-time to score over 1,000 points. The Aggies also welcome Hanna Howard who brings with her three years of coaching experience from UC San Diego and earned her masters in coaching and athletic administration in February 2005. Associate coach George Brosky is returning for his seventh season with the Aggies
• The Aggies graduated four players in last year including Nicole Johnson, Lydia Whitehead, Tahara Williams and LeeAnn Palo.
• Senior Alice Coddington set a new Utah State and WAC record for number of steals in a game with 13 against Weber State (Dec. 21). Coddington is third on USU's list of most steals in one season after nabbing 75 last year and is fourth on the list of total career steals with 153.
• Last season, the Aggies knocked down a WAC-leading 144 blocked shots, which is more than twice the 57 that the Aggies allowed their opponents to swat.
• For the second season in a row USU led the WAC with the best scoring defense with 60.1 ppg allowed average.
• Amber White became the third Aggie to earn all-WAC honors as she was named to the all-WAC second-team. In 2008-09 Danyelle Snelgro and Ana Pares became the first Aggies to earn all-WAC.
