Feb. 12, 2010

RENO, Nev. -

GAME #24Utah State (12-11, 4-6 WAC)  at Nevada (13-11, 7-3 WAC)Saturday, Feb. 13, 5:30 p.m. (MT) • Reno, Nev. • Lawlor Events Center (11,536)Radio Broadcast: 1390 AM •  www.UtahStateAggies.com

TIP OFF - Utah State women's basketball (12-11, 4-6 WAC) snapped a two-game losing streak with a 20-point win over San Jose State on Thursday, Feb. 11. The Aggies look to win their second-straight game at Nevada on Saturday, Feb. 13 at 5:30 p.m. (MT). It is the first half of a doubleheader with the Nevada men's team. In its last outing, the second-place Wolf Pack fell to Boise State, 65-51, in Boise on Feb. 10.

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THE OPPONENT - In its last game, Nevada had three players score in double figures but the Pack fell at Boise State, 65-51, Wednesday night in Boise, Idaho.

With the loss Nevada fell to 13-11 overall (7-3 WAC) while Boise State improved to 15-9 overall (4-6 WAC). Moore led the Pack with 13 points while Robinson scored 11 and Nicole Williams added 10. Moore recorded six rebounds while four players recorded four rebounds each for the Pack. Nevada shot 33.3 percent (18-of-54) from the floor.

The Wolf Pack has a 7-5 overall series lead over the Aggies, including a 69-58 win in Logan on Jan. 13.

Nevada is led by Tahnee Robinson who averages 15.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Shavon Moore is second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. As a team, Nevada averages 62.6 points per game, while allowing only 61.0 points per game. The Wolf Pack also average 41.0 rebounds per game, while allowing only 35.8 rebounds by its opponents.

AGGIES VS NEVADA IN THE WAC2005-06Nevada 64, USU 54 (in Reno)Nevada 67, USU 51 (in Logan)
2006-07USU 59, Nevada 44 (in Logan)Nevada 61, USU 49  (in Reno)Nevada 61, USU 60 (WAC Tournament in Las Cruces)
2007-08Nevada 75, USU 55 (in Reno)USU 56, Nevada 48  (in Logan)
2008-09Nevada 56, USU 49 (in Logan)USU 63, Nevada 52 (in Reno)
2009-10Nevada 69, USU 58 (in Logan)Overall Record: 3-7

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE - Utah State has had several doubleheaders this season. So far this season, the Aggies are 2-2 in doubleheaders. Three of the five doubleheaders have been at home. The only road doubleheader was at Boise State. The Aggies still have two more home doubleheaders on Feb. 17 and on March to end the regular season. Utah State's Feb. 13 game at Nevada will be its second road doubleheader of the season.

PRINGLE-BUCHANAN BRINGS DOWN FIRST DOUBLE-DOUBLE - In Utah State's win over San Jose State, junior guard LaCale Pringle-Buchanan had her first double-double in a USU uniform with 10 points and 10 rebounds. It was the seventh double-double for an Aggie this season. Lydia Whitehead has four, while Banna Diop, Alice Coddington and Amber White all have one double-double this season.

BRILLIANT BENCH - In conference games this season, Utah State's bench has been key to its success. In eight conference games, the Aggie bench averages 21.9 points per game compared to 15.3 by their opponents. USU's bench has scored a total of 197 points in WAC games as compared to 138 by its opponents. Junior guard LaCale Pringle-Buchanan is the leading scorer off the bench, averaging 9.7 points per game.

BIG-SHOT AGGIES - The Aggies improved to 9-1 when scoring at least 60 points with a 66-46 win over San Jose State on Feb. 11. USU's only loss when scoring 60+ points came on Jan. 30 when USU fell to Boise State 70-63. The Aggies are undefeated this season when scoring 70+ points, going 3-0. JOHNSON TIES BLOCK RECORD - with a block of Sayja Sumler's shot on Feb. 11, senior forward Nicole Johnson tied Jessica Freeman in career blocks at Utah State. Freeman, who played from 2003-06, and Johnson both now have 127 career blocks as an Aggie. Johnson now has 42 blocks to lead the WAC this season.

STEALING A RECORD - Junior guard Alice Coddington is not only leading the WAC in steals this season, she is also climbing the USU record books. Coddington now has 64 steals this season after 23 games. The 64 steals now places her seventh on the single-season Aggie charts. Carol Garrison has the record for the steals in the season with 94 steals during the 1981 season. Last season, Danyelle Snelgro finished third in single-season steals with 73, landing her a spot on the WAC's all-defensive team.

CODDINGTON BREAKS WAC RECORD FOR STEALS - 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.

SEASON LOWS - Utah State had several season lows in the loss to Louisiana Tech on Feb. 6. The Aggie starters scored only 22 points in the loss. USU also had a season-low four assists. The Aggies shot only 29.2 percent from the field in the loss to the Lady Techsters. Utah State had only one worse shooting percent this season when the Aggies shot 29.1 percent against Pepperdine on Dec. 4.

THREE JOIN THE RECORD BOOKS - Three Utah State players joined the record books with their shot-blocking ability. Senior forward Nicole Johnson leads the pack with 42 blocks this season which places her fifth on the single-season charts. Jill Swainston holds the all-time single-season block record with 70 during the 1987 season. Senior center Lydia Whitehead has 25 blocks this season, while red-shirt freshman Banna Diop has 24 blocks. They are both on the cusp of breaking the top 10.

NEARING BLOCK RECORD - The Aggies are close to breaking another record. Utah State currently has 111 blocks this season. Since the re-instatement, there have been only two teams with more blocks. The 2004-05 team swatted 111 balls. Last season's team set the record with 128 blocks. This year's team is only 18 blocks away from tying that record.

LOOKING AROUND THE WAC - Fresno State continues to remain undefeated in WAC play with a win over Idaho on Feb. 10. The Bulldogs are now 10-0. Despite losing to Boise State on Feb. 11, Nevada still stands in second place alone with a 7-3 record. Louisiana Tech is still in third with a 6-3 mark, while New Mexico State is fourth with a 6-4 record. Those four teams are the only teams above. 500. Utah State and Boise State are tied for fifth with matching 4-6 records. For the first time this season, only eight of the nine WAC teams will advance to the WAC Tournament in Reno, Nev. This season, the play-in game between the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds has been eliminated in both the men and women's tournaments.

TOP 20 IN THE NATION - Junior guard Alice Coddington is 26th in the NCAA in steals per game averaging, 2.8 spg. As a team, Utah State is 64th in the nation in scoring defense, averaging 58.9 ppg. USU is also 28th in the nation in blocked shots, averaging 5.0 bpg.

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. BLOCK PARTY - Utah State is having a stellar blocking season so far this season. The Aggies have 111 blocks compared to 50 by its opponents. USU is first in the league in blocks, averaging 4.83 blocks per game. The Aggies' 111 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 first in the league, averaging 1.83 bpg. Red-shirt freshman Banna Diop is sixth, averaging 1.09 bpg off the bench. Senior center Lydia Whitehead is seventh, averaging 1.09 bpg.

WAC ACTION BEGINS - The Aggies concluded non-conference play against UNLV on Jan. 2. Utah State opened its fifth season in the WAC against Louisiana Tech on Wednesday, Jan. 6 in Ruston, La. The Aggies are now 2-3 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, 63-712009-10 W, at Louisiana Tech, 69-66

UP NEXT - USU concludes its road trip at Nevada (Feb. 13). USU will play four of its next five on the road. The lone home game will be on Wednesday, Feb. 17 against WAC front-runner, Fresno State. It is the front half of a doubleheader with the USU men's team.

AMONG THE TOP IN THE WAC - Senior Lydia Whitehead is fourth this week in the WAC in rebounding, averaging 7.1 rpg. Junior guard Alice Coddington is still first in the league in steals, averaging 2.78 steals per game. The junior has 64 steals in 23 games. Junior guard Amber White is still in the top 20 in scoring. She stands 12th in the WAC in scoring, averaging 11.6 points per game. She is the only Aggie averaging in double digits on the team.

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.

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.

AGGIE INCENTIVE PLAN - Utah State continues its 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. Attend as many USU women's basketball games as possible and accumulate points, for a chance to win great prizes!!

Upcoming EventsPoint Breakdown for Each Game2/17/10 vs. Fresno State    3:00 p.m.- 5 points2/27/10 vs. Idaho   3:00 p.m.- 2 points
Non-Conference Weekday Games - 10 pointsNon-Conference Weekend Games - 4 pointsConference Weekday Games - 5 pointsConference Weekend Games - 2 points
Prizes for Points Accumulated20 points - USU Water bottle40 points - USU T-Shirt60 points - USU Sweatshirt80 points - USU Women's Team Autographed Basketball

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 AGAINST NEVADA - In a match-up of two conference unbeatens, Nevada pulled away for a 69-58 win over Utah State in women's basketball action at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, snapping the Aggies' six-game win streak.

USU is now 2-1 in Western Athletic Conference action and 10-6 overall, dropping just its second home loss against seven home wins. Nevada improves to 3-0 in WAC play and 9-8 overall. It was the third-straight win by the visiting team in the series, as the Wolf Pack have now won two in a row in Logan and take a 7-3 lead in WAC meetings and a 7-5 all-time series advantage.

Senior center Lydia Whitehead led USU with 13 points, while junior guard Amber White tossed in 12 and junior guard LaCale Pringle-Buchanan came off the bench to net 11, hitting a pair of three-pointers. Wednesday was White's sixth-straight game in double-digits and ninth time in 10 games and a team-leading 13th time this season. Pringle-Buchanan registered double-figures for the fifth game in a row and seventh this year.

Nevada was led by Johnna Ward with 18 points, all in the first half, hitting four three-pointers. Tahnee Robinson posted 11, while reserve Nicole Williams also added 11, hitting seven free throws as Nevada was 20-of-24 (83.3 percent) at the charity stripe.

LAST TIME OUT - Not only did the Utah State women's basketball team break a two-game losing streak, it also made history, as USU defeated San Jose State 66-46 Thursday. In the win, junior forward Nicole Johnson tied the record for career blocks.

At the 9:42 mark of the first half, Johnson cemented her spot in Utah State history with a block of Sayja Sumler's shot. The block tied her with Jessica Freeman for career blocks in the Aggie blue. Johnson now has 127 career blocks in her four-year USU career.

Utah State improved to 12-11 overall and 4-6 in Western Athletic Conference action. San Jose State fell to 5-18 overall and 1-9 in WAC action. The Aggies swept the series with the Spartans and improved to 7-3 overall against the Spartans since joining the WAC.

The Aggies were led by junior guard LaCale Pringle-Buchanan's first double-double in a USU uniform, scoring 10 points with 10 rebounds. Fellow junior guard Amber White led all scorers with 12 points. Red-shirt freshman Banna Diop added eight points and five rebounds in her first career start. San Jose State was led by Ashley Brown's 10 points and three assists. Samantha Marez and Shaunna Ridge both added nine points and five assists in the loss.

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 in 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 194 games for the blue and white and has 70 wins as Aggie head coach which is first ahead of Fern Gardner (55) on the all-time win list.

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.