Feb. 26, 2010

LOGAN, Utah -

GAME #27Idaho (8-18, 6-7 WAC) at Utah State (12-14, 4-9 WAC)Saturday, Feb. 27, 2:00 p.m. (MT) • Logan, Utah • Dee Glen Smith Spectrum (10,270)Radio Broadcast: 1390 AM •  www.UtahStateAggies.com

TIP OFF - Utah State women's basketball (12-14, 4-9 WAC) looks to snap a three-game losing streak against Idaho at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Feb. 27 at 2 p.m. USU has a trio of home games left to conclude the regular season. The Aggies concluded the regular-season road schedule with a, 73-54, loss to New Mexico State on Feb. 23. In the loss to the Crimson Aggies, junior guard LaCale Pringle-Buchanan scored a career-high 22 points and added a career-high six steals.

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THE OPPONENT - In its last game, Idaho parlayed an 18-point halftime lead into a 74-59 WAC win over San Jose State. The Vandals improved to 8-18 overall and 6-7 in the WAC in their quest to secure the best possible seed in the post-season tournament. The Spartans dropped to 6-21 and 2-12.

Sophomore Shaena Kuehu had one of her best nights as a Vandal with a team-best 16 points to go with five rebounds, four steals and a career-high six assists. Freshman Natasha Helsham came off the bench for 11 points and junior Yinka Olorunnife had 10 points and seven rebounds before fouling out with slightly more than seven minutes to play.

Earlier this season, the Aggies defeated Idaho in one of USU's most thrilling wins of the season. Senior guard Tahara Williams drained a jumper with one second remaining break a season-high four game losing streak for USU.

With the win in January, the Aggies now hold a 6-4 advantage over the Vandals in WAC games. Overall, Idaho holds the overall series lead 11-7, as the UI was 7-1 before both schools joined the WAC prior to the 2005-06 season.

The Vandals are led by a trio of player who average in double digits in points scored. Rachele Kloke leds the way, averaging 14.2 points per game. Shaena Kuehu scores 11.5 points per game, while Yinka Olorunnife averages 10.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.

AGGIES VS IDAHO IN THE WAC2005-06Idaho 54, USU 51 (in Moscow)USU 63, Idaho 53 (in Logan)
2006-07USU 78, Idaho 70 (in Logan)USU 57, Idaho 53 (in Moscow)
2007-08Idaho 70, USU 64 (OT) (in Moscow)Idaho 67, USU 55 (in Logan)
2008-09Idaho 71, USU 63 (in Moscow)USU 70, Idaho  64 2OT (in Logan)USU 59, Idaho 58  OT (in Reno, Nev. @ the WAC Tournament)
2009-10USU 57, Idaho 55 (in Moscow)Overall Record: 6-4

PRINGLE-BUCHANAN SETS NEW CAREER HIGH - One game after junior guard Amber White scored a career-high 27 points in the Aggies close loss to Fresno State on Feb. 17, fellow guard LaCale Pringle-Buchanan scored her career high. The junior became only the second Aggie to score 20 points in a game this season when she scored 22 in a loss to New Mexico State on Feb. 23. USU players have scored over 20 points three times this season. White scored 27 against Fresno State and 25 against Utah to go along with Pringle-Buchanan's 22.

LOOKING AT THE CALENDAR - For the second time in as many games, Utah State will play a team exactly one month after the first time it played the team. The Aggies took on New Mexico State on Jan. 23 in Logan and then met them for the second time on Feb. 23. USU defeated Idaho on Jan. 27 in Moscow and will face the Vandals for the second time on Feb. 27 in Logan.

IN THE WINS - In USU's 12 wins this season, it has averaged 65.2 points per game, while allowing only 52.2. In those games, the Aggies have been led by junior Amber White who averages 13.1 points per game in the wins and 11.8 points overall. USU has a scoring margin of +13.0 in the victories, shooting .442 in those games.

FREAKY FEBRUARY - The Aggies will be looking forward to the end of February. USU is 1-4 this month, including losing the last three games. Utah State's only win this month was a 66-46 win over San Jose State in San Jose on Feb. 11.

CLOSE GAMES - Utah State and Idaho have had several close games the last few years. Since joining the WAC the two teams have had three overtime games and five games that have been decided by six points or less.

NEARING BLOCK RECORD - The Aggies are close to breaking another record. Utah State currently has 122 blocks this season. Since the re-instatement, there has been only one team with more blocks. Last season's team set the record with 128 blocks. This year's team is only eight blocks away from tying that record. The 2004-05 team swatted 111 balls.

NEARING THE END - USU is close to concluding its fifth WAC regular season. The Aggies have three more regular-season games remaining against Idaho (Feb. 27), Boise State (March 3) and Hawai`i (March 6). Last season, the Aggies had their best WAC finish with a 9-7 record. In its first season in the WAC, USU had its worst season in the WAC with a 2-14 league record. This season, Utah State is currently 4-9 in conference action.

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 45 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. Red-shirt freshman Banna Diop has 28 blocks this season, while senior center Lydia Whitehead has 27 this season. Diop is now 10th on the Aggies' single-season list, while Whitehead is just outside the top 10.

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.

RECORDS FALL UNDER PEPLEY - Senior forward Nicole Johnson's blocked shot record is the 10th record that has been broken under head coach Raegan Pebley. This is the third time that the blocked shot record has been broken. Ali Marchant (2003-06) and Jessica Freeman (2003-06) both topped Jill Swainston's (1987) record of 70 blocked shots. Marchant had 74 blocks, while Freeman had 127. Johnson currently has 128 career blocks.

Other records broken under Pebley are assists by Taylor Richards (2005-08) with 371 career helpers. The steals record also was topped by Danyelle Snelgro (2006-09) with 216. The field goal percentage record was the second record broken by Marchant with a 53.5 percent career mark. Marchant also holds the free throws made (262) and attempted (393). Brittany Phillips (2003-07) topped the three point field goal record, finishing her career at 37.9 percent. Ana Pares (2006-09) and Brittany Hagen (2004-07) share three-point field goals made with 83 treys, while Hagen owns the three-point field goals attempted record 333.

JOHNSON SEALS HER SPOT IN HISTORY - At the 19:07 mark of the second half against Nevada on Feb. 13, senior forward Nicole Johnson blocked a Shavon Moore jumper to put her in the USU record books. In the Aggie's win over San Jose State on Feb. 11, Johnson blocked a shot to tie Jessica Freeman for first place. The 129 blocks places her fifth in the Western Athletic Conference for career blocks. BYU's Debbie Dimond is the WAC's all-time block leader with 151. Johnson now has 45 blocks this season which places her fifth on USU's single-season charts.

CODDINGTON CLIMBING THE CHARTS - So far this season, junior guard Alice Coddington has 71 steals. Those 71 steals place Coddington tied for fourth with Corrina Poto (1982) and Margaret Johns (1982). Carol Garrison is the all-time leader with 94 steals during the 1981 season. Danyelle Snelgro's 73 steals last season was third all-time on the Aggie steal charts.

LOOKING AROUND THE WAC - Fresno State is still undefeated in WAC play with a 14-0 WAC record and 23-5 overall. Louisiana Tech and Nevada are tied for second in league play with matching 9-4 records. New Mexico State is fourth with an even 7-7 mark. Boise State and Idaho are both ahead of USU, standing tied for fifth with 6-7 records. The Aggies are in seventh place ahead of Hawaii and San Jose State, respectively. 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.

BLOCK PARTY - Utah State is having a stellar blocking season so far this season. The Aggies have 122 blocks compared to 57 by its opponents. USU is first in the league in blocks, averaging 4.69 blocks per game. The Aggies' 122 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 1.73 bpg. Red-shirt freshman Banna Diop is seventh, averaging 1.12 bpg. Senior center Lydia Whitehead is eighth, averaging 1.04 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 - Utah State closes out the regular season with three-straight home games against Idaho (Feb. 27), Boise State (Mar. 3) and Hawai`i (Mar. 6).

AMONG THE TOP IN THE WAC - Senior Lydia Whitehead has dropped to seventh this week in the WAC in rebounding, averaging 6.6 rpg. Junior guard Alice Coddington is still first in the league in steals, averaging 2.73 steals per game. The junior has 71 steals in 26 games. Junior guard Amber White is still in the top 20 in scoring. She is still 10th this week in the WAC in scoring, averaging 11.8 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 Game2/27/10 vs. Idaho   3:00 p.m.- 2 points3/3/10 vs. Boise State  7:00 p.m. - 5 points3/6/10 vs. Hawai`i  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 IDAHO - A Tahara Williams jumper with one second remaining in the game led the Utah State women's basketball to a thrilling, 57-55, win over Idaho at the Cowan Spectrum on Wednesday. The win snaps a season-high four-game losing streak for the Aggies.

For the fifth-straight game, Utah State scored less than 60 points, but for the first time the Aggies captured the win. With the victory, Utah State improves to 11-9 overall and 3-4 in Western Athletic Conference action. Idaho falls to 4-15 overall and 2-3 in league play.

Williams was the Aggies' leading scorer with 12 points. The senior also added two rebounds and four assists in the win. Junior guard Amber White and red-shirt freshman Banna Diop both scored 10 points, while senior center Lydia Whitehead dished in nine points.

Senior forward Nicole Johnson moved closer to history with two blocks. Johnson is now three blocks away from tying Jessica Freeman for the career block record of 127. The senior now has 124 blocks overall and 39 this season.

Idaho was led by Shaena Kuehu and Rachele Kloke who both scored 14 points. Yinka Olorunnife led all players with nine rebounds.

LAST TIME OUT - Despite a career-high 22 points from junior guard LaCale Pringle-Buchanan, the Utah State women's basketball team was stopped by New Mexico State, 73-54, Tuesday night in Las Cruces, N.M.

USU dropped its third-straight game with loss and falls to 12-14 overall and 4-9 in the Western Athletic Conference. New Mexico State improved to 17-11 overall and 7-7 in league play. Win the win, NMSU captured the season series for only the second time since both teams joined the WAC during the 2005-06 season.

Pringle-Buchanan led the Aggies with 22 points, while fellow junior guard Alice Coddington was the only other USU player to score in double digits with 10 points. Pringle Buchanan also added a career-high six steals in the loss. USU, which was out-rebounded 40-36, was led on the boards by eight rebounds from red-shirt freshman Banna Diop.

New Mexico State had a quartet of players in double digits led by the game-high 24 points from Crystal Boyd. Madison Spence, Camilia Rosen and Jasmine Lowe all added 10 points for the Crimson Aggies. Boyd ended the game with nine rebounds, while Spence brought down eight boards.

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 197 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.