March 5, 2010

LOGAN, Utah -

GAME #29Hawai`i (10-18, 4-11 WAC) at Utah State (12-16, 4-11 WAC)Saturday, March 3, 3:00 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 (12-16, 4-11 WAC) concludes the regular season on Saturday, March 6 against Hawai`i at 3 p.m. The battle between the Aggies and the Rainbow Wahine has a lot of meaning. The two teams are playing for seeding in the upcoming WAC Tournament. The winner of the game will be the seventh seed in the tournament. The game is the first half of a doubleheader with the USU men's team who will take on New Mexico State at 7:05 p.m.

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IN CHARGE OF THEIR DESTINY - The Aggies final game of the regular season is a big one. Not only is USU trying to snap a season-high five game losing streak, it is also vying for position in the upcoming WAC Tournament in Reno, Nev. The Aggies control their own destiny. If Utah State wins, it will be the No. 7 in the WAC Tournament and will take on No. 2 Louisiana Tech at 8:30 PT. If the Aggies lose to the Rainbow Wahine, they will face top-seeded Fresno State at 12:00 p.m. PT on Wednesday, March 20.

FILLING OUT YOUR BRACKET - The top three seeds in the upcoming WAC Tournament are already set. With it undefeated season, Fresno State has earned the top seed. Louisiana Tech has locked in the second seed, while host Nevada is the third seed. San Jose State will not make the tournament this season with only the top eight teams advancing. The other seeds will be determined following the conclusion of the regular season on Saturday, March 6. Boise State, Idaho and New Mexico State will be fighting for the 4,5 and 6 positions, depending on how the teams do in the regular-season finale.

THE OPPONENT - Senior Dita Liepkalne made her last game at the Stan Sheriff Center a memorable one. The senior from Riga, Latvia, scored a season-high 17 points, including a career-high four 3-pointers in a 66-64 win over Boise State on Feb. 24. Liepkalne played 36 minutes and added three rebounds and three assists.

Earlier this season, the Rainbow Wahine extended the Aggies losing streak with a 69-56 win in Honolulu. USU was led by a career-high 12 rebounds from senior Nicole Johnson.But the sharp shooting from the Rainbow Wahine sunk the Aggies.

With the win in January, the Rainbow Wahine hold a 8-1 lead in games since USU joined the WAC. Overall, Hawai`i holds a 8-5 series lead.

UH is led by a duo who average in double digits. Shawna Kuehu averages 12.6 point and 6.6 rebounds per game, while Keisha Kanekoa brings down 11.3 ppg.

AGGIES VS HAWAI`I IN THE WAC2005-06Hawai`i 61, USU 48 (in Honolulu)Hawai`i 63, USU 50 (in Logan)
2006-07Hawai`i 79, USU 63 (in Logan)Hawai`i 62, USU 57 (in Honolulu)
2007-08Hawai`i 55, USU 48 (in Logan)Hawai`i 69, USU 42 (in Honolulu)
2008-09USU 52, Hawai`i 43 (in Honolulu)Hawai`i 63, USU 61 (in Logan)
2009-10Hawai`i  69, USU 56 (in Honolulu)Overall Record: 1-8

PLAYING TIME - Utah State has had five players who have seen playing time in all 28 games this season, including junior guards Amber White and Alice Coddington who are the only two Aggies to have started all 28 games. Both White and Coddington are the only Aggies to average over 30 minutes per game. Senior Lydia Whitehead, Nicole Johnson and Tahara Williams have also played in every game this season. All three have started at least 19 games this season.

SENIOR SALUTE - Utah State will say goodbye to a quartet of seniors who will be playing their final game at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Saturday. Two of the seniors, Tahara Williams and Lydia Whitehead are transfers. Williams game to Utah State from Colgate, while Whitehead came from instate rival Utah. Senior forward Nicole Johnson is a two-year starter and will end her USU career in the top 10 in games played. Senior guard LeeAnn Palo fought knee injuries much of her Aggie career.

CONFERENCE FINISHES - USU is close to concluding its fifth WAC regular season. The Aggies have one more regular-season game remaining against Hawai`i (March 6). Last season, the Aggies had their best WAC finish with a 9-7 record. The 2008-09 season was the only season that the Aggies have finished above .500 since joinging the WAC. In its first season in the WAC, USU had its worst season in the WAC with a 2-14 league record during the its first season in the WAC during the 2005-06 season. This season, Utah State is currently 4-11 in conference action.

GETTING THE PRODUCTION - Looking toward the future, several Aggies have garnered valuable experience this season. Looking ahead to next season, USU only loses four players. USU's large freshmen class has been getting a lot of experience led by red-shirt freshmen Banna Diop and TJ Goddard. All five of the freshmen have played in at least 12 games this season.

AGGIES BREAK BLOCK RECORD - With four blocks against Boise State on March 3, USU broke the modern era block record. Utah State currently has 131 blocks this season. Since the re-instatement, last season's team held the record with 128 blocks. The 2004-05 team swatted 111 balls.

CLOSE GAMES - The Aggies are 1-3 in games decided by five points or less this season. The loss to Idaho, 54-53, was USU's first loss by one point this season.

SELECTION MONDAY SHOW - ESPN will once again televise live the announcement of the bracket for the 2010 championship. This will take place on Monday, March 15 at 7 p.m. Eastern.

THE CRUELEST MONTH - The poet T.S. Eliot may have written that April is the cruelest month, but USU may disagree with that. USU concluded February with a is 1-5 this month, including losing the last four games. Utah State's only win last month was a 66-46 win over San Jose State in San Jose on Feb. 11.

CHANGING THE LINEUP - After going 22 games with the same starting five, the Aggies made a change when red-shirt freshman Banna Diop entered the lineup against San Jose State on Feb. 11. She has started six-straight games for the Aggies. Senior forward Nicole Johnson started 22-straight games before coming off the bench at SJSU. She came off the bench for four-straight games before returning to the starting lineup against Idaho on Feb. 27. Against the Vandals, Lydia Whitehead made her first appearance off the bench, starting 27 of USU's 28 games. Against Boise State on March 3, red-shirt freshman TJ Goddard made her first start since Dec. 21.

WAC TO STREAM SELECTED WAC TOURNAMENT GAMES - A total of three men's games and six women's games will be streamed via the internet from the 2010 WAC Basketball Tournament presented by Verizon Wireless. Those nine games will be available live on WAC.tv. Games that will be shown on any ESPN networks cannot be shown due to contractual obligations. These ESPN games include the men's afternoon quarterfinals on March 11, the second men's semifinal game on March 12 and both the men's and women's championship games. Individual tournament games may be purchased for $7.95 each.

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 33 blocks this season, while senior center Lydia Whitehead has 28 this season. Diop is now tied for sixthth on the Aggies' single-season list, while Whitehead 10th.

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.

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.

RECORDS FALL UNDER PEBLEY - 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 130 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.

CODDINGTON CLIMBING THE CHARTS - So far this season, junior guard Alice Coddington has 72 steals. Those 72 steals place Coddington fourth in the single-season charts. Carol Garrison is the all-time leader with 94 steals during the 1981 season. Coddington is one grab behind Danyelle Snelgro who had 73 steals last season.

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

AMONG THE TOP IN THE WAC - Senior Lydia Whitehead has dropped to ninth this week in the WAC in rebounding, averaging 6.5 rpg. Junior guard Alice Coddington is still first in the league in steals, averaging 2.61 steals per game. The junior has 73 steals in 28 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 11.7 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 Game3/6/10 vs. Hawai`i  3:00 p.m. - 2 pointsNon-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.

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 HAWAI`I - Despite a career-high 12 rebounds from senior forward Nicole Johnson, the Utah State women's basketball team fell to Hawai`i, 69-56, at the Stan Sheriff Center on Monday. The loss was the Aggies' third-straight, and USU ends the road trip going 0-2 with a loss to Fresno State on Jan. 16.

It was the third-straight game that USU was held to under 60 points. The Aggies are now 2-8 when scoring under 60 points this season. With the loss, Utah State falls to 10-8 overall and 2-3 in the Western Athletic Conference. Hawai`i improves to 8-10 and matches USU's 2-3 league record.

The Aggies were led by senior center Lydia Whitehead's fourth double-double of the season. Whitehead had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Junior guard Alice Coddington led USU with 13 points, adding four rebounds and two steals.

Hawai`i had four players in double digits led by 13 points from Leilani Galdones. Dita Liepkalne added 12 points, while both Breanna Arbuckle and Allie Patterson dished in 11 apiece. On the boards, the Rainbow Wahine were led by 10 points from Galdones who had a double-double.

LAST TIME OUT - A 12-4 run to start the second half propelled Boise State to a 57-47 win over Utah State Wednesday night in Western Athletic Conference women's basketball action at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

It was USU's fifth loss in a row as the Aggies have lost 11 of their last 13 games in falling to 12-16 overall and 4-11 in WAC play. Home has not been sweet for Utah State, which suffered its sixth-straight home loss, last winning on its home court on Jan. 9, falling to 1-6 at home in WAC action and 7-7 overall at home.

Junior guard Amber White was the lone Aggie in double-digits with 10 points, marking the ninth time in the last 10 games to log double-figures, and 22nd time this season. Freshman guard Devyn Christensen netted nine points, hitting two of USU's five three-pointers on the night. Red-shirt freshman forward Banna Diop and senior forward Nicole Johnson added eight and seven points, respectively. Diop was USU's leading rebounder with six 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 199 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.