Nov. 21, 2011
LOGAN, Utah - TIP OFF - Utah State women's basketball will be home for the holiday with a pair of home games the week of Thanksgiving. USU opens the week with a game against Boise State on Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. The Aggies will conclude the week hosting UC Riverside on "Black Friday." Aggie fans can avoid the long shopping lines by coming to the Spectrum to watch USU take on the Highlanders on Friday, Nov. 25 at 7 p.m.
USU WBB Weekly Notes
THE OPPONENT - Boise State is a very familiar opponent to Utah State. This is the Broncos first season in the Mountain West after playing the Aggies twice a year since 2005-06 season. Last year, USU won both meetings, defeating BSU, 69-57, in Logan and winning, 84-69, in Boise.
The Broncos hold a 16-6 overall series lead over the Aggies, but USU has one the last two meetings. In 2009-10, Boise State captured both games that year.
Boise State and Utah State share identical 3-1 records this season. Offensively, the Broncos are led by three players who average in double digits in scoring. Kati Isham leads the team averaging 17.3 points per game. Lauren Lenhardt is second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.0 ppg.
HOME OPENERS - Utah State is now 8-14 in home openers and 3-6 under Coach Pebley after the Aggies defeated Weber State, 73-63 on Nov. 16.Prior to the win over the Wildcats, the last time the Aggies won a home opener was a 67-58 win against in-state rival Utah in 2009. Last season, USU fell to Dixie State in its home and season opener, 71-67. Under Coach Pebley, Utah State is 1-2 against Weber State in home openers.
SHARP-SHOOTING SCHLOTT - Sophomore guard Jennifer Schlott already has two double-digit scoring games this season. She scored 12 against Wyoming on Nov. 11 and 10 against Weber State on Nov. 16. Last season in 32 games, she only scored in double figures three times.
DATE CHANGE - Utah State women's basketball against Boise State that was originally scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 22 will now be played on Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
This is the first of two meetings between the Aggies and the Broncos who are former Western Athletic Conference rivals. Both meetings are prior to holidays with the Broncos coming to Logan the day before Thanksgiving. Utah State will make a return trip to Boise on Thursday, Dec. 22 right before Christmas.
AGGIES IN THE WAC - After the first two weeks of action, senior forward Ashlee Brown continues to lead the WAC in scoring, averaging 22.8 points per game. She is also second in rebounding (11.8 rpg) and steals (2.75 spg). Senior guard Brooke Jackson is third in free throw percentage, shooting 95.8 percent from the charity stripe (23-of-24) so far this season. She is first in free throws made with 23. She has made more than Louisiana Tech has as a team (21).
QUICK START - After starting last season with an 0-4 record, the 2011-12 team is happy about the quick 3-1 start. It is the best start since the 2009-10 team began with a similar 3-1 record.
LIKE THIEVES IN THE NIGHT - Utah State is first in the WAC in steals, averaging 11.50 steals per game. The Aggies have 46 steals this season through the first four games. Ashlee Brown has 11 steals which is good for second in the league, while sophomore guard Jennifer Schlott is fourth in the WAC in steals per game with 2.50. She has 10 steals this season. Brown and Schlott are the only two players in the conference in double digits in steals.
STRONG FROM THE STRIPE - After four games this season, Utah State is first in the WAC in free throw percentage, shooting 82.6 percent from the charity stripe. Nevada is second, shooting 73.2 percent. Senior guard Brooke Jackson is third going 23-for-24 so far this season. Utah State is 95-of-115 this season from the free throw line, while its opponents are 57-of-83.
BROWN HONORED BY WAC AGAIN - Senior forward Ashlee Brown was named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week for Nov. 14-20. This is the second-straight week that Brown has earned WAC Player of the Week. This is the fourth honor of her Utah State career.
The senior is the first Utah State women's basketball player to earn WAC Player of the Week honors in back-to-back weeks. She is the first player since Danyelle Snelgro to win the award twice in one season when she earned the honors twice in 2009.
Brown, a Chandler, Ariz., native, averaged 21.0 points on 53 percent shooting, grabbed 11.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game as the Aggies went 2-0 last week. Brown led Utah State to a 73-63 home win against Weber State and a 69-64 road win at UC Irvine, pacing the Aggies in scoring in both games. Against the Wildcats, the senior scored 21 points and brought down nine boards while also nabbing four steals. In the win against the Anteaters, Brown posted her third double-double of the season with 21 points and 14 rebounds, one shy of her career high. Brown was unstoppable in the first half, scoring 13 of USU's first 15 points.
LAST TIME OUT - With three players scoring in double figures, the Utah State women's basketball team battled to a 69-64 road win against UC Irvine at the Bren Events Centers on Saturday. Senior forward Ashlee Brown led the Aggies with 21 points.
Senior guard Brooke Jackson and senior forward Maddy Plunkett both scored 12 points for the Aggies in the win. Brown added 14 rebounds which was just one shy of her career high. Brown brought down 15 rebounds in an overtime win at Northern Arizona last season.
The Anteaters were led by 20 points from Jazmyne White, while Methlyn Onogomuho had 11 and Jasmine Bernard added 13.
Utah State improves to 3-1 this season with the win, while UC Irvine falls to 0-4 this season. The 3-1 start is the Aggies best since starting 3-1 during the 2009-10 season.
AGAINST THE MOUNTAIN WEST - Wyoming was the first of two Mountain West Conference teams that the Aggies will face this season, including taking on former Western Athletic Conference rival Boise State two times. Utah State is now 1-0 against the Mountain West.
UP NEXT - Following the games this week against Boise State and UC Riverside, the Aggies head to the Big Sky State for a pair of games. USU will travel to Missoula to take on Montana on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at Montana at 7 p.m. USU will then make the drive to Bozeman to face Montana State on Friday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.
CAREER HIGHS FROM BROWN - Senior forward Ashlee Brown has had double-doubles in both of Utah State's games this season. She also added a career-high 31 points in the Aggies' loss to South Dakota State on Nov. 13. She also set a career high with six steals in the loss to the Jackrabbits.
ADMISSION - Admission to Utah State's women's basketball games is $5 for adults, $1 for youth. A woman's sports pass is also available for $50. 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.
SPREADING THE WEALTH - In four games this season, 13 different Aggies have seen the court. Utah State had really spread out the minutes in the first two games. Ashlee Brown leads the team with 131 minutes, while Brooke Jackson has played in 95 minutes. Freshman Xava Grooms saw her first action as an Aggie against South Dakota State on Nov. 13.
TURNING 24 - The 2011-12 season marks the 24th year of women's basketball at USU, and just the ninth 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 seventh season in the WAC after playing its first two seasons in the Big West Conference.
MARVELOUS MADDY - Senior forward Maddy Plunkett scored a career-high 12 points in the Aggies win against Wyoming on Nov. 11. Her previous high was an 11-point performance against Arizona in the first round of the WNIT last season on Match 17. Junior guard Jennifer Schlott also added 12 points in the win. The dozen points was just one shy of her career high 13 points at Northern Arizona last season.
HOME SWEET HOME - Utah State played three of its first four games away from the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. After traveling to Wyoming and South Dakota State, the Aggie opened their home schedule on Wednesday, Nov. 16 against Weber State with a win. Following the home game against the Wildcats, USU will travel to California for the first of three trips to the Golden State. The Aggies will take on UC Irvine on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 1pm. (MT).
GETTING THE START - Eleven different Aggies saw action in Friday's game against Wyoming. Junior guard/forward Chelsea Burns saw her first start since the 2008-09 season. Senior guard Brooke Jackson got her first start as an Aggie. Sophomore guard Jennifer Schlott got her first career start in the Blue and White, playing 27 minutes and scoring 12 points.
AGGIES IN THE PRESEASON POLLS - Utah State women's basketball was selected second in the Western Athletic Conference coaches' poll and third in the media poll. Both predictions are the highest for USU since joining the WAC. Last season, the Aggies were picked seventh in both the coaches' and the media poll. Senior forward Ashlee Brown made Utah State women's basketball history by becoming the first Aggie to earn WAC Preseason Player of the Year honors when she was awarded the honor by both the coaches and the media. Brown, who averaged 15.2 points per game last season, is the top scorer returning in the WAC. Last season, Brown was the WAC's Newcomer of the Year and earned first-team all-WAC honors.
The Aggies received 40 points in the WAC coaches' poll, including two of the eight first-place votes. Defending WAC regular season-champion, Louisiana Tech, was picked first with 47 points, including five-first place votes. Fresno State, the 2011 WAC Tournament champions, was picked third with 36 points and the final first-place vote. Nevada placed fourth with 33 points, followed by Hawai`i with 22 points. New Mexico State was picked to finish in sixth place with 18 points, while Idaho was just a point behind with 17 points to finish in seventh place. The coaches' poll was rounded out by San Jose State in eighth place with 11 points.
In the media poll, Utah State was voted third with 126 points, including three first-place votes. As with the coaches' poll, Louisiana Tech was picked first with 144 total points and 13 first-place votes. The only difference between the polls was that Fresno State took second-place in the media poll with 129 points and three first-place votes. Nevada earned the fourth spot with 80 points, followed by Hawai`i with 72. The media poll was rounded out with New Mexico State in sixth with 59 points, while Idaho (52 points) and San Jose State (22 points) were picked to finish seventh and eighth, respectively.
AGGIES ON THE RADIO/WEB - All Utah State games can be heard on KLGN (1390 AM) in Logan with Craig Hislop taking the reigns this season. 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.
WHO'S WHO - Utah State returns 10 players from the 2010-11 roster, including three starters in forward Ashlee Brown (15.2 ppg), center Banna Diop (9.5 ppg) and guard Jenna Johnson (6.6 ppg). USU brings back 75% of its offense, including its top three scorers in Brown, Diop and guard Devyn Christensen. The Aggies also welcome back the block leader in Diop (1.88 bpg), and Brown will also be back in the blue and white as USU's leading rebounder, bringing down 251 rebounds (8.4 rpg).
AROUND THE COURT - News and Notes from around the Aggie basketball court.
• Last season was the first time in head coach Raegan Pebley's career that she has earned the Coach of the Year accolade. Pebley is also the first female to earn the award since 2004-05 when Rice's Cristy McKinney was named Coach of the Year.
• This season, Utah State welcomes six newcomers, including senior transfer Brooke Jackson who comes to Logan from the University of Arizona. USU adds five freshmen in Brooke Beckstead, Xava Grooms, Addison Moore, Elise Nelson and Franny Vaaulu.
• The Aggies had 10 WAC wins last season which was the most since the 2008-09 team that had a 9-7 record. The nine wins in 2008-09
HEAD COACH Raegan Pebley - Raegan Pebley is entering her ninth 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 238 games for the Blue and White and has 92 wins as Aggie head coach, which is first ahead of Fern Gardner (55) on the all-time win list.
