Feb. 28, 2012

LOGAN, Utah - TIP OFF - Utah State women's basketball (18-8, 9-3 WAC) will close out the regular season with a pair of Western Athletic Conference games at home this week. The Aggies will host Hawai`i on Thursday, March 1 at 7 p.m. USU will the end the regular season against San Jose State on Saturday, March 3 at 7 p.m. Against the Spartans, Utah State will say thank you to six seniors, Chelsea Burns, Ashlee Brown, Banna Diop, Brooke Jackson, Maddy Plunkett and Reyneisha Mays.

USU Notes vs. Hawai`i

TYING A SCHOOL RECORD - With a win against Idaho on Feb. 25, Utah State tied the school record for wins in a season with 18. Last season, USU set the record for wins in a season when Utah State went 18-15. The Aggies now have nine WAC wins which is one shy of last year's team that went 10-6 in league action. The 1975-76 squad won 10 games in the Intermountain Athletic Conference, going 10-3. The most wins that USU has had since joining the WAC was when the Aggies went 10-6 last season in league action. The Aggies are currently 9-3 in WAC play this season.

THE OPPONENT - Hawai`i (11-16, 6-6 WAC) is 9-8 overall against Utah State in 17 meetings. The Rainbow Wahine are 8-5 against the Aggies since USU joined the WAC. Last season, the teams both won games at home with Utah State winning in Logan, 52-41, while Hawai`i won in Honolulu in overtime, 72-71. Earlier this year, USU won its first game in Honolulu since the 2008-09 season with a 69-55 win over the Rainbow Wahine.

Hawai`i has won three of its last four games, including a 72-68 win over Nevada at home on Feb. 25. Kanisha Bello led the team with 19 points, while Kamilah Jackson had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

For the year, Jackson is the team's leading scorer, averaging 13.1 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Vicky Tagalicod is second in scoring with 10.1 ppg. As a team, the Rainbow Wahine averages 59.2 ppg, while allowing 66.4 ppg. Hawai`i is third in the WAC in free throw percentage (.694).

AGGIES VS HAWAI`I IN THE WAC
2005-06
Hawai`i 61, USU 48 (in Honolulu)
Hawai`i 63, USU 50 (in Logan)
2006-07
Hawai`i 62, USU 57 (in Logan)
Hawai`i 79, USU 63(in Honolulu)
2007-08
USU 55, Hawai`i 48 (in Logan)
Hawai`i 69, USU 42 (in Honolulu)
2008-09
USU 52, Hawai`i 43 (in Honolulu)
Hawai`i 63, USU 61 (in Logan)
2009-10
Hawai`i 69, USU 56 (in Honolulu)
USU 53, Hawai`i 51 (in Logan)
2010-11
USU 52, Hawai`i 41 (in Logan)
Hawai`i 72, USU 71 OT (in Honolulu)
2010-11
USU 69, Hawai`i 55 (in Honolulu)
Overall Record: 5-8

DOUBLE-DIGIT JOHNSON - Junior guard Jenna Johnson has become a scoring threat of late. In the last four games, Johnson has averaged 12.5 points per game which is second on the team behind Devyn Christensen (21.0 ppg). In USU's win against New Mexico State on Feb. 11, she scored 11 points. She added 12 points in a win against Nevada and had a career-high 17 points in a loss to Fresno State. She also scored 10 points in the win against Idaho. She is second on the team in rebounds behind Ashlee Brown (10.8 rpg), bringing down 5.3 rpg.

ROUNDING OUT THE SEASON - The Aggies will have only two more regular-season games left on the schedule. Both games will be played at the friendly confines of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum where USU is 9-3 this season. The blue and white take on Hawai`i on Thursday, March 1 at 7 p.m. and San Jose State on Saturday, March 3 at 7 p.m. Against the Spartans, Utah State will honor six seniors, Chelsea Burns, Ashlee Brown, Banna Diop, Brooke Jackson, Maddy Plunkett and Reyneisha Mays.

AGGIES CLIMB IN THE NCAA STATS - In the most recent NCAA Statistics (Feb. 26), the Aggies are up to third in the country in three-point field goal percentage (38.5 percent). Richmond leads the nation, shooting 39.7 percent from three. The Aggies sharp shooting continues as they are 17th in the country in field goal percentage, shooting 43.9 percent. Utah State is also in the top 20 in free throw percentage, standing in seventh and shooting 77.7 percent.

Junior guard Devyn Christensen is now fifth in the nation in free throw percentage with a stellar 89.5 percentage. She is just behind Richmond's Abby Oliver who has a remarkable 94.2 free throw percentage. Senior guard Brooke Jackson 13th in the country with a free throw percentage of 88.5.

In the latest RPI the Aggies are ranked 136 which is second in the WAC behind Fresno State which is 58.

ON THE VERGE- Utah State is on the verge of several school records. USU currently has a free throw percentage of 77.7 percent. The school record is 76.0 percent in 1978. Last season, Devyn Christensen set the school record for free throw percentage (86.1). So far this season, she has a free throw percentage of 89.4 percent, while Brooke Jackson would also break the record as of now, shooting 88.5 percent from the charity stripe. Senior forward Ashlee Brown is close to breaking the record for free throws made in a season. So far this season, she has made 136 free throws. The record is 148 by Sharon Epps in 1982.

SECURING SEEDS - With only one week remaining on the regular season, all eight WAC teams are looking to secure seeds in the upcoming WAC Tournament in Las Vegas, March 7-10. Fresno State has secured the No. 1 seed with an 11-1 league record. Utah State is currently second with a 9-3 WAC record with Louisiana Tech standing third with a 8-4 conference mark. The Bulldogs and the Lady Techsters will face on Thursday, March 1 in Fresno. USU's two opponents this week, Hawai`i and San Jose State, are both tied for fourth with 6-6 records. Idaho is sixth (4-8) with New Mexico State holding on to the seventh spot (3-9) and Nevada standing eighth (1-11). Every team has two games this week.

FREQUENT FLYERS - Utah State ended WAC road play with a 6-1 record which was its best ever since joining the league. The Aggies only loss came against first-place Fresno State on Feb. 16. Overall, the Aggies won seven-straight road games which is a Utah State record before falling to Fresno State. Last year, USU ended WAC action 4-4 in on the road. Overall, the Aggies are 9-5 on the road in 14 games. The nine road wins breaks an Aggie record as the 1975-76 team went 8-6 on the road. USU ended the 2010-11 season with a 7-8 record away from the friendly confines of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

BRINGING THE DEFENSE - Utah State is 8-0 when it opponents score under 60 points or less. The Aggies have wins against Wyoming, Northern Arizona, Boise State, Asbury, Utah Valley, New Mexico State (twice) and Hawai`i. USU is 14-2 when allowing less than 69 points in a game.

RECORD SETTING AGGIES - In Utah State's win over Nevada on Jan. 21, the Aggies set a school record for field goal percentage in a game, shooting 58.6 percent from the field (34-of-58). The record was previously held by the 1982 Aggie squad that shot 58.3 percent against New Mexico State in 1982. In that game, Utah State defeated New Mexico State, 105-98.

CHRISTENSEN CRUISES TO THE TOP - Junior Devyn Christensen is now first in the conference in scoring in WAC games, averaging 20.5 points. She is just ahead of San Jose State's Brittany Johnson who scores 20.1 ppg in league games. Her teammate Ashlee Brown is 10th in scoring in WAC games, averaging 13.5 ppg. Christensen is second in free throw percentage (93.9 percent), third in field goal percentage (54.1 percent) and second in three point field goal percentage (44.4 percent).

HIGH SCORING AGGIES - Utah State's two meetings with Nevada have been two of the Aggies' highest scoring games of the season. USU won the first game 91-69 and took the second game 84-72. The most points that USU has scored this season was in a 97-86 win against Boise State at home on Nov. 23. Two Aggies had season highs in scoring in the win against the Wolf Pack. Devyn Christensen tied a career high with 27 points, while Jenna Johnson added a then season-high 12 points.

COMPLETE PACKAGE - In USU's come-from-behind win against Nevada on Feb. 16, Ashlee Brown did it all. Not only did she have her seventh double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds, but she also added a season-high six assists against the Wolf Pack. Brown also had four steals and two blocks in the win.

AGGIES IN THE WAC STATS - Devyn Christensen is now fourth in the WAC in scoring, averaging 14.4 points per game. Ashlee Brown is sixth in the league in scoring, averaging 14.4 points per game. Brown is third in the league in rebounding with 8.8 rpg. Senior Maddy Plunkett is first in the league in three-point shooting (47.4 percent). Devyn Christensen overtook Brooke Jackson for first place in the league in free throw percentage, shooting 89.4 percent. Brooke Jackson is now second in the WAC free throw shooting (88.5 percent.).

As a team, USU is second behind Fresno State in scoring offense, averaging 72.0 points per game. The Aggies, Louisiana Tech and the Bulldogs are the only three teams in the league with positive scoring margins with USU holding a +6.1 scoring margin. The Aggies are still first in free throw percentage (77.7). USU is still first in field goal percentage, shooting 43.9 percent this season. Utah State is also first in three-point field goal percentage, shooting 38.5 percent from beyond the arc.

AGGIES IN WAC OPENERS - Utah State is now 4-3 in WAC openers winning the last three on the road at New Mexico State in 2012 and at Louisiana Tech in 2010 and at home against Boise State in 2011. This was the first time since USU joined the league that the Aggies of Utah State faced the Aggies of New Mexico State in a league opener. Utah State is now 2-1 in WAC openers on the road.

USU IN WAC OPENERS (4-3)
2005-06 L, vs. San Jose State, 51-63
2006-07 L, vs. Boise State, 70-80
2007-08 W, vs. San Jose State, 68-58
2008-09 L, at Idaho, 63-71
2009-10 W, at Louisiana Tech, 69-66
2010-11 W, vs. Boise State, 69-57
2011-12 W, at New Mexico State, 74-56

STARTING FIVE- In 26 games this season, Utah State has used eight different lineups. Ashlee Brown is the only Aggie to have started all 26 games this season. Jennifer Schlott has started 11 out of 26 games, while Brooke Jackson has been in the starting five 10 times. The Aggies had the same starting lineup, Elise Nelson, Brown, Johnson, Devyn Christensen and Maddy Plunkett for 14-straight games. In its last game, Brown, Nelson, Christensen, Johnson and Jackson were in the starting lineup.

AGGIES LOSE BURNS TO INJURY - Utah State women's basketball junior guard/forward Chelsea Burns has been medically disqualified due to a knee injury. The injury is similar to the one that kept her out of the entire 2009-10 season. Burns, a native of Carlsbad, Calif, started the first four games of the season and played in five this season. She averaged 10.8 minutes. 0.8 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. The junior has been diagnosed with an osteochondral defect and a meniscus tear and will have knee surgery on December 15. Burns graduated at the end of the fall semester with a degree in law and constitutional studies and will begin her master's of education next semester.

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.

LAST TIME OUT - Senior forward Ashlee Brown's team-leading eighth double-double of the season sparked the Utah State women's basketball team to a dominating 85-63 win over Idaho at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Saturday afternoon.

The 22-point win is the largest margin of victory against Idaho in 22 meetings. This is also the second-straight season that USU has swept the season series as the Aggies improve to 10-5 against Idaho since joining the Western Athletic Conference. Overall, Utah State improves to 18-8 overall and 9-3 in the WAC.

USU was led by Brown's eighth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. She also added three assists, three steals and two blocks. Junior guard Devyn Christensen scored 26 points to lead all scorers. This was her ninth 20-point game of the season. Sophomore guard Jennifer Schlott and senior guard Brooke Jackson both scored 11 points, while junior guard Jenna Johnson added 10.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 260 games for the blue and white and has 107 wins as Aggie head coach, which is first ahead of Fern Gardner (55) on the all-time win list.