Jan. 20, 2012
LOGAN, Utah - TIP OFF - Utah State women's basketball had its six-game winning streak come to an end after a loss to Fresno State on Thursday, Jan. 19 at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The Aggies (11-6, 2-1 WAC) look to bounce back against Nevada (4-12, 0-1 WAC) on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. Saturday is Girl Scout Day with the Aggies taking part in a clinic with the Girl Scout's prior to the game. The entire Utah State team will also take part in an autograph session following the game.
SNOW DAY - Nevada has an extra day of rest after its game against Idaho in Moscow was postponed on Thursday, Jan. 19 due to snowstorms in the Pacific Northwest. The Wolf Pack and the Vandals will now play on Monday, Jan. 23 at 6 p.m. (PT). With road closures in the area due to snow storms, Nevada was unable to get to Moscow by Thursday.
THE OPPONENT - Nevada (4-12, 0-1 WAC) is 8-7 against Utah State in 15 meetings. The Wolf Pack holds a 8-5 advantage since both teams have been in the Western Athletic Conference. Last season, Utah State captured both meetings, winning, 81-69, in Logan and, 79-73, in Reno. The last time they met, the Aggies were led by 19 points and 11 rebounds from junior guard Devyn Christensen.
Since the Wolf Pack had their last game against Idaho postponed until Monday, Jan. 23 due to weather, Nevada has not played since Jan. 14. The Wolf Pack dropped their WAC opener to Fresno State, 85-67, in Fresno. Chanelle Brennan led Nevada with 13 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Nevada is eighth in the WAC in scoring defense, allowing 74.4 points per game. Kate Kevorken is the Wolf Pack's leading scorer, averaging 16.4 ppg. Kayla Williams averages 11.9 ppg to go along with 8.1 rpg.
AGGIES VS NEVADA IN THE WAC 2005-06 Nevada 64, USU 54 (in Reno) Nevada 67, USU 51 (in Logan) 2006-07 USU 59, Nevada 44 (in Logan) Nevada 61, USU 49 (in Reno) Nevada 61, USU 60 (WAC Tournament in Las Cruces) 2007-08 Nevada 75, USU 55 (in Reno) USU 56, Nevada 48 (in Logan) 2008-09 Nevada 56, USU 49 (in Logan) USU 63, Nevada 52 (in Reno) 2009-10 Nevada 69, USU 58 (in Logan) Nevada 77, USU 66 (in Reno) 2010-11 USU 81, Nevada 69 (in Logan) USU 79, Nevada 73 (in Reno) Overall Record: 5-8CHRISTENSEN STRONG DURING WAC PLAY - Devyn Christensen has been hot lately, averaging 18.0 points per game in USU's three conference games. In the last two games, she has scored at least 20 points with a season-high 22 against Fresno State on Jan. 19. During the three-game stretch, Christensen has shot 56.8 percent from the field (21-of-37) and 87.5 percent from the charity stripe (7-of-8).
DURING THE STREAK - Utah State had its season-long six-game wining streak come to an end against Fresno State on Jan. 19. During the streak, the Aggies' averaged 71.8 points per game, compared to 52.8 ppg by their opponents. A key point during the streak was that USU had been out rebounding its opponents during the six-game stretch, averaging 38.0 rpg. The Aggie opponents averaged 33.7 rpg. The Aggies had five different players averaging in double digits the last six games, led by Ashlee Brown scoring 13.2 ppg. As a team, USU was shooting 47.3 percent during the winning streak (155-of-328).
SWEET SATURDAY - The Aggies have played over a third of their games on Saturday's this season, as this Saturday's game against Nevada will be USU's seventh Saturday game, more than twice as many as any other day. Utah State is currently 4-2 in Saturday games and have only played three times on both Wednesday and Thursday, going 2-1 overall on both days.
Sun. Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Sat. 0-1 1-0 1-0 2-1 2-1 1-1 4-2SHARING THE LEAD ROLE - USU has had five different players lead the team in scoring, led by Ashlee Brown taking the honors eight times, followed by Devyn Christensen five times and Brooke Jackson doing so in four games. Banna Diop and Maddy Plunkett have been leading scorers in one game each.
NEAR-NEAR A DOUBLE-DOUBLE - While Ashlee Brown has five double-doubles on the season, she was one rebound shy from two others and one point shy of one more, which came in Thursday's loss to Fresno State with nine points and 11 rebounds.
WINNING IN THE WAC - This is the third time in seven years that Utah State has won its first two conference games. In their second season in the league in 2007-08, the Aggies defeated San Jose State and Hawai`i at home to begin the season. During the 2009-10 season, USU defeated Louisiana on the road and San Jose State at home to start 2-0. Utah State has never started WAC play 3-0.
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, 74-56AGGIES IN THE NCAA STATS - In the most recent NCAA Statistics (Jan. 19), Utah State fell to ninth in the nation in free-throw percentage, shooting 78.0 percent from the charity stripe. Iowa leads the nation, shooting 82.9 percent. The Aggies are 17th in the country in three-point field goal percentage (37.0 percent). Vanderbilt still leads the nation, shooting 41.5 percent from three.
In the latest RPI the Aggies are ranked 123 which is second in the WAC behind Fresno State which is 74.
AROUND THE WAC - Their are only two teams in the WAC that re main undefeated in conference action, Fresno State and San Jose State, which both hold 2-0 records in WAC action. The Aggies are 2-1 with wins against New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech and a loss to Fresno State. Hawai`i is fourth with a 1-1 record, while Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State are tied for fifth with 1-2 records in league. Nevada (0-1) and Idaho (0-2) hold the final two spots in the WAC.
PEBLEY REACHES A MILESTONE - USU head coach Raegan Pebley reached a milestone with her 100th career win against Louisiana Tech on Jan. 14. Pebley is in her ninth season at Utah State and is first in career wins for a women's basketball coach at USU.
AMONG THE BEST IN THE WAC - Ashlee Brown is still fourth in the WAC in scoring behind San Jose State's Brittany Johnson, Fresno State's Ki-Ki Moore and Nevada's Kate Kevorken. Johnson is averaging 19.2 points per game, while Brown averages 14.9 ppg. Brown is third in the league in rebounding with 8.9 rpg. Senior Maddy Plunkett is first in the league in three-point shooting (.519). Brooke Jackson is still first in free throw percentage (.871). Devyn Christensen is now second in the league in free throw percentage, shooting 84.9 percent.
As a team, USU is second behind Fresno State in scoring offense, averaging 70.2 points per game. The Aggies and the Bulldogs are the only two teams in the league with positive scoring margins with Fresno State standing +8.4 and USU holding a +5.1. The Aggies are still first in free throw percentage (78.0). USU is now first in field goal percentage, shooting 43.3 percent this season.
GIVING A HELPING HAND - For the third time this season sophomore guard Jennifer Schlott dished out five assists in a game in USU's win against New Mexico State on Jan. 12. One difference in this game was that the guard played only five minutes. She is first on the team in assists with 40 in 17 games so far this season.
AGAINST THE BEEHIVE STATE - Utah State ended non-conference play with a 2-1 record against teams from the Beehive State USU earned a 73-63 win against Weber State on Nov. 16. The Aggies then fell to BYU 73-65 on Dec. 17. USU improved to 2-1 against the state of Utah with a 61-43 win against Utah Valley on Jan. 7.
UP NEXT - After taking on Fresno State and Nevada at home this week, Utah State will embark on a three-game road trip, which is its longest WAC road trip of the season. Next week, the Aggies have only one game in Moscow, Idaho against Idaho on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 6:30 p.m. (MT). The following week, USU remains on the road to take on San Jose State on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 8 p.m. (MT) and Hawai`i on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 11 p.m. (MT).
AGAINST THE MOUNTAIN WEST - Utah State is now 3-0 against the Mountain West Conference. Wyoming was the first of two Mountain West Conference teams that the Aggies faced this season. The Aggies earned home and road wins against former WAC foes and current MWC rivals Boise State. USU defeated the Broncos, 97-86, in Logan on Nov. 23 and won in Boise, 64-52, on Dec. 22.
SINKING IT FROM THE STRIPE - Utah State continues to be stellar from the free throw line. The Aggies are still in the top 10 in the nation in free throw percentage, standing in ninth this week. USU has made more free throws (277) than its opponents have attempted (268). USU is first in the WAC, shooting 78.8 percent from the free throw line (277-of-355). The Aggies opponents are shooting 68.9 percent from the charity stripe (182-of-268).
BROWN EARNS HONOR - Utah State women's basketball player Ashlee Brown has been named the America First Credit Union Utah State Student-Athlete of the Week for the period ending Sunday, Jan. 15, an award that is voted on by a state-wide media panel.
This is the second-straight honor for an Aggie women's basketball player with senior guard Brooke Jackson earning the award last week.
A native of Chandler, Ariz., Brown led Utah State to a pair of road wins at New Mexico State (74-56) and Louisiana Tech (79-62) last weekend. In the win against NMSU, Brown scored 15 points to go along with seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks. In leading USU to its second-ever win against Louisiana Tech, Brown scored 17 points to go along with seven rebounds, a season-high tying four assists and one steal. For the week, Brown averaged 16.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists, while shooting 56.5 percent from the field (13-23) and 66.7 percent from the free throw line (6-9).
STARTING FIVE- In 17 games this season, Utah State has used five different lineups. Ashlee Brown is the only Aggie to have started all 17 games this season. Jenna Johnson has been in the starting give for 12 of USU's 17 games. Jennifer Schlott has started nine out of 16 games, while Brooke Jackson has been in the starting five eight times. Chelsea Burns started the first four games of the season until an injury ended her season. Freshman Elise Nelson earned her first career start against BYU on Dec. 17. Nine different players have started at least one game this season for USU.
BRINGING THE DEFENSE - Utah State is 6-0 when it opponents score under 60 points or less. The Aggies have wins against Wyoming, Northern Arizona, Boise State, Asbury, Utah Valley and New Mexico State. Utah State has allowed less than 56 points in its last five games all of which are USU wins.
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 - Despite a season-high 22 points from junior guard Devyn Christensen, the Utah State women's basketball team had its six-game winning streak halted by a very tough Fresno State squad, 90-67, at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Thursday.
With the loss, the Aggies fall to 11-6 overall and 2-1 in Western Athletic Conference action. The Bulldogs improve to 14-4 overall and 2-0 in league play. Fresno State improves to 13-2 against Utah State in 15 meetings.
For the second-straight game, Christensen scored at least 20 points. Senior forward Ashlee Brown was onepoint shy of her sixth double-double of the season with nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Jennifer Schlott added 12 points, while senior guard Brooke Jackson scored 10 points, to go with three assists.
The Bulldogs had four players in double-digits, led by Taylor Thompson and Ki-Ki Taylor with 17 points apiece. Rosie Moult added 12 points to go with a team-leading 10 rebounds, while Blakely Goldberg tossed in 11 points.
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.
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.
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.
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 251 games for the Blue and White and has 100 wins as Aggie head coach, which is first ahead of Fern Gardner (55) on the all-time win list.
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