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Utah State Opens Three-Game Road Swing This Weekend At SJSU and NMSU
Jan. 30, 2007
LOGAN, Utah -
Complete Notes in PDF Format
GAME #20 - Utah State (7-12, 3-4 WAC) at San Jose State (2-20, 1-7 WAC)
GAME #21 - Utah State (7-12, 3-4 WAC) at New Mexico State (9-10, 4-3 WAC)
QUICKLY - Utah State (7-12, 3-4 WAC) opens a three-game road swing. The Aggies first head to San Jose, Calif., to take on San Jose State (2-20, 1-7 WAC) on Saturday, Feb. 3. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. (MT) at SJSU's Event Center (5,000). The navy-clad Aggies of USU then head to Las Cruces, N.M. for an Aggie showdown, tangling with the maroon-clad Aggies of New Mexico State on Monday, Feb. 5 at NMSU's Pan American Center (13,071), in a 7 p.m. (MT) tip that will be broadcast on national television on CSTV.
USU head coach Raegan Pebley had a baby on Tuesday, and will not be making the trip to San Jose with the team. Assistant coach George Brosky will be the acting head coach with assistants from Kristy Flores and Erin Scholz. Pebley is planning on meeting up with the team in Las Cruces.
The Aggies have lost two in a row, but have won three of their last six games. Most recently, USU lost to Hawai'i, 62-57, Saturday night at home, as USU was down nine points at 55-46 with 2:38 to play and closed the gap to 58-57 with 22.8 seconds left, but the Aggies couldn't get over the hump.
With their 7-12 overall record and 3-4 WAC mark, the Aggies have surpassed last season's overall win total (3-24) and last season's WAC victory total (2-14).
Aggie senior forward Brittany (Tressler) Phillips has moved into the USU top 10 career points list, as she currently has 746 career points, passing Lori Becker (1981-83) for the No. 10 spot with 726 points. Junior guard Taylor Richards passed Becker for the No. 11 spot on Saturday, as Richards now has 730 career points. Richards has also taken over sole possession of the No. 10 spot on USU's career steals list with her 97th career steal, passing Jerrie McGahan's 96 steals from 1977-80.
San Jose State has lost eight of its last night, as the Spartans snapped their seven-game losing skid with a 57-56 win over Hawai'i last Thursday, Jan. 25, on SJSU's home court. The Spartans fell to New Mexico State, 79-53, Saturday at Las Cruces, N.M. The Spartans take on Idaho on Thursday before facing USU on Saturday.
The maroon-clad Aggies of New Mexico State have won five of their last eight entering their game Thursday at WAC-leaders Boise State. New Mexico State beat San Jose State, 79-53, on Saturday to stop a two-game losing slide, falling on the road at Nevada, 74-70, on Jan. 20 and 83-74 in 3OT at Idaho on Jan. 24.
SCHEDULE TIME CHANGES - Utah State's game on Feb. 10 at Idaho, has been changed to a 6:30 p.m. (MT) tip-off.
ADMISSION - Ticket prices for USU regular-season games are $5 for adults, $1 for youth. Contact the USU Athletics Ticket Office at (435)797-0305 or at 1-888-U-STATE-1 (1-888-878-2831) for more information.
SEASON XIX - The 2006-07 season marks the 19th year of women's basketball at USU, and just the fourth 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 second season in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) after playing its first two seasons in the Big West Conference.
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 and Clair Anderson providing color commentary for home games. They can also be heard on the web by going to the women's basketball home page at www.UtahStateAggies.com and clicking on the LISTEN link.
Note-1: Fans can now listen to archived broadcasts of Aggie women's basketball games, also by going to the women's basketball home page at www.UtahStateAggies.com and clicking on the LISTEN link.
GAMETRACKER - Fans can follow Aggie home games through the USU website at www.UtahStateAggies.com via GameTracker, a free service, which updates play-by-play and statistics throughout the game.
WAC TV - WAC.tv is the Internet-based distribution system of WAC content. WAC.tv streams video with accompanying audio from the home team at a bit rate of 539 kilo bits per second. This bit rate is the equivalent to cable television resolution.
Whether on the road, at home, or in the office, WAC.tv will bring games to fans that they have never had access to before. All year long, WAC.tv will be home to some of the best match-ups, best stories, and best teams.
For more information and season ticket packages, go to www.WAC.tv.
CSTV - The WAC has seven women's basketball games on College Sports Television (CSTV) this season, including Utah State's game at New Mexico State on Feb. 5. The WAC Championship game on March 10 will also be televised on CSTV. Check your cable operator for local listings.
RETURNING - Head coach Raegan Pebley and the Aggies have three starters among eight letterwinners returning from last season's squad that posted a 3-24 overall record and 2-14 in the WAC... Junior forward Jenny Gross, junior guard Taylor Richards, and sophomore guard Danyelle Snelgro return, as well as seniors, forwards Brittany Hagen and Brittany (Tressler) Phillips, and guard Camille Brox.
ABOUT UTAH STATE - The Aggies are 7-12 overall and 3-4 in WAC action, having won three of the last six and four of last eight contests. USU surpassed last season's win total (3-24) with the Aggies' fourth win of the year, knocking off Colgate, 58-42, on Dec. 30. With a 78-70 win over Idaho on Jan. 11, USU won consecutive games for the first time this season. The win was also gave USU its first back-to-back victories since February of 2005, and also doubled the Aggies' win total from last season when USU was 3-24.
USU's 58-50 win over San Jose State on Jan. 20, gave the Aggies a 3-2 WAC mark, surpassing last year's WAC record (2-14).
The Aggies lost to Hawai'i, 62-57, after USU was down nine points at 55-46 with 2:38 to play and closed the gap to 58-57 with 22.8 seconds left, but the Aggies couldn't get over the hump.
In the WAC statistics, Utah State has slipped from atop the league leader position in free throw percentage, currently third, shooting .706 as a team.
The Aggies are eighth in scoring offense (59.3 ppg) and seventh in scoring defense (67.1 ppg), to also rank seventh in the league in scoring margin (-7.8). USU also ranks eighth in field goal percentage (.371) and eighth in three-point field goal percentage (.284). Defensively, the Aggies are seventh in field goal percentage defense (.425) and sixth in three-point FG pct. defense (.312). Additionally, Utah State is eighth in rebounding margin (-6.5), seventh in blocked shots (2.3 bpg), eighth in assists (10.8 apg), fourth in steals (8.7 spg) and fifth in turnover margin (+1.2).
In WAC only games, USU is third in free throw percentage (.721), as well as third in both turnover margin (+3.3) and steals (9.1 spg). {See page 4 for complete WAC and WAC only rankings}
USU, which was second in the nation NCAA stats on Dec. 2, has slipped out of the Top 100, currently ranked 113th. The Aggies have five players that have shot at least 15 free throws shooting 68.9 percent or better from the charity stripe.
Junior guard Taylor Richards (5-4, West Valley City, Utah), leads Utah State with 11.7 ppg, dishing out 3.1 apg and swiping 1.5 spg. Richards ranks fifth in the WAC in assists and 14th in scoring, as well as ninth in minutes played (32.8) and just out of the top 10 in free throw percentage (.704, 38-54). In WAC only games, Richards leads the league in three-point FG percentage (.579, 11-19), and is second in the league in free throw percentage (.867, 13-15), as well as tied for fourth in assists (3.7 apg).
Richards was named the WAC Player of the Week on Jan. 8 after tallying a career-high 28 points in USU's win over Fresno State on Jan. 6. {See below}
After scoring in double-figures nine times in 2005-06, with a season and at the time career-high of 22 points, Richards posted double figures in eight of USU's first 10 games and has tallied double-digits in 15 of the Aggies' 19 games.
Richards has surpassed 200 points in a season for the third year in a row, as she now has 222 points this season.
In USU's win over San Jose State on Jan. 20, Richards moved into the No. 3 spot on USU's Career Three-Pointers Made List. Richards currently has 59 career three-pointers.
Richards had a team-high 13 points in Saturday's loss to Hawai'i, tying a career-high by hitting three three-pointers, as well as dishing out three assists.
Brittany Phillips, (SR, F, 6-0, Orem, Utah), ranks second on the team in scoring and leads USU in rebounding, tallying 10.3 ppg and pulling down 5.3 rpg. Phillips also is .400 from behind the three-point arc (14-35), a mark that would lead in the conference but does not reach the required minimum to qualify for the league stats. Phillips does rank second in free throw pct. (.807, 46-57) and is 15th in rebounding. In Saturday's loss, Phillips had 11 points, hitting three treys, and six rebounds.
Phillips has 746 career points and moved into the No. 10 spot on the USU Career Scoring List, passing Lori Becker (1981-83) for No. 10 with 726 points. The No. 9 position is held by Pat Montgomery (1977-80) with 836 points.
Sophomore guard Danyelle Snelgro (5-5, Altadena, Calif.) posts 8.6 ppg, along with dishing out 2.9 apg and swiping 2.0 spg, ranking seventh in the WAC in steals and eighth in assists. In WAC only games, Snelgro leads the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.92), as well as third in assists (3.9 apg) and fifth in steals (2.1). Snelgro also ranks sixth in the league overall in free throw pct. (.736, 39-53), and tied for ninth in WAC only games in free throw pct. (.760, 19-25). Snelgro had seven points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals in Saturday's loss to Hawai'i.
Snelgro has surpassed her season-total from last year in assists with 55 career helpers, surpassing last season's 45 assists. Snelgro notched her 100th career assist, which ranks just out of the USU Career Assists List.
Sophomore forward Lindsey Freeze (6-0, Provo, Utah) ranks second on the team and would rank third in the WAC in free throw percentage (.741, 20-27), but doesn't meet the minimum requirement. Freeze missed her first free throw of the season at Montana on Dec. 4 after making the first 10 in a row. Freeze also is third on the team in field goal percentage (more than 25 attempts) with .398 (33-83), but also doesn't meet the minimum requirement.
Junior forward Jenny Gross (6-2, Caldwell, Idaho) recorded her first career double-double with a career-high 18 points and a career-best tying 10 rebounds in the win over Idaho on Jan. 11. Gross is averaging 9.1 ppg and leads USU with 5.2 rpg overall, but is averaging 10.7 ppg and a team-leading 6.7 rpg in conference action, tying her career-high of 10 rebounds twice. In conference games only, Gross ranks ninth in rebounding, and 16th in the league stats overall, as well as just out of the top 10 in free throw percentage for WAC only (.733, 22-30). Gross has netted double-figures nine times this season, including five of the last eight games. Saturday marked the second game in a row that Gross didn't score double-figures with seven points and three rebounds.
ROAD WOE-IORS - Utah State has struggled on the road. This season the Aggies are a paltry 1-9 overall in away games, currently on an eight-game road losing skid, and 0-3 in WAC road games. Under head coach Raegan Pebley, USU is 10-49 (.169) overall on the road and 1-10 in WAC away games.
TREND BUCKING - Saturday's loss continued some trends for the Aggies: USU is 3-10 when out-rebounded by opponent... 2-10 when trailing at half... 2-11 when shooting less than 40 percent... 2-10 when scoring less than 60 points... 2-8 when committing more turnovers... 3-11 when shooting fewer free throws... It was also USU's first loss on a Saturday, as the Aggies are now 3-1 on Saturday's.
RICHARDS NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Jan. 8 - Richards was named WAC Player of the Week after tallying a career-high 28 points, including 17 in the second half, in USU's win over Fresno State on Jan. 6. In the game she also dished out four assists to give her 248 for her career and became USU's career assists leader, passing Pam Shirley (1977-79) with 245 assists. She also had four steals in the contest. She also made a career-high 10 free throws, finishing the night 10-11.
In an 80-70 loss to Boise State on Jan. 4, Richards had 11 points to go with five assists and three steals.
In the Aggies' two games, Richards shot 50.0 percent (13-26) from the field, including 2-5 (40.0 percent) from three-point range, hitting 2-3 against Fresno State.
Richards' 28 points was the most scored by an Aggie under head coach Raegan Pebley since Christina Zdenek tallied 31 in a USU win on Jan. 10, 2004 over Cal Poly, when current USU assistant coach Kristy Flores was an assistant at Cal Poly. That win was USU's first win since reinstating the program for the 2003-04 season.
The honor is the first WAC Player of the Week award for a Utah State player since joining the WAC last season, and is the first conference player of the week honor since Ali (Aird) Marchant was named Big West Player of the Week on Feb. 21, 2005. Overall it is the third conference player of the week honor awarded to an Aggie player under head coach Raegan Pebley, as Christina Zdenek received a Big West honor on Oct. 29, 2004.
PHILLIPS AND RICHARDS ON CAREER SCORING LIST - Senior forward Brittany Phillips has taken over No. 10 on USU's Career Scoring List, passing Lori Becker's 726 points from 1981-83. Phillips now has 746 career points.
Junior guard Taylor Richards has 730 points for her career, and will be chasing Phillips for the No. 10 spot on the Career Scoring List.
At No. 9 is Pat Montgomery (1977-80) with 836 points.
RICHARDS IS USU CAREER ASSISTS RECORD HOLDER/TOP 10 STEALS LIST - Junior guard Taylor Richards now has 266 assists for her career, surpassing Pam Shirley for the top spot on USU's Career Assist List, as Shirley had 245 assists from 1977-79.
Richards now has 97 career steals, taking over sole possession for No. 10 on the USU Career Steals List, as she was tied with Jerrie McGahan (1977-80) with 96 helpers.
RECORD-HOLDER HAGEN / CENTURY CLUB IN GAMES PLAYED- Brittany Hagen became the USU record holder for career 3-pointers last year, and entered her senior season with 83 treys, ranking second in career 3-point FG percentage (83-234, .355).
To date, Hagen is 103-309, .333 from three-point range for her career, including 20-75 (.267) this season. Hagen hit her 100th career three-pointer on Jan. 6, part of her season-high three treys on the way to a season-high 14 points, and attempted her milestone 300th career trey on Jan. 20.
When she took the court on Jan. 24, Hagen played in her 100th career game, currently fifth on USU's Career Games Played List, the only player to play in all 100 games since USU reinstated women's basketball for the 2003-04 season.
Also on Jan. 24, Hagen tallied her 500th career point, and currently has 503 career points.
NEW LAST NAME, SAME RECORD-HOLDER - Brittany (Tressler) Phillips got married this past summer, and she entered her senior season first in career 3-point FG percentage (50-132, .379), and is third in 3-pointers made, as well as second in career free throw percentage (128-170, .753).
To date, Phillips is 64-167 (.383) behind the three-point arc, including 14-35 (.400) this season, and has moved into second on the career 3-pointers made list.
She is 176-227 (.775) career free throw shooting, going 46-57 (.807) this year.
Phillips took over No. 10 on USU's Career Scoring List, passing Lori Becker's 726 points from 1981-83. Phillips has 746 points. At No. 9 is Pat Montgomery (1977-80) with 836 points.
PEBLEY'S BITS
- Now in her fourth season, head coach Raegan Pebley has an overall record of 29-72 (.287) in 101 games overall and a 5-18 (.217) mark in WAC action... Pebley is in her fourth season, which is tied for the most among USU women's basketball coaches. Fern Gardner (1972-76) and Cindy Perkins (1978-82) also had four-year tenures leading the Aggies' program. Gardner has the most wins (55) while Perkins has coached in the most games (115) in USU coaching history.
- The 2006 senior class will be the first group of players that Pebley has recruited and developed from freshmen to seniors, and this class will be the first senior class to be here four years since 1986-87, as USU reinstated women's basketball for the 2003-04 season.
- Seven players earned academic all-conference honors in 2006, the most under Pebley's tenure.
LAST TIME OUT - LOGAN, Utah - Utah State was down nine points at 55-46 with 2:38 to play and closed the gap to 58-57 with 22.8 seconds left, but the Aggies couldn't get over the hump, falling to Hawai'i, 62-57, Saturday night in a Western Athletic Conference women's basketball contest at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, spoiling USU's "Think Pink Night."
The loss moves USU to 7-12 overall and 3-4 in WAC action, after losing on a Saturday for the first time this season, as the Aggies are now 3-1 on Saturdays. Hawai'i, which won for just the second time in its last nine games is now 8-12 overall and 2-6 in WAC play.
The Rainbow Wahine have also won three in a row against the Aggies, evening the all-time series at 3-3.
Senior forward Brittany Phillips hit three-pointers on consecutive USU possessions in the final minute as the Aggies mounted a rally, but it came up short. Phillips ended the game with a season-high three three-pointers, part of 11 points.
Junior guard Taylor Richards tied a career-high with three treys, as she netted a team-high 13 points, giving her 730 for her career and moving into No. 11 on USU's career points list. Sophomore forward Lindsey Freeze led USU with a season-high seven rebounds to go with eight points, while sophomore guard Danyelle Snelgro dished out a game-high five assists.
USU shot better behind the arc (40.9 percent, 9-22) than they did from the field, hitting 33.3 percent (21-63). The Aggies were just 54.5 percent (6-11) at the free throw line.
Hawai'i was 41.3 percent from the field (19-46), also shooting better behind the arc at 41.7 percent (5-12) from three-point range. The Rainbow Wahine were also 19-26 (73.1 percent) at the charity stripe.
The Aggies committed a season-low 10 turnovers, compared to 18 miscues for Hawai'i.
The Rainbow Wahine, who led from start-to-finish, went on a 7-0 run to take a 23-13 lead before Utah State closed out the half with a 9-2 run, capped by a three-pointer from just inside the mid-court line by Richards at the buzzer to send the Aggies into halftime down 25-22.
Hawai'i came out of halftime with a 6-0 streak, forcing USU to take a timeout. The deficit grew to 42-32 after an old-fashioned three-point play by Smith at the 12:45 mark. After UH went up 55-46 with 2:38 to go after another three-point play from Smith, USU started its comeback.
SCOUTING SAN JOSE STATE - The Spartans are 2-20 overall and 1-8 in WAC play. San Jose State has lost eight of its last night, as the Spartans snapped their seven-game losing skid with a 57-56 win over Hawai'i last Thursday, Jan. 25, on SJSU's home court. The Spartans fell to New Mexico State, 79-53, Saturday at Las Cruces, N.M. The Spartans take on Idaho on Thursday before facing USU on Saturday.
SJSU is ninth in the WAC in scoring offense (56.5 ppg) and eighth in the league in scoring defense (69.7 ppg), to rank ninth in scoring margin (-13.1).
The Spartans are led by 5-9 sophomore guard Natalie White, who is averaging 12.0 ppg and 3.4 rpg, as well as a team-leading 28.3 percent (30-106) from three-point range. In the WAC statistic rankings, White ranks 12th in scoring and seventh in three-pointers per game (1.36). White had a team-high 13 points and four rebounds, as well as three assists in Thursday's win over Hawai'i, but was held scoreless for the first time this season in Saturday's loss to New Mexico State. White had eight points against Utah State on Jan. 20.
Six-foot freshman forward Brittany Powell adds 10.2 ppg and a team-high 5.6 rpg, which ranks 12th in the league. Powell also leads SJSU and ranks tied for eighth in the WAC with 0.8 bpg. In Saturday's loss, Powell had 10 points and tied a season-low with three rebounds. Powell posted eight points and eight rebounds in the first meeting with Utah State on Jan. 20.
Derrick Allen (UC Santa Barbara) is the Spartans' interim head coach, taking over the team before SJSU's game at Arkansas State on Dec. 2. Allen, who previously was an assistant on the SJSU men's basketball team this season and last year, has a 2-14 mark.
SERIES HISTORY - Saturday is the fourth meeting between USU and SJSU, with the Spartans holding a 3-1 advantage. USU and SJSU first met in the 1980-81 season-opener on Nov. 20, 1980, with the Spartans winning, 88-66.
San Jose State both of last year's match-ups, 63-51 at Logan on Jan. 5 in the WAC opener, and 70-49 on March 4 at San Jose in the regular-season finale.
The Aggies won this season's first meeting, 58-50, on Jan. 20 at Logan.
LAST YEAR AT SAN JOSE - In the regular season-finale at San Jose on March 4, SJSU's inside tandem of Amber Jackson and Lamisha Augustine combined for 49 points and 26 rebounds to lead the Spartans to a 70-49 win against USU.
San Jose State improved to 13-14 overall and 8-8 in the Western Athletic Conference, while Utah State dipped to 3-23 overall and 2-14 in WAC play. SJSU claimed the fourth seed in the league tournament, while USU entered the eight-nine play-in game as the ninth-seed and met Idaho.
Utah State was led by Taylor Richards, who scored 14 points, her most in the last 17 games. Backcourt mate Danyelle Snelgro added 11 points and a team best seven rebounds.
No other Aggie scored in double figures, but Jenny Gross chipped in eight points and six rebounds. Ashley Rutledge added five points and matched a career-high with six rebounds for the third time in the last four games.
USU shot just 25 percent from the field in the game, while the home-standing Spartans shot 49 percent and out-rebounded the Aggies 42-36.
FIRST MEETING THIS SEASON - Jenny Gross scored 13 points, including four to spark a 9-2 run at the end of the game to help Utah State to a 58-50 win against San Jose State at Logan on Jan. 20.
USU improved to 7-10 overall as well as 3-2 in the WAC. The Aggies have also won three of their last four games. San Jose State meanwhile fell to 1-19 and 0-6 in league play.
Gross, a junior forward, also added a game-high nine rebounds in addition to her 13 points. She reached double-figure point totals for the fourth straight game as well as for the fifth time in the last six contests.
Two other USU players reached double-figures as Taylor Richards scored 11 and Brittany Phillips chipped in 10. San Jose State was led by Myosha Barnes, who scored a game-high 18 points.
The visiting Spartans ran out to a 29-25 halftime advantage and led 34-27 early in the second half. However, USU went on a 15-2 run to take a 42-36 lead at the 12:15 mark.
SJSU responded with six straight points to tie the game at 42, but the Aggies used back-to-back baskets by Lindsay Freeze and a pair of free throws by Camille Brox to regain the lead at 48-42 with 8:23 remaining.
Once again SJSU fought back pulling with 49-48 after a Barnes layup at the 2:59 mark, but USU closed the game on the 9-2 run to get the victory.
Each team had more turnovers than baskets as San Jose State committed 24 miscues while making 18 baskets and shooting just 35.3 percent. USU handed the ball over 22 times and made just 17 baskets while shooting 36.2 percent.
SJSU out-rebounded the Aggies 37-28, but USU took advantage of its trips to the free throw line, making 21 of 28, while SJSU was 10 of 13 from the line. In all, SJSU was called for 21 fouls while USU was whistled just 12 times.
Danyelle Snelgro, who was just two of 10 from the field, made five of six free throw attempts, all in the final 29 seconds and finished with nine points and a game-high five assists.
Camille Brox provided a spark off the bench as in just 15 minutes, she made four free throws, grabbed two rebounds and had a team-high three steals.
ABOUT NEW MEXICO STATE - The maroon-clad Aggies of New Mexico State have won five of their last eight, and take a 9-10 overall and 4-3 WAC record into their game Thursday at WAC-leaders Boise State. New Mexico State beat San Jose State, 79-53, on Saturday to stop a two-game losing slide, falling on the road at Nevada, 74-70, on Jan. 20 and 83-74 in 3OT at Idaho on Jan. 24.
NMSU is seventh in the league stats in scoring offense (61.9 ppg) and fourth in scoring defense (64.4 ppg), to rank fifth in scoring margin (-2.4).
Sherell Neal, a 6-0 junior forward, ranks second in the WAC with 15.4 ppg and leads the WAC with 9.6 rpg. Neal ranks 30th in the NCAA in rebounding. In Saturday's win over SJSU, Neal tied for team-high scoring honors with 15 points, as well as a game-high nine rebounds.
Five-eight senior guard Cecilia Russell-Nava leads the WAC and ranks seventh in the NCAA in three-pointers per game, hitting 2.95 (56-166), to also rank ninth in the conference and 99th in the country in three-point percentage (.337). Russell-Nava, who averages 12.2 ppg, hit four treys on her way to 14 points Saturday.
NMSU head coach Darin Spence (Marymount College, 1985) is in his fifth year guiding the maroon-clad Aggies. Spence has posted a 41-65 record at NMSU, including 9-14 in WAC play, as the maroon-clad Aggies are fellow sophomores to the league with the navy blue-clad Aggies of USU. Spence is in his 13th year as a collegiate head coach with an overall ledger of 326-90.
SERIES HISTORY - Monday is the 21st meeting between USU and NMSU, with the maroon-clad Aggies holding a 13-7 advantage. That is the longest standing series between USU and any WAC opponent, as both Aggies joined the WAC last year, and were in the Intermountain Athletic Conference together from 1974-82, and were fellow High Country Athletic Conference members from 1984-87, before USU disbanded the program after the 1987 season.
Last year's USU win snapped NMSU's five-game win streak in the series, and the maroon Aggies have won nine of the last 11 meetings.
LAST YEAR AT LAS CRUCES - Senior Jessica Freeman led Utah State's women's basketball team to its first win in WAC history scoring 13 points in Utah State's 55-45 win over the New Mexico State Aggies on Feb. 9, 2006.
The win snapped USU's season-long 12-game losing skid.
Freeman also led the Aggies with a season-high 12 rebounds.
Utah State took the lead less than four minutes into the first half and never trailed again. Utah State pulled as far as six points ahead of New Mexico State time and time again in the first half, while at times their lead was cut to two. Utah State led at the half 31-25 off a 3-pointer made by Camille Brox at the buzzer.
New Mexico State pulled within three entering the second half, but Utah State never allowed them any closer through the rest of the game. With 13 minutes remaining in the game, Utah State went on a thirteen-point scoring streak, allowing NMSU only one free throw in nearly seven minutes to lead 48-32. New Mexico State then made seven straight to pull within nine, but the Aggies kept them at bay, with a final score of 55-45.
Sophomore Jenny Gross joined Freeman in double-figure scoring with 10 points, while senior Ali Marchant added eight. Gross also added eight rebounds.
With the win, coach Raegan Pebley tallied her 21st win, tying Marilyn Weiss (1977-78) for third-lace on the Aggie career wins list.
UP NEXT - Utah State wraps up its three-game road swing with a match-up with Idaho on Feb. 10 at Moscow, Idaho.
The Aggies return home to take on Nevada on Feb. 15.
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