Feb. 20, 2007

LOGAN, Utah - Women's basketball player Brittany Phillips has been named the Utah State Athlete of the Week for the period ending Feb. 18 it was announced today. Phillips earned the honor, which saw four different nominees earn votes from the media.

Phillips, a senior forward scored in double-figures for the sixth-straight game and 10th in last 11 with 18 points in USU's 79-63 loss at Hawaii on Sunday. Phillips also tied a career-high by hitting four three-pointers. On Thursday, Phillips recorded 17 points and eight rebounds to lead Utah State to a 59-44 win over Nevada.

On Feb. 12, Phillips was named the Western Athletic Conference player of the week. On the year, she leads the team in scoring at 11.6 points, rebounding at 5.7 and total blocks with 13. In conference only games, she has averaged 13.7 points per contest.

Phillips, a Mountain View (Orem, Utah) High School product, was an honorable mention all-Big West selection in 2005 after leading the team in scoring at 11.2 points per game. Last year as a junior she came off the bench and averaged 3.7 points per contest.

Phillips ranks among the top three on the USU career charts in three-point percentage, three-pointers made and free throw percentage.

The Aggies have two home games this week, hosting New Mexico State on Thursday and Louisiana Tech on Saturday. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. tipoffs.

NOMINEES FROM OTHER SPORTS INCLUDED:

Basketball - Jaycee Carroll... Led Utah State to a pair of wins last week as it defeated Hawai'i 58-50 at home, followed by a 71-65 win at Oral Roberts in the 2007 ESPNU O'Reilly BracketBusters. The Golden Eagles entered the game with a 12-1 home record and had won 12 of its last 13 games overall. Against the Rainbow Warriors, Carroll just missed his fourth double-double of the season as he had 11 points and nine rebounds to go along with three steals. Against Oral Roberts, Carroll scored a game-high 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting to rally Utah State from an 18-point first-half deficit. He also added a team-high eight rebounds and three steals in the game. For the week, Carroll averaged 18.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 3.0 steals per game, while shooting 48.1 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from three-point range, and 70.0 percent from the free throw line.

Golf - Preston Otte... Recorded two under par rounds and tied for 11th place individually to lead USU's effort at the Souther Utah golf tournament. The senior opened the tournament with a one-under par 71 and bettered that the next day with a 70. The Aggies placed 15th in the event.

Gymnastics - Katy Schilla... Won the vault for the third-time this season with a 9.825 at SUU (Feb. 16). Had the best individual finish for USU as she placed second on the vault, scoring a 9.850, the third best mark on the team this season, at home against #4 Utah. Currently ranks 25th in the nation on vault.

Softball - Aubrie Stroman... The sophomore 1B went 3-4 with four RBI belting a two-run HR and a two-run double in USU's 7-4 win over Seton Hall Sunday. Stroman has five hits for the weekend, as USU is currently 1-3 at the UNLV Louisville Slugger Desert Classic.

Women's Tennis - Courtney Anderson... Improved to 6-1 on the season after posting a 6-0, 6-0 victory against Sahsley Lafreen at number one singles in USU's 7-0 win against Dixie State. The senior from Salt Lake City, Utah has played all of her matches at number singles this year. She is also 5-2 in doubles play and picked up a win against Dixie as well.

2006-07 USU ATHLETE OF THE WEEK WINNERS
Aug. 28 - Amanda Nielson, Volleyball
Sept. 5 - Amanda Nielson, Volleyball
Sept. 11 - Marcus Cross, Football
Sept. 18 - Vance Twitchell, Cross Country
Sept. 25 - Erin Salmon, Soccer
Oct. 2 - Preston Otte, Golf
Oct. 9 - Riley Nelson, Football
Oct. 16 - Kelsi Peterson, Volleyball
Oct. 23 - Paul Igboeli, Football
Oct. 30 - Vance Twitchell, Cross Country
Nov. 6 - Charity Weston, Soccer
Nov. 13 - Beth Hodge, Volleyball
Nov. 20 - Jaycee Carroll, Basketball
Nov. 27 - Jaycee Carroll, Basketball
Dec. 4 - Jaycee Carroll, Basketball
Dec. 11 - Jaycee Carroll, Basketball
Dec. 18 - Chris Sessions, Basketball
Jan. 8 - Taylor Richards, Women's Basketball
Jan. 15 - Jaycee Carroll, Basketball
Jan. 22 - Amber Peterson, Women's Track
Jan. 29 - Jessica Parenti-Otte, Gymnastics
Feb. 5 - Jaycee Carroll, Basketball
Feb. 12 - Stacie Lifferth, Women's Track
Feb. 19 - Brittany Phillips, Women's Basketball