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Show Basketball Preview Special, Fall 2009 Page 12 ‘Growth’ is key word for Lady Aggies in ’09 The 2009-10 season should be a year of continued growth for the Aggies, as head coach Raegan Pebley and the Utah State women’s basketball team look to build off its best year since joining the Western Athletic Conference. Utah State will look to replace its two leading scorers, including Danyelle Snelgro, the teams career leader in steals and sixth player all-time to score over 1,000 points. In their fifth season in the WAC, the Aggies will high expectations after advancing to the WAC Tournament semifinal for the first time and finishing with a 16-15 overall record, the Aggies best since joining the conference. Utah State welcomes back seven letterwinners from last year’s team that finished with a 9-7 conference record. Among the returning letterwinners are three starters, including junior guard Alice Coddington (5-10, Canberra, Australia/Radford College), senior forward/ center Lydia Whitehead (Nibley, Utah/Mountain Crest HS/Utah) and senior forward/center Nicole Johnson (6-2, Vancouver, Wash./Columbia River HS). The three started all but one of the Aggies’ games last year and accounted for 31 percent of the team’s scoring last season. “Our team is focused on continuing our climb to the top of the WAC. Our program has and always will have as it’s mission to build itself and remain as one of the leaders in our conference,” Pebley said. Other returners to this year’s team include senior guard TaHara Williams (5-6, Chicago, Ill./Colgate College), junior guard LeeAnn Palo (5-9, Woodinville, Wash./ Woodinville HS), junior forward Stacey Howard (6-0, Queensland, Australia/St. Joseph’s/Northeastern JC), sophomore guard/forward Chelsea Burns (5-10, Carlsbad, Calif./La Jolla Country Day HS), junior guard/forward Amber White (5-10, San Leandro, Calif./San Leandro HS) and redshirt freshman center Banna Diop (6-6, Dakar, Senegal/Kurashiki Suisho HS). Seven newcomers are set to join the fold for Coach Pebley. Among the newcomers set to contribute this year are freshman forward Devyn Christensen (5-6, Caldwell, Idaho/ Vallivue HS), freshman guard Pualei Furtado (5-5, Kaneohe, Hawaii/ Kamehameha HS), redshirt freshman guard Trisha Jo Goddard (5-7, Fullerton, Calif./Troy HS), freshman guard Jenna Johnson (5-10, Wasilla, Alaska/Wasilla HS), freshman guard Ashley Mitchell (5-8, Long Beach, Calif./Milikan HS) and junior guard LaCale PringleBuchanan (5-10, Seattle, Wash./College of Southern Idaho). Also joining the Aggies is junior forward Ashlee Brown (6-0, Chandler, Ariz./UC Santa Barbara), who will sit out this year due to transfer rules. “While it is obvious we graduated an outstanding class last year, we also feel confident in the team we have now,” Pebley said. “We are deeper than we have been in a long time. We have a team that has been mentored well by their alumni and they have demonstrated a collective commitment in preparing for the season.” Lydia Whitehead is a veteran, returning for the Aggie Women. Statesman photo Check Out Our New Store by Les Schwab Monday-Friday 8am- 6pm Best Warranty in the Business FREE Protect Check Our thorough 36-step performance system inspection $85 Value! 752-1940 75 E. 2000 N. North Logan Locally Owned & Operated Transmissions Clutches Transfer Cases Brakes Tune Ups Shocks & Struts Cooling Systems “Over 35 Years In Business!” www.aamco.com Guards One of the returning starters is junior guard Alice Coddington. The Australia native was third on the team with 4.9 rebounds a game. She also added 5.1 points a game, and will asked to fill the void left by departed all-WAC guards Snelgro and Pares. Coddington started all 31 games last season. Chelsea Burns was set to build off her freshman year, where she was third on the team in three point percentage and scored 3.4 points per game before an injury ended her 2009-10 campaign. Senior TaHara Williams also saw plenty of action backing up Snelgro last year, playing in 10 games. “We anticipate seeing intense competition in our practices at the perimeter spot. With the graduation of Ana (Pares) and Danny (Snelgro), there are plenty of minutes up for grabs and an ample number of players with the capabilities and abilities to claim them,” Pebley said. Forwards/Centers Despite losing its top scorers in Snelgro and Ana Pares, Utah State returns with plenty of force in the middle. Starting forward senior Nicole Johnson and senior center Lydia Whitehead will lead the way defensively for the Aggies. Johnson ended the season with 56 blocks, good for second all-time in the USU single season record books. Whitehead chipped in another 37 blocks and lead the team with 6.2 rebounds a game. “Lydia (Whitehead), ZContinued, pg 14 |