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Show s Monday, March 21, 2011 Page 8 MondayS110 Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.utahstatesman.com Record-setting season ends for Aggie women in Provo By MARK ISRAELSEN staff writer A record season for the Utah State women's basketball team finally came to an end Saturday in their second-round game of the WNIT. The Aggies lost to in-state rival BYU, 102-63, at the Marriot Center in Provo. USU, who finished the season with a school-record 18 wins, advanced to play BYU after the team's first post-season win since 1977, but came up short against the highpowered Cougars. "We did not play as well as we know we're capable of doing," head coach Raegan Pebley said. "It was a tough game, but I'm proud of our kids' effort, I'm proud of their character, and I'm really proud of who they are as a program and how they represent our school." The Aggies started the game ready to play as sophomore Banna Diop put USU on the board first. For the next several minutes, Utah State was in control of the game, and even held a 13-5 lead after about five minutes of play. It didn't take long for BYU to show why they are such a tough team, though, as they reeled off a 9-0 run to quickly take their first lead of the game at 14-13. For about the next 10 minutes the game see-sawed between the two teams, neither one ever having a lead of more than three points. With about five minutes to go in the first half, BYU turned on the jets, finishing the half with a 20-7 run and going into the locker room up 47-33. "We knew we needed to play well defensively," Pebley said. "We needed to try to force them into turnovers and rush them because they are too good of shooters, and we just weren't able to do that tonight. They hit 3s, they rebounded really well and they were very physical." The second half started and the Cougars continued to pull away. In the first two minutes, the BYU lead was up to 20, and although the Aggies continued to fight, they had trouble getting any closer. As the half wore on, the lead continued to grow for BYU and it turned into a depressing deja vu for the Aggies after they suffered a big loss in Provo earlier in the season. "We were a totally different team the last time we played them, and we kind of redefined ourselves after that game. But I think the emotions, the physical and the emotional toll of the past week and a half might have caught up with us a little bit." The final buzzer sounded and the Aggies season was over, but what a season it was. It was Utah State's best season ever in terms of wins, as they won 18, the most in USU history. This season the Aggies also returned to the postseason, playing in their first tournament game since the 1981-82 season, as well as winning their first post-season game since 1977. "It was a big step for our program," Pebley said of the season. "Getting into post-season play and also competing the way we did in conference, the players really invested themselves and sacrificed a lot for this team." Saturday's game also marked the last game for four Aggie seniors, Alice Coddington, Amber White, Stacey Howard, and LaCale Pringle-Buchanan, all of whom will be greatly missed by Utah State. "Those seniors were really special to this program," Pebley said. "They've given so much to this program and to this university and they are proud to be Aggies." Despite losing important players, the future looks bright for Utah State. The Aggies will return four starters next year, including Ashlee Brown, who was named first-team All-WAC and WAC Newcomer of the Year along with Devyn Christensen, who was second on the team in scoring this season. "We're excited about the youth that we have returning next year and all their potential," Pebley said. "They (the seniors) believed they were part of something pretty special and that became contagious throughout our program. These younger players learned a lot from those seniors." — mark.israelsen@aggiemaiLusu. edu SOPHOMORE GUARD DEVYN CHRISTENSEN burns past a New Mexico State defender during WAC Tournament action earlier this month. The Aggie women's record-setting season ended Saturday with a loss to BYU in the second round of the WNIT. TODD JONES photo Gymnastics places fifth at WAC championship meet By MEGAN ALLEN sports senior writer The Utah State gymnastics team took fifth place at the Western Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday in San Jose, Calif, matching their predicted finish in the preseason poll with a score of 191.850. Boise State led the meet with 195.700, winning their third championship over the last four years. Last year's champions, Southern Utah University, took second place with 194.825. "We had a great warm-up, so we were kind of surprised that we competed the way we did," USU head coach Jeff Richards said. Aggie senior Jackie Dillon tied for seventh place in all-around competition with a score of 38.600. Freshman Rachel Vaske took ninth place with her score of 38.250. Senior Lyndsie Boone finished in 11th with a score of 38.100. The Aggies had a bye on the first rotation, but joined in the action on the second rotation, starting with floor exercises. With a team total of 48.450 on floor, Dillon was the top finisher for the Aggies with a score of 9.800. That put her in eighth place for floor overall. Vaske opened on floor with a 9.575, followed by freshman Cammi Muhr with a 9.775, just shy of her career-best score. The Aggies moved to the vault for the third rotation. The team scored a season-high in last week's meet, but had the season-low Saturday with a total of 96.225. led off by junior Rebecca Holliday and her score of 9.100. The vault got off to a rough start as the first two girls did not have complete routines. Junior Rebecca Holliday led off with a 9.100, followed by a 9.050 by Muhr. Freshman Paige Jones was USU's top vaulter, scoring a 9.725 to tie for 15th place. Boone landed a 9.650 before Dillon closed out the lineup with her score of 9.700. "We had a pretty rough vault rotation," Richards said. "After the falls, their faces were a little bit devastated." The Aggies had their second bye of the meet on the fourth rotation before moving to the bars for rotation five. Vaske started the lineup off with a 9.625, before a 9.650 by sophomore Amanda Watamaniuk. Boone landed a 9.725 and Dillon followed with a 9.750, putting her in the position to tie for 10th place on bars overall. Junior Nicole Simoneau rounded out the rotation with a 9.725, only the fourth time this season that she did not post at least a 9.800. For the sixth and final rotation, the Aggies headed to the beam, where Boone opened with a 9.025. Junior Haley Hogan held the Aggies' top score with her 9.675. Dillon then posted a 9.350 before an 8.600 by Muhr to close out the meet. That left USU with a total of 47.175 on beam, contributing to the final score of 191.850. "It was a real 'fight through' kind of night," Richards said. "They showed a lot of heart and really persevered." The WAC championship meet was the final night of competition for the Aggies as a team this season, but are hoping a few girls will move on to regional competition on a personal level. Regional qualification scores will be submitted Monday morning with the announcement following soon. Both seniors should be moving on. The Aggies are already looking forward to next year's season. "We're only losing two girls and have a good group of young ones coming in next year," Richards said, "so that will be good." — megan.allen@aggiemaiLusu.edu Eight USU tracksters win events in Tucson By TAVIN STUCK! staff writer USU SENIOR LYNDSIE BOONE performs her routine on the bars during USU's final home meet against Cal State Fullerton. Boone's 9.725 was good for second-best on the team as USU notched it's best team score on the bars at Saturday's WAC championships with a 48.475. CARL RWILSON photo Eight different Utah State track and field athletes won titles in their events over the weekend at the Willie Williams Classic and Dave Murray Distance Carnival at Roy P. Drachman Stadium in Tucson, Ariz. Juniors Ruth Hilton and Daniel Howell won the women's and men's steeplechase, and seniors Eric Larson and Clint Silcock won the 1500-meter and high jump, respectively, on day one of the competition. On Saturday, junior Joe Canavan won the shot put, senior Jason Holt won the 800-meter race and sophomores Amber Thompson and Bri Campbell won the pole vault and high jump. Hilton was the only female Aggie in the field when she beat Arizona's Erin Menefee, who finished in second place by 30 I See TRACK, page 9 Grad Fair Mar 22, 23 9 cm-4pm West Ballroom If you are unable to attend the Grad Fair order online at AggieGear.com 'V March 21, 2011 I 1 Ut n at heSrtsatey USUFoca SAVE CAMPLF |