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Show Friday, Nov. 18, 2011 Page 7 Frida y Sp Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.utahstatesman.com Touch Base WACStandings Football WAC Nevada 4-0 La. Tech 4-1 Hawaii 3-3 Utah State 2-2 NMSU 2-3 Fresno 2-3 2-4 SJSU 1-4 Idaho OVERALL 6-3 6-4 5-5 4-5 4-6 3-7 3-7 2-8 Top 25 1 N. Carolina (62) 2-0 2 Kentucky 1-0 3 Ohio State (1) 1-0 4 Connecticut (2) 1-0 5 Syracuse 1-0 6 Duke 2-0 7 Florida 1-0 8 Louisville 2-0 9 Pittsburgh 2-0 10 Memphis 0-0 11 Baylor 2-0 12 Kansas 1-0 13 Xavier 1-0 14 Wisconsin 1-0 15 Arizona 3-0 16 Alabama 1-0 17 Michigan 1-0 1-1 18 Vanderbilt 19 Texas A&M 2-0 20 Cincinnati 1-0 21 Marquette 1-0 22 Gonzaga 1-0 23 California 2-0 24 Missouri 1-0 25 Florida State 1-0 Others receiving votes: Temple 79, Michigan State 78, Washington 47, Cleveland State 43, New Mexico 34, UCLA 34, Belmont 21, Creighton 19, Villanova 19, Texas 18, Drexel 13, UNLV 9, Saint Mary's 6, Purdue 5, San Diego State 3, George Mason 3, Harvard 3, Butler 3, Long Beach State 3, Utah State 3, Illinois 2, Marshall 1, Minnesota 1, Akron 1, West Virginia 1 AggieSchedules Football SATURDAY, Nov. 19 USU at Idaho, 3 p.m. Men's Basketball Nov. 19 USU vs. Southern Utah, 7 p.m., SATURDAY, Dee Glen Smith Spectrum FRIDAY, Hockey Nov. 18 USU vs. Colorado State, 7 p.m., Eccles Ice Center SATURDAY, Nov. 19 USU vs. Texas A&M, 7 p.m. Nov. 20 USU vs. Colorado, 7 p.m., Ogden Volleyball TUESDAY, Nov. 22 USU vs. Fresno State, 7:30 p.m., SUNDAY, WAC Tournament, Las Vegas W. Basketball SATURDAY, Nov. 19 USU at UC Irvine, 3 p.m., Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Volleyball signs Richins Davis High School standout Candace Richins signed a letter of intent to play volleyball for the Aggies starting in 2012. The 6-foot-1 outside hitter had 15 kills, six digs, four blocks and three assists, earning her tournament MVP honors as she helped the Darts win the Utah 5A State Championship for the first time since 1975 in straight sets over Lehi. Richins helped Davis High School win two-straight titles in Region 1 and was nominated to win the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Utah. She also took first-team all-state honors last season. Aggies beat Weber State 73-63 BY CURTIS LUNDSTROM staff writer Senior forward Ashley Brown scored 21 points as she led the Aggies to a 73-63 home-opener victory over the Weber State Wildcats on Wednesday. The University of California-Santa Barbara transfer also pulled down nine rebounds. "She's good because her teammates put her in good positions," head coach Raegan Pebley said. "She's a great passer. We're going to work on playing better around her." The Wildcats and Aggies combined for eight turnovers and only 12 points in a sloppy first four minutes, but USU held an 8-4 advantage. The Aggies settled in at that point and started the first of several runs that built a 15 point edge, just midway through the first half. The Wildcats responded with a run of their own, scoring 14 of the next 18 points to get within five with just less than six minutes remaining in the half. The Aggies made sure that was as close as the Wildcats got. USU closed the half on a 17-6 run, with senior guard Brooke Jackson scoring nine points during the stretch. Pebley credited the success to the post play of Brown and junior center Banna Diop. "That was part of our gameplan," Pebley said, who is now in her ninth season. "We felt like that was an advantage, we'll always look to exploit that." Utah State out-rebounded Weber State 38-28, including 13 offensive rebounds, and scored 17 secondchance points. The Aggies also out-scored the Wildcats in the paint, 32-20. The Wildcats had solid efforts from their guards, sophomore Justine Johnson and senior Caela Moore. Johnson went 6-for-7 from the field and finished with a team-high 16 points, and Moore had 15 points to go with a team-high four assists. "That's a team that's playing really hard," Pebely said. "We knew they were going to come in really motivated to get that first win." Despite the struggles at the post, Weber State kept USU within striking distance due to its sharp - shooting from behind the 3-point line. After backto-back 3-pointers, junior guard Megan Patterson brought the Wildcats within eight points with about 17 minutes to play, forcing a Utah State timeout. Enter, sophomore guard Jennifer Schlott. With its top two scorers on the bench, Schlott took over for the Aggies and scored the game's next seven points. The 5-foot-6 Arizona native found holes in the Wildcat defense, and her teammates found her on three of the Aggies' first four possessions out of the timeout. "That's what we call ballin' right there," Brown said of Schlott's performance. "Jen stepped it up. She was getting pressured the whole game. She took it to herself and showed swag. She led the team in her position." Utah State kept the momentum flowing and hit its largest lead of the game with 14 minutes remaining at 60-41. Over the next 10 minutes, both teams played evenly. With the game all but out of reach, the Wildcats went on a 7-0 run over the final 3 minutes for the final margin of 73-63. "We're going to celebrate the win," Pebley said. "We wanted to not only get the win but play better in specific areas, and I felt like that was better." Utah State improved to 2 1 on the season with the win, while Weber State fell to 0-2 under new head coach Bethann Ord. The Aggies travel to California to play UC-Irvine at 3 p.m. Saturday. - – curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail.usu.edu JUNIOR CENTER BANNA DIOP shoots over Weber State's Megan Patterson in the 73-63 win Wednesday night. Diop went 2 for 6 with seven points and eight boards. CODY GOCHNOUR photo Mullane helps Ags beat his former team BY MEREDITH KINNEY sports senior writer In his first meeting against his former team, Utah State goaltender Allesandro Mullane made 42 saves. After a rough opening, the senior rallied and notched 19 saves in the second period alone. The Aggies beat the San Jose State Spartans 6 4 in the opening game of the Beehive Showcase. After facing unmatched opponents talent-wise all season long, the Aggies got their first regional test against No. 10 San Jose State. Utah State was led by forward Brian Gibbons, who had two goals and an assist on the night. "We haven't played a lot of strong teams," USU head coach Jon Eccles said. "San Jose is a good team. They haven't played a lot of strong teams, but they really stepped up." Just 45 seconds ticked off the clock before the Aggies scored their first goal. Defenseman Ty Johns took the puck behind the goal and then turned to find freshman Jordan Kerr, who one-timed the puck in to give the Aggies a 1-0 lead. Mullane started slow in goal and allowed three goals in the first — the most he has given up in a single - See HOCKEY, Page 8 USU GOALKEEPER ALLESANDRO MULLANE recorded 42 saves in his first-ever game against his former team, the San Jose State Spartans. The senior helped Utah State win 6-4. KIMBERLY SHORTS photo |