Dec. 22, 2007

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LOGAN, Utah - Lindsey Shipley scored a career-high 19 points to lead a quartet of double-figure scorers for Utah State in an easy 81-60 non-conference win against Saint Mary's here at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Saturday afternoon, giving the Aggies its first home win of the season.

The win snapped a two-game losing skid for USU and improved its record to 3-7, while Saint Mary's has lost six of its last seven games in falling to 6-8.

Taylor Richards added 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals for Utah State, while Danyelle Snelgro and Alice Coddington each added 11 points.

Louella Tomlinson had game-highs of 26 points and 13 rebounds to lead Saint Mary's, while Serena Benavente scored 11 points.

Saint Mary's scored the first points of the game on a jumper by Benavente, but the lead was short-lived as Coddington hit a three-pointer on Utah State's next possession and the Aggies never trailed again. USU increased its margin to 21-9 on a free throw by Ana Pares and went into the half with a 38-27 advantage.

In the opening period, Utah State shot 45.5 percent from the field (15-33) and 60.0 percent from behind the arc (3-5), while Saint Mary's made just 35.5 percent of its field goals (11-31), including 3-of-8 (.375) from three-point range. Shipley led the Aggies with nine points at the break, while Richards and Snelgro each had eight.

Utah State scored the first four points of the second-half to increase its lead to 15, before Saint Mary's scored the next six points to get within nine. USU then went on an 11-2 run over the next three-plus minutes to push its margin to 18 at 53-35. The Gaels got back within nine points on a jumper by Tomlinson at the 12:18 mark to make the score 55-46, but the Aggies regained control of the game with a 15-2 run en route to the 21-point win.

Utah State finished the game by shooting 44.9 percent from the field (31-69), 45.5 percent from three-point range (5-11) and 66.7 percent from the free throw line (14-21), while Saint Mary's shot just 37.5 percent (24-64), including 30.8 percent from behind the three-point arc (4-13). The Gaels did out-rebound USU, 47-40, but the Aggies did a much better job controlling the ball as it recorded a season-high 19 assists to go along with a season-low nine turnovers.

Utah State will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 29 when it hosts in-state rival BYU (5-6) at 5 p.m. in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum prior to USU's men's team hosting Oral Roberts at 7 p.m.