Dec. 21, 2007

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State women's basketball continues its three-game homestand, taking on Saint Mary's in a 1 p.m. tip-off on Saturday, Dec. 22 in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

The Aggies are 2-7 overall after falling at Utah, 70-38, on Saturday and losing to Montana State, 70-49, on Monday. Utah State is 0-3 at home this season.

As of Dec. 16, Utah State was 13th in the nation in free throw percentage (.775, 93-of-120), however after shooting a season-low 38 percent on Monday, the Aggies are now shooting .725 percent (100-of-138). USU was also 38th in three-point FG percentage before Monday's game (.370, 44-of-119) and are now .356 percent from three-point range (48-of-138).

In the WAC statistics, Utah State leads the conference in free throw percentage (.725), as well as ranking eighth in scoring offense (60.0 ppg), third in scoring defense (66.8 ppg), to rank seventh in scoring margin (-6.8). The Aggies are also sixth in field goal percentage (.378) and second in three-point field goal pct. (.356). Utah State is also third in turnover margin (+2.67), third in steals (9.67 spg), fourth in assist/turnover ratio (0.69), sixth in assists (10.67 apg) and ninth in rebounding margin (-6.7).

Junior guard Danyelle Snelgro (5-5, Altadena, Calif.) leads Utah State with 12.2 ppg, dishing out 2.3 apg and swiping 2.1 spg. Snelgro tallied a season-high 17 points at Utah on Saturday and scored eight points on Monday against Montana State. Snelgro leads the team with a .783 free throw percentage (18-of-23). In the league stats, Snelgro ranks fourth in free throw pct., third in three-point FG pct. (.435), seventh in steals, eighth in scoring, ninth in FG pct. (.451) and 11th in assists.

Taylor Richards (SR, G, 5-4, West Valley City, Utah) averages 10.0 ppg and 3.2 rpg, to go along with 2.8 assists and 2.4 steals per game. Richards tallied seven points at Utah on Saturday while she posted four assists and four rebounds on Monday against MSU. She netted a season-high 18 points against Pacific on Nov. 9. Richards is third in the WAC in steals, sixth in assists, seventh in FT Pct. (22-of-29, .759) and tied for 17th in scoring.

Jamelah Brown (SR, G, 5-10, Phoenix Ariz.) posts 8.3 ppg and shares the lead with Gross for a team-high 5.1 rpg. Brown tallied 12 points and a career-high nine rebounds on Monday against Montana State. She also posted a season-high 16 points at Eastern Washington on Dec. 2. In the league stats, Brown is first in three-point FG pct. (.476), ninth in defensive rebounds (3.9 per game) and is tied for 18th in rebounding.

The Gaels are 6-7 on the season after falling at UC Davis, 98-91, on Monday and losing at Utah, 85-59, on Wednesday. Saint Mary's opened the season with a win-loss pattern for four games and then picked up three straight wins before losing three games. They stopped that skid with a win on Dec. 12 against Fresno State, 79-68, and then dropping the last two in a row.

SMC is led by 5-5 junior guard Jontelle Smith's 16.4 ppg, hitting .388 percent (40-of-103) from three-point range. Smith is also 35-of-49 (.714 percent) at the free throw line. Smith recorded a career-high 27 points in the win against Fresno State on Dec. 12 and tallied 26 points in the loss at UC Davis on Monday.

Louella Tomlinson, a 6-4 freshman forward, posts 11.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, to go along with 5.0 blocks per game. Tomlinson is shooting a team-high 75.4 percent (43-of-57) from behind the charity stripe. She posted 18 points, eight rebounds and five blocks at UC Davis on Monday. Tomlinson posted 10 points and three blocks on Wednesday at Utah.

Lauren Shaughnessy, a 5-4, senior guard, tallies 10.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg, dishing out 3.1 apg and swiping 2.3 spg. She posts a team-high .453 percent (53-of-117) from field goal range and is 26-of-36 (.722 percent) from the free throw line. Shaughnessy grabbed 11 rebounds against Fresno State on Dec. 12, tallied six assists on Monday at UC Davis and posted 16 points on Wednesday at Utah.

The Gaels are coached by Paul Thomas (Wayne State, 1986), who is in his second year at Saint Mary's. Thomas has compiled an 18-23 record at SMC, while he has a 241-115 in his 13 years as a head coach.

Utah State leads the series, 1-0, defeating Saint Mary's last season, 67-61, at Moraga, Calif.

All the Utah State women's basketball games can be heard on KLGN (1390 AM) in Logan with Evan Nyman calling the play-by-play and Clair Anderson providing color commentary for home games. They can also be heard on the web, through Yahoo! Sports, by going to the Utah State Athletic home page at www.UtahStateAggies.com and clicking on the Yahoo! Sports link in the right hand column.

Fans can follow all the Aggie home games through the USU web site at www.UtahStateAggies.com via GameTracker, a free service, which updates play-by-play and statistics throughout the game.

The Aggies wrap up their three-game homestand battling the third of four in-state foes this season by taking on BYU on Saturday, Dec. 29 at 5 p.m. The game is a doubleheader with the men's team who will host Oral Roberts at approximately 7 p.m. USU finishes nonconference action at Cedar City, Utah against Southern Utah on Wednesday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m. in the Centrum Arena.

Admission to Utah State's women's basketball games is $5 for adults, $1 for youth. Contact the USU Athletics Ticket Office at (435)797-0305 or at 1-888-U-STATE-1 (1-888-878-2831) for more information or visit the Utah State athletic web site at www.UtahStateAggies.com and click on Tickets in the left hand column.