None of the players on the roster were even born the last time this happened. Friday night in the Spectrum, USU beat the Utah in women’s basketball, 67-58, which the Aggies hadn’t done in 30 years.

The Utes, who lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament last year, visited the Spectrum for the first time since women’s basketball was reinstated in 2003.

Junior forward Amber White vividly remembers what happened the last time the Utes and Aggies met in 2007: The Utes dominated the Aggies in Salt Lake, 70-38.

“I knew my freshman year it didn’t look too good, but I didn’t want to focus on the past,” White said.

White didn’t seem bothered by the past as she surpassed her career best with 16 points in the first half and finished with a game-high 25. White was 10-of-14 from the field and 2-of-2 from 3-point land, part of an overll 54.2 percent shooting night by USU. White also had five rebounds and one assist.

White is a much better player and she knows it. White said that last year with Ana Pares and Danyelle Snelgro in the front court, she was just trying to learn. This year she has different plans.

“This year I am coming in and trying to take the lead and trying to fill the void that we lost last year,” White said.

“She’s definitely a leader off the court,” head coach Raegan Pebley said. “She is also a much better defender on and off the ball.”

Junior forward Stacey Howard also posted a career-best eight points. Howard scored seven of those points in the first half.

The Aggies got off to a quick start and led 18-5 only six minutes into the game. The Utes came storming back with a 9-0 run capped by a Kalee Whipple steal and layup midway through the first half.

Utah State returned the favor with a 14-2 run and pushed its lead to 16 on a White jumper. The Aggies shot a blistering 62.1 percent from the field in the first half and made 6-of-10 3-point shots.

Junior guard Alice Coddington continued to play well on both ends of the floor and scored 11 first-half points. Coddington finished the night with 18 points, three assists and two steals.

Coddington is another player on the Aggie squad who has improved from last year. Coddington, like White, knows her performance has improved. She won’t take any credit for much improved offensive output though.

“I just think I have a great team around me,” Coddington said.

The Aggie defense made the Utes’ offense look silly. The Utes shot 37.5 percent from the field and a meager 33.3 percent from the 3-point line.

“It’s not a win without defense, that’s where everything started for us,” White said.

It was an overall team effort that stopped the Utes’ offense, but senior center Lydia Whitehead and senior forward Nicole Johnson stopped the Ute guard and post players from scoring in the paint. The Aggie guards also frustrated the Utes’ front court, creating many turnovers.

“I think we knew in the end that defense was going to win this game for us,” Coddington said.

The Utes relied heavily on Mountain West Conference stand-out Kalee Whipple for offensive production the whole game. Whipple scored 14 points in the first half, the rest of the team scored 13. Center Taryn Wicijowski had the second most first-half points for the Utes with eight.

White said the Aggies weren’t solely focused on Whipple but on the visiting Utes as a whole. White said at the end of the game she didn’t even know how many points Whipple had.

“I just know they lost and we won and it feels good,” White said.

The Ags led by double digits most of the second half until Ute forward Diana Rolniak hit a layup and cut the Aggie lead to eight with 15 second left.

This win may have meant even more to coach Pebley, who respects Ute head coach Elaine Elliott. Overall Pebley was pleased with Friday’s performance. “It was good to see us jump out this early and it sets the bar high for practice and not just games,” Pebley said.

Even though Pebley was happy with the performance she did not share the same shocked feeling.

“We feel we can compete. We have competed with the two best schools in the state and we feel we can compete,” Pebley said.

The Lady Aggies start a two game road trip today against Portland. The Aggies then travel to San Francisco for a Sunday matinee.

The Aggies return to the Spectrum Nov. 28th and will face Montana Western as part of a double-header. Tip-off for that game is set for 3 p.m.

– ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu