Utah Tech University Athletics

Stan Plewe/Utah Tech Athletics

Women's Basketball 12/18/2011 6:23:00 PM Jeff Cluff, Coordinator of Media Relations

Vaifanua and Adams lead Red Storm to 79-73 win over San Marcos

Box Score SAINT GEORGE, Utah – Sheila Adams (Layton, UT/Layton) scored 19 points to lead the Dixie State College women's basketball team to a 79-73 win over Cal State San Marcos on Sunday afternoon inside the Burns Arena.

Helping Adams was Becca Thomas (Riverside, CA/Redwood) with 12 points, Chanel Maxey (Anaheim, CA/Canyon) and Shanae Vaifanua (Hurricane, UT/Hurricane) with 10 points each.

Erica Hayes (East Palo Alto, CA/Menlo-Atherton) led the Red Storm (6-3, 1-0 PWC) to an early 7-3 lead, connecting on her first three shots. But, the Cougars would follow with 21-6 run and lead 24-16 with 6:25 left in the first half.

Trailing 32-29 with 1:18 left in the half, the Red Storm forced CSUSM into three consecutive turnovers. Vaifanua had a steal and two baskets and Adams had a steal and a basket to give the Red Storm a 36-34 lead at the half.

In the second half Dixie State built a lead by as many a 16 points, fending off the pesky Cougars on three different occasions. CSUSM cut the Red Storm lead to two points with 53 seconds left, but DSC secured with the win with solid free throw shooting down the stretch.

Coach Angie Kristensen said, “We played well enough to win, they are not always pretty but we will take it.”

The Red Storm shot its highest percentage (47.1) from the field in four games and hits on its highest percentage (77.8) from the foul line on the year.

The Red Storm defense forced the Cougars into committing 27 turnovers, including 19 steals, turning those into 33 points. Sheila Adams (Layton, UT/Layton) had a career high with seven steals and the DSC career steals leader Vaifanua added six of her own.

“Our defense really gave us a shot to win, they played great tonight,” concluded Kristensen.

Scoring a game high 21 points, Gabriella Munsch scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the loss for the Cougars. Sidney Dobner also added 17 points.

Dixie State will now enjoy a seven-day mandatory dead period for the squad, part of the NCAA's life in the balance initiative. They will return on Dec. 27 and start preparing for PacWest opponent Academy of Art on Jan. 3.

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