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Stan Plewe/Utah Tech Athletics

Women's Basketball Jeff Cluff, Coordinator of Media Relations

Thomas and Vaifanua Lead Red Storm to Win over Dominican

Box Score

SAINT GEORGE, Utah -- Becca Thomas (Riverside, CA/Redwood) and Shanae Vaifanua (Hurricane, UT/Hurricane) each picked up double double's in the Dixie State women's basketball 74-54 win Dominican University on Friday night in the Burns Arena.

The Red Storm (9-4, 4-1 PWC) outscored the Penguins (1-14, 0-5 PWC) 45-24 in the second half to pick up the PacWest win and run their home conference-winning streak to 24 games.
 
That steak was in jeopardy after shooting a dismal 23 percent (7-30) in the first half and trailing 30-29,  but the Red Storm surged to victory in the second half.
 
“Obviously we need to shoot the ball better than what we did tonight,” said Coach Angie Kristensen.
 
Tied at 44 with 11:10 left in the game, the Red Storm used a 20-6 run over the next five minutes to build a 64-50 lead with 5:27 left.  Sheila Adams (Layton, UT/Layton) would hit back-to-back three pointers down the stretch to give the Red Storm their largest lead at 20 points.

Vaifanua's energy sparked DSC and gave them the added boost they needed to pull ahead of the Penguins. Her aggressive approach helped Red Storm set a school record grabbing 68 rebounds in the game, 33 of those came on the offensive end.
 
Kristensen continued, “we did a tremendous job tonight on the board's and I feel like we are starting to really come together as a team.”

Thomas finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds and finished with a double-double for the second consecutive time. Vaifanua sparked the Red Storm with 10 points and a career high 14 rebounds, her previous high was 11.  Adams led all scorers with 18 points.
 
Ariana Flynn hit four three-pointers in the first half that helped lead her to a team-high 19 points for Dominican. The Penguins finished the game shooting 29.3 percent from the field.
 
Coach Kristensen concluded, “we have our hands full on Monday night against Grand Canyon. But I like where we are right now and I am excited for the game.”
 
The Red Storm host the #14 ranked Antelopes on Monday evening in the Burns Arena. Tip off is slated for 5:00 p.m.

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