The Dixie State women's basketball team hits the road this weekend for its first road contests of the season at the Chico State Tournament in Chico, California. The Trailblazers open the tournament with a Friday afternoon matchup with Sonoma State at 5:30 p.m. PT (6:30 p.m. MT). DSU will wrap up the weekend with a 7:30 p.m. PT (8:30 p.m. MT) showdown with tournament host Chico State on Saturday.

Live coverage will be provided by the Chico State sports information staff, with live video streaming available at the CSUC Stretch Internet Portal and live stats available HERE.

"The team is excited to get on the road," head coach JD Gustin said. "There's no doubt you become a lot closer when you're on the road because you spend a lot more time together."

ALL-TIME VS. SONOMA STATE: Friday's game marks the second meeting between Dixie State and Sonoma State. The teams first met on Nov. 22, 2008, in Chico, California, at a tournament hosted by Chico State. The game seesawed back and forth before the Seawolves held on for a 70-63 victory.

ALL-TIME VS. CHICO STATE: Saturday's game marks the third meeting between Dixie State and Chico State. The Trailblazers won the inaugural matchup, holding on for a 70-68 victory in Chico, California, on Nov. 21, 2008. The Seawolves returned the favor exactly six years later, claiming a victory by the same score, 70-68, at the Burns Arena in the DSU Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 21, 2014. The series is currently tied at 1-1, with the road team winning both matchups.

KNOW YOUR FOE: Sonoma State enters Friday's game with a 2-0 record, having claimed victories over Pacific West Conference teams in Notre Dame de Namur and Dominican. The Seawolves average 87.5 points per game, outscoring opponents by an average of 12.0 points per game. Sophomore guard Kylie Kiech leads the attack, averaging 20.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Three other SSU players average double-digit scoring, including junior guard Carly Gill (12.0 ppg), junior guard Madison Burroughs (12.0 ppg), and sophomore guard Kayla Coloyan (10.0 ppg).

Chico State enters the weekend with a 2-1 record after earning victories over PacWest opponents in Notre Dame de Namur and Holy Names. The Wildcats dropped their season opener to Dominican last week for their only loss of the season. CSUC averages 63.3 points per game, led by junior forward Natalie Valenzuela, who averages 15.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Junior forward Whitney Branham also averages double-digit scoring, adding 14.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.

"We'll be playing two good teams that are very similar," Gustin said. "We're going to have to play well to win these games, but we believe that if we do play well, we can both games. We're simply trying to get better every day. If we can that, then we can win a couple road games, which are hard to win."

LAST TIME OUT: DSU fell short on Sunday in a 60-46 loss to Simon Fraser at the Burns Arena. The Trailblazers trimmed the Simon Fraser lead to four points midway through the third quarter after trailing by as many as 11 points in the first half. However, DSU wouldn't get any closer as a team total of 28 turnovers dashed any hopes of completing the comeback.

Dixie State shot 34 percent (17-of-50) from the field, 16 percent (4-of-24) from beyond the arc, and 72 percent (8-of-11) from the free throw line. Jordan led the DSU scoring efforts with nine points and six rebounds. Burge added eight points and 10 rebounds, while junior guard Matti Ventling (Las Vegas, Nev./Las Vegas HS) made a run at a triple-double with seven points, seven assists, and nine rebounds. VanCampen also finished with seven points to go with eight rebounds, while Ali Franks (Redding, Calif./Enterprise HS) finished with six points on 2-of-2 shooting from distance.

2016-17 ROSTER: Dixie State returns two starters from the 2015-16 squad, led by junior center Ashlee Burge (Riverton, Utah/Herriman HS), who averaged 7.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game and recorded two double-doubles last year. Sophomore guard Tramina Jordan (Las Vegas, Nev./Centennial HS), who started 17 games last year, also returns in 2016-17. Jordan averaged 5.0 points and 1.6 assists as a freshman last season. The Trailblazers return three reserve players from last year's squad, including junior guards Sandria Bolden (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman HS) (3.8 ppg) and Gabrielle Cabanero (Las Vegas, Nev./Valley HS) (1.8 ppg), and senior guard Cassidy Carrillo (La Mirada, Calif./St. Paul HS) (0.9 ppg).

Four junior college transfers join the Trailblazers for the 2016-17 season, including junior forwards Shelby Kassuba (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline HS) and Lisa VanCampen (Morgan, Utah/Morgan HS), junior guard Matti Ventling (Las Vegas, Nev./Las Vegas HS), and junior guard Monique Washington (South Jordan, Utah/Bingham HS).

Kassuba played two seasons at Bellevue College in Bellevue, Washington, where she averaged 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals per game as a sophomore. VanCampen spent two seasons at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, and averaged 7.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Ventling played two seasons at the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, Idaho, where she averaged 8.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game as a sophomore. Washington played her freshman year at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington, averaging 2.3 points and 1.9 rebounds per game.

Dixie State also adds one NCAA Division I transfer in senior center Hannah Roberts (Henderson, Nev./Green Valley HS), who joins the Trailblazers after one season at Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Roberts appeared in 15 games at UAPB and made two starts as a junior in 2015-16. Prior to her time at UAPB, Roberts averaged 2.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in two seasons at Southeast Community College in Milford, Nebraska.

Three new freshman join the ranks this year in twin-sister guards Ali and Kili Franks (Redding, Calif./Enterprise HS) and guard Jaden Gonzales (Plainview, Texas/Plainview HS). The Franks sisters prepped at Enterprise High School in Redding, California. Ali averaged 10 points, four rebounds, and three steals per game, while Kili averaged 15 points, six rebounds, and two steals per game for the Hornets. Gonzales prepped at Plainview High School in Plainview, Texas, where she averaged 16.0 points per game and connected on 66 3-pointers as a senior for the Bulldogs.

COACHING STAFF: Head Coach JD Gustin begins his first season at Dixie State in the 2016-17 campaign. Gustin was announced as the new DSU women's basketball head coach in May 2016, following the departure of former coach Jenny Thigpin. Gustin recently concluded his first season as an assistant coach at Weber State, where he helped lead the Wildcats to a 23-12 record and a runner-up finish in the 2016 Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament.

Prior to Weber State, Gustin spent four years at the University of Utah, serving as director of women's basketball operations from 2011-13 and women's basketball assistant coach from 2013-15. He helped guide the Utes to a runner-up finish in the 2013 Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT).

Before his time at Utah, he served as head women's basketball coach at Westminster College for seven seasons from 2004-11, where he compiled a 146-83 record and led the Griffins to five consecutive NAIA National Championship tournament appearances. He led Westminster to its first-ever NAIA tournament berth in 2006-07, and guided the Griffins to the quarterfinals of the NAIA championships for the first time in school history with a school-record 28 wins in 2010-11. Gustin won three Frontier Conference championships, including a perfect 14-0 conference mark in 2008-09.

Gustin is joined by new assistant coaches Nicole Yazzie (Westminster, 2013) and Brennon Schweikart (BYU-Hawaii, 2013).

NEXT UP: Dixie State will host Cal State East Bay at the Burns Arena on Monday before heading to Salt Lake City and a matchup with Westminster on Friday, Nov. 25.