The Dixie State women's basketball team wraps up its five-game homestand this weekend with three games at the Burns Arena. The Storm will host Academy of Art on Thursday, Fresno Pacific on Saturday, and Holy Names on Monday. All three games are set for a 5 p.m. Mountain Time.
Live coverage is scheduled on television (CEC-TV - TDS Cable Channel 22), radio (X 91.3 FM), and Internet (SouthernUtahLive.com), as the Red Storm look to end a three-game losing skid. Of the three weekend opponents, DSU has defeated only one (Holy Names) the last time the Storm faced each of the teams.
MAKING HISTORY: Senior guard Leslie Tademy (Phoenix, Ariz./South Mountain) became the all-time assists leader at Dixie State on Saturday after recording three assists vs. California Baptist to move her career total to 235. Tademy moved past Johnna Brown and Courtney Boyd, who are both now tied for second at 232 assists.
CHASING HISTORY: With seven regular-season games remaining, senior center Taylor Mann (Castle Dale, Utah/Emery) sits on the verge of Dixie State women's basketball history in three different statistical categories. Mann continues to close in on the 1,000-point career mark, finishing Saturday's game vs. CBU with 15 points to push her career total to 902. Only two other DSU players (Johnna Brown - 1,212/Kaylah Miller (San Diego, CA/La Jolla Country Day) - 1,055) have eclipsed the 1,000-point mark. Mann has also logged 725 career rebounds, just one shy of Johnna Brown (726) and the career rebounding record. With 15 double-doubles this season, Mann needs two more to surpass Brown (16, 2012-13 season) for the single-season double-doubles record.
ALL-TIME VS. ACADEMY OF ART: Thursday's game marks the 13th matchup between Dixie State and Academy of Art. The teams first met on Jan. 16, 2010 in San Francisco. The Storm won the inaugural matchup, 77-69, sparking a four-game winning streak for DSU in the series. ART-U earned its first victory, 60-59, on Jan. 3, 2012 in San Francisco as the Urban Knights blocked a DSU game-winning layup attempt with two seconds remaining. ART-U has won the last five matchups between the teams. The overall series is tied at 6-6, but DSU holds a 3-2 advantage in the Burns Arena.
ALL-TIME VS. FRESNO PACIFIC: Saturday's game marks the seventh meeting between Dixie State and Fresno Pacific. The teams first met on Dec. 8, 2012 in Fresno, California, with the Storm earning an 87-64 victory. DSU won the next four games before FPU won the most recent matchup, a 91-82 victory on Feb. 21, 2015 in Fresno. DSU holds a 5-1 series lead, including a 3-0 mark inside the Burns Arena.
ALL-TIME VS. HOLY NAMES: Monday's game marks the fifth meeting between Dixie State and Holy Names. The teams first met on Feb. 14, 2013 in Oakland. The Hawks defeated the Red Storm, 76-65, to earn the first victory in the series. DSU responded by winning the next three matchups, including a 73-57 victory in Oakland in the most recent matchup on Feb. 2, 2015. DSU holds 3-1 series lead, including a 2-0 mark inside the Burn Arena.
KNOW YOUR FOE: Academy of Art enters the weekend with an 18-6 overall record and a 13-1 mark in the PacWest. The Urban Knights are currently in a three-way tie for first place with California Baptist and Azusa Pacific. ART-U boasts four players who average double figure scoring in senior guards Jasmin Guinn (19.4 ppg, 8.2 rpg), Zole Sheng (15.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg), Regina Camera (14.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg), and Sha'Nice Storey (11.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg).
Fresno Pacific enters the weekend with a 4-16 overall record and a 2-12 mark in PacWest play. The Sunbirds are led by senior forward Taylor Caspers (11.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and sophomore guard Megan Lee (10.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg).
Holy Names enters the weekend with a 7-17 overall record and a 6-10 mark in the PacWest. The Hawks are led by junior guard Garysha Youngblood (10.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg).
LAST TIME OUT: The Dixie State women's basketball team came out on the wrong end of a 93-64 decision Saturday night against California Baptist at the Burns Arena.
Despite trailing by as many as 39 points in the second half, the Storm still found a way to make history. Leslie Tademy (Phoenix, Ariz./South Mountain) became the all-time career assists leader in the third quarter when she found Taylor Mann (Castle Dale, Utah/Emery), who finished with a layup. Tademy would add two more assists to push her career total to 235.
Dixie State (4-15, 4-9 PacWest) stayed close through the first half of the opening quarter, cutting to lead to three points on a Brianna Jessop (Hyrum, Utah/Mountain Crest) 3-pointer and later back to four points after Aliya Davis (Everett, Wash./Woodcreek) stole the ball from CBU guard Courtney Nelson and finished with a transition layup. But the Lancers responded with a 19-2 over the next five minutes to seize a control of the game they would not relinquish.
CBU picked up where it left off in the second quarter and extended its lead past the 30-point mark. The Storm tried to respond, but the Lancers answered each basket, keeping DSU from recording consecutive field goals until late in the third quarter.
The Storm made their best push of the game midway through the fourth quarter with an 11-4 run, a stretch that included a 7-0 run as Ashlee Burge (Riverton, Utah/Herriman) scored on back-to-back layups. The teams traded baskets from there, and the Lancers left the Burns Arena with the victory.
Dixie State shot 31 percent (22-of-70) from the field, 25 percent (5-of-20) from beyond the arc, and 62 percent (15-of-24) from the free throw line. Mann led three scorers in double figures with 15 points and 14 rebounds for her 15th double-double of the season, moving her within one double-double of tying Johnna Brown's single-season record of 16 (2012-13). Davis finished with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and Burge added 10 points and three rebounds.
YEAR TWO FOR THIGPIN: Head Coach Jenny Thigpin continues her second season at the helm of Dixie State women's basketball. She took over last season just two weeks before the season started, following the departure of Catherria Turner. Thigpin was named interim head coach in November, until the "interim" was dropped in January and she became the permanent head coach. Prior to her arrival at Dixie State, Thigpin spent two seasons as an assistant at Pacific West Conference member Fresno Pacific and four years coaching at Buchanan High School in Clovis, Calif. As the head coach at Buchanan in 2009-10, she led the team to a 22-7 record (the most wins in school history), reaching the final four of the Central Section playoffs.Thigpin is joined by Adam Ross who returns for his second year as an assistant at Dixie State, and new assistant Teddy Fletcher, entering his first year at DSU.
2015-16 ROSTER: Dixie State returns four starters from last year, led by senior center Taylor Mann (Castle Dale, Utah/Emery), who averaged 11.4 points and nine rebounds per game, and senior guard Leslie Tademy (Phoenix, Ariz./South Mountain) (7.5 ppg). Tademy led the Storm in assists in the 2014-15 season with 136 assists (5.2 per game). Also returning is senior guard Chermayne Moore (Pinole, Calif./Hercules) (7.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg) and senior forward Brianna Jessop (Hyrum, Utah/Mountain Crest) (4.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg).
Three sophomore reserves also return in guards Sandria Bolden (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman) (2.1 ppg) and Gabrielle Cabanero (Las Vegas, Nev./Valley) (2.0 ppg), and center Ashlee Burge (Riverton, Utah/Herriman) (1.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg). Additionally, the Storm welcome back redshirt freshman guard Tramina Jordan (Las Vegas, Nev./Centennial).
Three junior college transfers join the Storm in junior guards Tomorie Sangster (Vacaville, Calif./Will C. Wood ), Aliya Davis (Everett, Wash./Woodcreek), and Cassidy Carrillo (La Mirada, Calif./St. Paul). Sangster played at Napa Valley College, averaging 10.8 points, 4.4 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game in two seasons. Davis played two seasons at Sierra College, where she averaged 6.6 points per game. Carrillo played at Cerritos College, averaging 8.3 points and two rebounds per game in two seasons for the Falcons.
Freshman guard Raynie Maynes (Salome, Ariz./Salome) represents the only new freshman joining the team in 2015-16. Maynes comes to Dixie State after redshirting last season at the University of Great Falls and is the younger sister of former Dixie State guard Taylor Maynes (Salome, AZ/Salome).
UP NEXT: The Storm hit the road for the final regular season trip of the year with three games in California, starting with a matchup at Holy Names in Oakland on Saturday at 5 p.m. Pacific Time (6 p.m. MT).
