The Dixie State women's basketball team returns to the Burns Arena for its final game of the 2015-16 season on Saturday, hosting the Concordia Eagles on Senior Night. Four DSU players will play their final games in a Red Storm uniform and will be honored prior to the tipoff. Guards Chermayne Moore (Pinole, Calif./Hercules) and Leslie Tademy (Phoenix, Ariz./South Mountain), along with forward Brianna Jessop (Hyrum, Utah/Mountain Crest) and center Taylor Mann (Castle Dale, Utah/Emery) will suit up one final time in front of the Burns Arena crowd.
Tipoff is set for 5 p.m., with live coverage scheduled on television (TDS Cable Channel 22), radio (X 91.3 FM), and Internet (SouthernUtahLive.com).
MAKING HISTORY: Senior center Taylor Mann (Castle Dale, Utah/Emery) became the all-time rebounding leader at Dixie State after recording 11 rebounds vs. Academy of Art. She has logged 815 career rebounds to date and moved past Johnna Brown who now sits at second with 726 rebounds. With 323 rebounds this season, Mann also holds the single-season rebounding record.Mann also now holds the single-season double doubles record with 21, passing Brown at 16 in the 2012-13 season. Mann currently leads the PacWest in rebounding at 12.9 rebounds per game and is tied for first in scoring at 19.8 points per game (Cassidy Mihalko - CBU).
She became the third player in Dixie State women's basketball history to join the 1,000-point club with her first field goal at Dominican. She has recorded 1,036 points behind Johnna Brown (1,212) and Kaylah Miller (San Diego, CA/La Jolla Country Day) (1,055). With 20 points vs. Concordia, Mann can move into second all-time in scoring. Mann has scored 496 points on the season and can become only the second DSU women's basketball player to score 500 points in a season (Haley Holmstead - 646 points - 2013-14 season).
Senior guard Leslie Tademy (Phoenix, Ariz./South Mountain) became the all-time assists leader at Dixie State after recording three assists vs. California Baptist. She has logged 266 career assists.
ALL-TIME VS. CONCORDIA: Saturday's game marks the third meeting between Dixie State and Concordia. The teams first met on Dec. 7, 2007 in Irvine, California, with the Storm earning a 65-57 victory. Concordia won the most recent matchup, an 89-75 win in Irvine on January 9. The series is tied at 1-1.
KNOW YOUR FOE: Concordia enters the game with a 2-22 overall record and an 1-18 mark in the PacWest, its only conference win over Dixie State in January. The Eagles are currently in their first season as an NCAA Division II member after competing at the NAIA level. Senior forward Brittany Stafford (14.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg) lead the CUI attack, while sophomore guard Zoe Goss (9.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg) sits on the bubble of double-digit scoring.
LAST TIME OUT: The Dixie State women's basketball team wrapped up its three-game Northern California trip on Wednesday with a 56-51 win over Fresno Pacific in Fresno, California.
The Red Storm (8-17, 8-11 PacWest) built their biggest lead of the first half as the first quarter came to a close when Tomorie Sangster (Vacaville, Calif./Will C. Wood ) scored back-to-baskets to give the Storm a 14-10 lead.
Fresno Pacific answered, holding DSU to just three points in the second quarter. Taylor Mann (Castle Dale, Utah/Emery) connected on a free throw, and Ashlee Burge (Riverton, Utah/Herriman) buried a jumper to tie the game at 17-17, but FPU countered with a 8-0 run to take a 25-17 lead in to the halftime break.
Dixie State erased the lead with an 8-0 to start the third quarter to tie the game at 25-25 with 6:33 remaining in the third quarter. The Sunbirds answered again, this time with a 5-0 run to push the lead back to 32-27, but it would be their final lead of the game.
DSU countered with a 13-0 run that stretched into the fourth quarter to build a 40-32 lead with 8:01 to play. The Red Storm built its biggest lead of the game seven minutes later when Aliya Davis (Everett, Wash./Woodcreek) buried a triple for a 56-45 advantage. The Sunbirds made one final push, completing an old-fashioned 3-point play, then stealing the inbounds pass to lead to a layup to get to the final score of 56-51.
Dixie State shot 38 percent (23-of-60) from the field, 28 percent (2-of-7) from beyond the arc, and 61 percent (8-of-13) from the free throw line. Mann led all scorers with 16 points and 15 rebounds for her 21st double-double of the season. Burge added 14 points and 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Davis finished with nine points, seven steals, three rebounds, and three assists.
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).
