The Dixie State women's basketball team continues its five-game homestand Saturday when the No. 5 ranked Lancers of California Baptist come to town
The Red Storm will look to avenge a 95-73 loss to CBU when the teams met on December 3 in Riverside, California. Senior center Taylor Mann (Castle Dale, Utah/Emery) led the way in the first matchup with a season-high 29 points and 13 rebounds, and senior guard Chermayne Moore (Pinole, Calif./Hercules) added 12 points, but DSU couldn't overcome a low-scoring second quarter and fell to the Lancers on their home floor.
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).
CHASING HISTORY: With eight 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 statisical categories. Mann continues to close in on the 1,000-point career mark, finishing Saturday's game vs. HPU with 26 points to push her career total to 887. 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 711 career rebounds, 15 shy of Johnna Brown (726) and the career rebounding record. With 14 double-doubles this season, Mann needs three more to surpass Brown (16, 2012-13 season) for the single-season double-doubles record. Senior guard Leslie Tademy (Phoenix, Ariz./South Mountain) has recorded 232 career assists, propelling her into a three-way tie (Johnna Brown, Courtney Boyd) for first in career assists. With one assist vs. CBU, she will be come the all-time assists leader at Dixie State.
ALL-TIME VS. CALIFORNIA BAPTIST: Saturday's game marks the 12th meeting between Dixie State and California Baptist. The teams first met in Riverside, California on Dec. 9, 2006 with the Lancers winning the inaugural matchup, 86-78. The Storm recorded their first win in the series a week later in St. George, defeating CBU 81-59 at the Burns Arena. Since then, the Lancers have won seven of out the last nine matchups. CBU owns the overall series lead at 8-3, including a 3-2 mark in St. George.
KNOW YOUR FOE: No. 5 California Baptist enters the game with a 20-1 overall record and a 12-1 mark in PacWest play. The Lancers are riding a 13-game win streak since falling to Azusa Pacific on December 5. Junior guards Cassidy Mihalko (20.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg), Kamille Diaz (15.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg), and Courtney Nelson (13.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg) lead the attack, while senior forward/center Darsha Burnside (11.7 ppg, 11.1 rpg) rounds out the double-figure scorers.
"We've had a great week of practice," head coach Jenny Thigpin said. "We're looking forward to showcasing our talent and the growth the team has had over the past few weeks. The team is focused and ready to battle it out with another top team in our conference."
LAST TIME OUT: The Dixie State women's basketball team dropped a 70-61 decision Saturday evening to the Hawai'i Pacific Sharks inside the Burns Arena.
The Storm (4-14, 4-8 PacWest) went nearly three minutes scoreless before senior forward Brianna Jessop (Hyrum, Utah/Mountain Crest) hit a free throw at the 7:23 mark of the first quarter. The freebie took the lid off the basket for DSU and sparked an 11-2 run over the next seven minutes. Senior guard Chermayne Moore (Pinole, Calif./Hercules) knocked down back-to-back triples and another jumper to give Dixie State a 14-6 lead with 1:51 to go in the first quarter. Hawai'i Pacific added a basket in the final minute to pull to within 14-8 after one quarter. And then the Sharks smelled blood.
HPU exploded out of the gates to start the second quarter, forcing seven DSU turnovers and hitting three 3-pointers as part of a 19-2 run to open the quarter. Sophomore center Ashlee Burge (Riverton, Utah/Herriman) and junior guard Aliya Davis (Everett, Wash./Woodcreek) combined for a 5-0 run at the 3:24 mark to pull the Storm within four points at 25-21, but the Sharks responded with a 9-0 run to take a 31-21 lead into the halftime break.
The teams traded baskets through the first six minutes of the third quarter until Hawai'i Pacific pushed the lead to a game-high margin of 16 points at 46-31 with 3:14 remaining in the period. The Storm responded when redshirt freshman guard Tramina Jordan (Las Vegas, Nev./Centennial) nailed a triple and senior center Taylor Mann (Castle Dale, Utah/Emery) went to work inside, completing back-to-back old-fashioned 3-point plays. Junior guard Tomorie Sangster (Vacaville, Calif./Will C. Wood ) then beat the buzzer with a trey to pull DSU within 52-43 after three quarters of play.
Mann picked up where she left off in the fourth quarter and scored the first nine points of the quarter for Dixie State, capped by a 3-pointer from the top of the key to pull DSU within 60-52 halfway through the period. The Storm used a 9-0 run to close the gap to 60-56 two minutes later and had an opportunity to add another basket, but a turnover gave the ball back to HPU. The Sharks capitalized on the turnover and answered with a 5-0 run to push the lead back to nine points at 65-56, a deficit the Storm could not overcome.
Dixie State shot 37 percent (22-of-59) from the field, 30 percent (7-of-23) from 3-point range, and 50 percent (10-of-20) from the free throw line. Mann led the way for DSU, finishing with 26 points (24 in the second half) and 15 rebounds for her 14th double-double of the season. Moore added 10 points and Jordan chipped in seven points.
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).
NEXT UP: The Storm continue their five-game homestand, hosting Academy of Art on Thursday and Fresno Pacific on Saturday. Both games are set for a 5 p.m. tipoff.
