The Dixie State women's basketball teams heads north for a Tuesday evening matchup with Utah Valley inside Lockhart Arena in Orem, Utah. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., as the Trailblazers (4-2) wrap up their 2017-18 non-conference schedule.
Live video and stats will be provided by the Utah Valley sports information staff. Links for both can be found at DixieStateAthletics.com.
ALL-TIME VS. UTAH VALLEY: Tuesday's game marks the first time Dixie State has played an official-competition contest vs. Utah Valley. The teams have met three times in exhibition play, with the Wolverines winning the inaugural matchup, 87-67 in 2006 and the Trailblazers returning the favor with a 75-72 victory in 2010. UVU earned a 68-56 win in the most recent matchup last season on New Year's Eve. All three contests have been played in Orem, Utah.
KNOW YOUR FOE: Utah Valley enters the game with an 0-5 record after five consecutive road games vs. Weber State, Portland, No. 18 Oregon State, Brigham Young, and Eastern Washington. Senior guard Taylor Christensen leads the Wolverines in scoring, averaging 13.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Britta Spencer (9.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg), Mariah Seals (8.6 ppg), and Gabrielle Leos (8.6 ppg) are also significant contributors on the offensive end.
PACWEST FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: Moeaki averaged 10.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game last week in wins over Antelope Valley and Westminster. She scored 11 points in Tuesday's 71-59 win over the Pioneers, then capped the week with 10 points in Friday's 64-62 win over Westminster. Moeaki also hit the game-winning shot vs. the Griffins, connecting on a 13-foot jumper with 4.3 seconds remaining to clinch the victory. The performances vaulted Taylor to the top of DSU's scoring column, as she leads the Trailblazers with 10.0 points per game.
LAST TIME OUT: Taylor Moeaki (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS) hit a 13-foot jumper with 4.3 seconds to play to help lift Dixie State to a thrilling 64-62 come-from-behind victory over in-state rival Westminster College Friday afternoon in the Burns Arena. The win, DSU's third-straight and fourth in the last five games overall, moved the Trailblazers to 4-2 on the season, while the Griffins dropped to 1-3.
Kristin Baldwin (Thatcher, Ariz./Thatcher HS) posted her second-straight double-double with 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds to pace DSU, while Ali Franks (Redding, Calif./Enterprise HS) notched her first of the year with 10 points and 10 rebounds to go along with a team-high five assists off the bench. Moeaki finished with 10 points and Keslee Stevenson (Willard, Utah/Box Elder HS) tallied nine points on three 3-pointers in 18 reserve minutes as the Trailblazer bench outscored the Griffin reserves by a 29-8 count.
DSU shot 38.1 percent (24-of-63) from the floor, but was just 8-of-31 (.258) from the perimeter to along with an 8-of-14 day (.571) at the foul line. However the Trailblazers limited Westminster to 40.0 percent shooting (24-of-60) for the game, including at 34.8 clip from the second quarter on, and outrebounded the Griffins by a 47-31 count (13-3 offensively).
2017-18 ROSTER: Dixie State returns five starters from the 2016-17 squad, including redshirt junior guard Tramina Jordan (Las Vegas, Nev./Centennial HS) (11.0 ppg, 3.7 apg), senior center Ashlee Burge (Riverton, Utah/Herriman HS) (9.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg), senior guard Matti Ventling (Las Vegas, Nev./Las Vegas HS) (9.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg), and sophomore guard Ali Franks (Redding, Calif./Enterprise HS) (8.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg). Senior forward Lisa VanCampen (Morgan, Utah/Morgan HS) (7.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg) will redshirt during the 2017-18 season. Senior guard Gabrielle Cabanero (Las Vegas, Nev./Valley HS) (4.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg) also returns for her final season in a DSU uniform.
The Trailblazers added two transfer players for the 2017-18 season, including senior center Kristin Baldwin (Thatcher, Ariz./Thatcher HS) and junior forward Maile Richardson (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS).
Baldwin averaged a double-double as a junior at BYU-Hawaii during the 2016-17 season, scoring 12.0 points per game to go with 10.9 rebounds per game to land All-PacWest honorable mention honors. Prior to BYU-Hawaii, Baldwin played two seasons at Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona.
Richardson played two seasons at Utah State-Eastern in Price, Utah. Richardson averaged 8.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in two seasons for the Eagles, earning All-Scenic West Athletic Conference honorable mention honors.
Five new freshmen join the ranks this year in guards Mariah Martin (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS), Tayor Moeaki, Keslee Stevenson (Willard, Utah/Box Elder HS), and Morgan Myers (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS), and forward Shandi Bastian (Sigurd, Utah/Richfield HS).
Martin averaged 16.8 points, 6.8 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.6 steals as a senior at Alta High School. Moeaki averaged 18.6 points, 3.2 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game as a senior at American Fork High School. Stevenson averaged 15.5 points, 2.7 steals, and 2.0 assists per game as a senior at Box Elder High School. Myers averaged 8.5 points and 3.2 steals per game as a senior at Desert Hills High School. Bastian averaged 10.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game as a senior at Richfield High School.
COACHING STAFF: Head Coach JD Gustin begins his second season at Dixie State in the 2017-18 campaign. Prior to Dixie State, Gustin served 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 second-year assistant Nicole Yazzie (Westminster, 2013), while Utah Sports Hall of Fame Foundation inductee Deb Bennett (BYU, 1977) joins the staff as an assistant coach.
UP NEXT: Dixie State opens PacWest play inside the Burns Arena on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. vs. Academy of Art.
