Dixie State women's basketball is set to open Pacific West Conference play on Saturday, and will play host to Academy of Art at 1:30 p.m. inside the Burns Arena.
Live coverage is scheduled on television (CEC-TV – TDS Channel 22), radio (Radio Dixie 91.3), and online on the Dixie State Athletics YouTube page. Live stats will also be provided at www.sidearmstats.com/dixie/wbball.
ALL-TIME VS. ACADEMY OF ART: Thursday's game marks the 15th matchup between Dixie State and Academy of Art. The teams first met on Jan. 16, 2010, in San Francisco. The Trailblazers 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 seven matchups between the teams, including a 75-50 win last season in San Francisco. The Urban Knights lead the overall series by an 8-6 count, while the teams have split (3-3) six matchups inside the Burns Arena.
KNOW YOUR FOE: Academy of Art enters the week with an 0-6 record. The Urban Knights played a tough non-conference schedule with games vs. Simon Fraser and Western Washington, and will open PacWest play on Thursday vs. No. 17 Azusa Pacific before making the trip to St. George. Three ART-U players average double-figure scoring, including Jazzlyn Brewster (14.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg), Helena Orts (13.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg), and Pre-Franz Dominick (12.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg).
PACWEST OPENER: Dixie State opens its eleventh and final season of PacWest play in 2017-18. The Trailblazers currently hold a 6-4 record in PacWest openers, including a 5-1 mark at home and a 1-3 record on the road. DSU recorded its only road conference-opener win in a 71-67 victory over Point Loma on Dec. 4, 2014. The win over the Sea Lions also marked the last time DSU was victorious in its conference-opener.
INSIDE THE BURNS: Since joining the NCAA Division II ranks in 2006-07, Dixie State has recorded an 85-44 (.659) record inside the Burns Arena, and has won 10 or more games at home three times (2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11) including perfect home records in 2008-09 (11-0) and 2010-11 (12-0).
PACWEST FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: Taylor Moeaki (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS) was named Pacific West Conference Freshman on the Week on Monday for her role in helping DSU to a 2-0 record last week. She averaged 10.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in wins over Antelope Valley and Wesminster. Moeaki opened the week with 11 points in a 71-59 win over UAV on Tuesday, then capped the week with 10 points, and the game-winning basket, in a 64-62 win over Westminster on Friday. 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: Dixie State took Utah Valley to the wire on Tuesday in Orem, Utah, but dropped a 72-63 decision inside the Lockhart Arena in the final non-conference game of the season.
Dixie State shot 42 percent (21-of-49) from the field, 40 percent (12-of-30) from beyond the arc, and 69 percent (9-of-13) from the free throw line. Mariah Martin (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) led the DSU scoring with a career-high 18 points on 4-of-4 shooting from downtown and dished out five assists. Maile Richardson (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS) added 12 points and nine rebounds.
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 will host No. 17 Azusa Pacific next Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
