The Dixie State women's basketball team (5-3, 1-0 PacWest) is set to host No. 13 Azusa Pacific on Saturday 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. AZUSA PACIFIC: Saturday's game marks the 11th meeting between Dixie State and Azusa Pacific. The teams first met on Jan. 12, 2013, in Azusa, California. The Cougars won the inaugural matchup, 66-59, sparking a 10-game win streak in the series, including a 69-48 victory last season in the most recent matchup at the Burns Arena. The Cougars own a perfect 10-0 record in the series.
KNOW YOUR FOE: Azusa Pacific enters Saturday's matchup with an 11-1 overall record and a 2-0 mark in Pacific West Conference play. The Cougars are nationally ranked at No. 13 in the WBCA Division II Coaches Poll, and are currently ranked No. 2 in the D2SIDA West Region Media Poll. APU suffered its lone loss of the season to Seattle Pacific in an 80-69 setback on November 17. Three APU players average double-figure scoring and rank in the Top-10 in the PacWest, including Savanna Hanson (16.6 ppg, 9.1 rpg), Gabrielle Kaiser (16.0 ppg, 6.9 ppg), and Abbigail Goodsell (16.0 ppg, 3.6 apg).
INSIDE THE BURNS: Since joining the NCAA Division II ranks in 2006-07, Dixie State has recorded an 86-44 (.661) 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: Mariah Martin (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) was named Pacific West Conference Freshman of the Week on Monday. Martin logged a career week in helping Dixie State split its two games last week, averaging 19.5 points, 5.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game. She also converted 12-of-13 (.923) free throw attempts during the week, while shooting 57 percent (11-of-19) from the field and 71 percent (5-of-7) from 3-point range. She opened the week with 18 points (including 4-of-4 from outside) and five assists in a close loss at Division I Utah Valley, then followed up the feat with a career day on Saturday, leading Dixie State to a 77-73 victory over Academy of Art with a career-high 21 points to go with six rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Additionally, Martin converted 10-of-11 free throw attempts to help DSU to its first win over the Urban Knights since 2013. The honor marks the second consecutive Freshman of the Week award for Dixie State, as Taylor Moeaki (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS) garnered the honor last week.
FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME: Saturday's 77-73 win over Academy of Art marked DSU's first win over the Urban Knights since Feb. 9, 2013 (53-52) in San Francisco. Additionally, Dixie State's 5-3 record is the program's best start through eight games since the 2012-13 season when the Trailblazers also recorded a 5-3 start.
LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State opened Pacific West Conference play in thrilling fashion last Saturday, rallying for 77-73 win inside the Burns Arena.
Dixie State faced an eight-point deficit at 55-47 with 4:31 remaining in the third quarter, but responded with a 19-2 run over the next five minutes to retake the lead at 66-57 with 9:45 remaining in regulation. Keslee Stevenson (Willard, Utah/Box Elder HS) accounted for nine points during the stretch, including a pair of triples at each end of the run, while Mariah Martin (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) added six points and Ashlee Burge (Riverton, Utah/Herriman HS) chipped in four points.
Academy of Art countered with a 9-2 run, while the Trailblazers went over six minutes without a field goal, to pull to within two points at 68-66 with 4:43 remaining. The teams traded baskets over the next four minutes until Martin converted a layup with 57 seconds remaining to stake DSU to a 74-70 advantage.
The Urban Knights made one final push and converted a traditional 3-point with 33 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 74-73, but DSU scored on the ensuing possession to push the lead back to 76-73 when Tramina Jordan (Las Vegas, Nev./Centennial HS) passed the ball ahead to Ali Franks (Redding, Calif./Enterprise HS) in a press-break situation. Unable to catch the pass, Franks tipped the pass ahead to a wide-open Kristin Baldwin (Thatcher, Ariz./Thatcher HS), who finished the play with a layup. Stevenson sealed the 77-73 win 10 seconds later with a free throw.
The Trailblazers shot 38 percent (24-of-63) from the field, 28 percent (7-of-25) from 3-point range, and 71 percent (22-of-31) from the free throw line. Martin led four DSU players in double figures, scoring a career-high 21 points to go with six rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Martin also converted 10-of-11 free throw attempts en route to the first 20-point scoring performance of the season for DSU. Baldwin finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, while Stevenson chipped in a career-high 10 points and Jordan added another 10 points and five rebounds. Morgan Myers (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) recorded a career-high eight points, while Burge finished with seven points and five 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 heads to southern California next weekend for its first PacWest road trip of the season. The Trailblazers will battle California Baptist in Riverside on Saturday, before closing the trip at Concordia-Irvine in Irvine on Monday.
