The Dixie State women's basketball team returns to the Burns Arena on Friday after spending 10 days and playing four games in the Bay Area. The Trailblazers will play host to Fresno Pacific in a Pacific West Conference battle at 5:30 p.m.
Live coverage is scheduled on television (CEC-TV – TDS Channel 22), radio (Radio Dixie 91.3), and internet (YouTube.com/DixieStateAthletics), with Keric Seegmiller providing play-by-play. Live stats will also be available at www.sidearmstats.com/dixie/wbball.
ALL-TIME VS. FRESNO PACIFIC: Friday's game marks the 10th meeting between Dixie State and Fresno Pacific. The teams first met on Dec. 8, 2012 in Fresno, California, with DSU earning an 87-64 victory. The Trailblazers won the next four games before FPU earned its first win, a 91-82 victory on Feb. 21, 2015 in Fresno. DSU has won the last three matchups, including a 72-64 triumph in Fresno last season. The Trailblazers hold an 8-1 series advantage, including a 4-0 mark inside the Burns Arena.
KNOW YOUR FOE: Fresno Pacific is enjoying is best season since the 2013-14 campaign and holds a 9-12 overall record and a 7-6 mark in PacWest play. The Sunbirds have won three of their last five games, including an 81-69 triumph over Point Loma. Five FPU players currently average double-figure scoring, led by sophomore forward Cassie Pisik (12.9 ppg, 7.2 rpg) and redshirt junior guard Bree Alvarez (12.9 ppg). Freshman guard Jessica Malazarte (12.2 ppg, 3.6 apg) and senior guard Megan Lee (10.1 ppg) are also big contributors offensively.
INSIDE THE BURNS: Since joining the NCAA Division II ranks in 2006-07, Dixie State has recorded an 88-47 (.652) 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).
PACK THE BURNS: Dixie State women's basketball set a new program single-game (home or away) attendance record on January 8 when 1,855 fans packed the Burns Arena for a showdown with California Baptist. The mark shattered the previous home record of 1,218 (vs. BYU-Hawaii, 1/27/11), and marked just the second women's basketball crowd of 1,000 or more fans inside the Burns Arena since becoming a Division II member in 2006.
PACWEST WEEKLY AWARDS: Dixie State earned PacWest weekly awards in three consecutive weeks in late November and early December. Taylor Moeaki (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS) snagged the first conference honor and was named PacWest Freshman of the Week on November 27. Mariah Martin (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) earned conference Freshman of the Week honors a week later on December 4, while Kristin Baldwin (Thatcher, Ariz./Thatcher HS) landed DSU's first conference Player of the Week award since the 2015-16 season on December 11.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: Dixie State's 66-62 win over No. 13 Azusa Pacific on December 11 marked DSU's first-ever victory over the Cougars and the team's first win over a ranked opponent since Jan. 8, 2011. Additionally, Dixie State's 6-3 start was the program's best start since the 2012-13 season when the Trailblazers also recorded a 6-3 start.
LAST TIME OUT: The Dixie State women's basketball team rallied from a double-digit second-half deficit to earn a 75-65 win over Academy of Art on Saturday inside the Kezar Pavilion in San Francisco, California.
The Trailblazers tfound themselves in an 11-point deficit when Academy of Art connected on a 3-pointer on the first possession of third quarter to take a 40-29 advantage. Unfazed, Dixie State began to methodically chip away at the lead.
Matti Ventling (Las Vegas, Nev./Las Vegas HS) sparked the comeback with a triple, followed by a Keslee Stevenson (Willard, Utah/Box Elder HS) layup to trim the lead to 40-34 at the 6:59 mark. After the teams traded baskets, Ashlee Burge (Riverton, Utah/Herriman HS) sparked a 7-0 run with a layup, followed by a Tramina Jordan (Las Vegas, Nev./Centennial HS) triple and a Kristin Baldwin (Thatcher, Ariz./Thatcher HS) layup to pull to within 44-43. Baldwin later added another layup and a pair of free throws to give DSU a 49-46 lead with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter.
The Trailblazers picked up where they left off in the fourth quarter, taking a 52-48 lead when Baldwin took a pass from Burge and converted a traditional 3-point play. Burge later added a layup after a pair of Jordan free throws to give DSU a 56-49 lead with 7:24 remaining in regulation. The teams traded free throws over the next three minutes before Morgan Myers (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) scored four consecutive DSU points to push the lead back to 64-58. Burge added another layup, and Dixie State converted nine of its last 10 free throw attempts to clinch the 75-65 victory.
Dixie State shot 34 percent (23-of-67) from the field, 21 percent (5-of-23) from 3-point range, and 88 percent (24-of-27) from the free throw line. Four DSU players finished in double figures, as Baldwin turned in a career-high 21 points to go with 10 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season. Jordan added a season-high 17 points and six rebounds, while Burge chipped in a season-high 10 points and nine rebounds, and Ventling finished with 10 points and five assists.
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: The Trailblazers make their final trip as a member of the PacWest Conference to the Hawaiian Islands next week for games at Chaminade (Thursday) and Hawai'i Pacific (Saturday).
