Dixie State women's basketball wraps up its four-game homestand this weekend and is set to host Dominican and California Baptist inside the Burns Arena. DSU will host Dominican on Friday and California Baptist on Monday. Both games are slated for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.

Live coverage is scheduled for both games 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. DOMINICAN: Friday's game marks the 15th meeting between Dixie State and Dominican. The teams first met on Nov. 18, 2006, in Belmont, California. The Penguins won the inaugural matchup, 74-55. The Trailblazers responded by winning the next seven matchups in the series, while Dominican has claimed three consecutive victories in the series, including a 72-63 triumph last January 11 inside the Burns Arena.  Dixie State holds a 9-5 series lead, including a 3-2 mark inside the Burns Arena.

ALL-TIME VS. CALIFORNIA BAPTIST: Monday's game marks the 16th 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 Trailblazers 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 11 of the last 13 matchups, including an 88-74 triumph in Riverside on December 16. CBU owns the overall series lead at 12-3, including a 5-2 mark inside the Burns Arena.

KNOW YOUR FOE: Dominican enters Friday's contest with a 10-3 overall record and a 4-1 mark in PacWest play. The Penguins are currently tied for second place in the conference and have won seven of their last eight games. Junior guard Natalie Diaz (24.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg) and senior forward Sandra Ikeora (21.8 ppg, 14.8 rpg) lead the PacWest in scoring, while Ikeora is also the leading rebounder. Freshman guard Julia Razo (10.0 ppg) also averages double-figure scoring, while junior guard Alanna Scott (9.2 ppg) remains on the double-figures scoring bubble.

California Baptist enters the weekend with a 7-6 overall record and a 4-1 mark in PacWest play. The Lancers are currently tied for second place in the conference and have won four of their last six matchups. Senior center Tori Mitchell leads the CBU scoring attack, averaging 15.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, while Sophomore guard Lexy Ram (15.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and freshman guard Ane Olaeta (10.5 ppg) also average double-figure scoring.

INSIDE THE BURNS: Since joining the NCAA Division II ranks in 2006-07, Dixie State has recorded an 87-46 (.654) 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 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: Dixie State couldn't overcome a cold shooting night and dropped a 66-56 decision to Biola on Wednesday inside the Burns Arena.

The Trailblazers saw a bevy of open looks throughout the contest, but connected on just 27 percent (19-of-68) of shots from the field and 18 percent (6-of-33) from 3-point range (both season-low marks). Matti Ventling (Las Vegas, Nev./Las Vegas HS) finished with a team-high 13 points and six rebounds, while Mariah Martin (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) added 10 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Ashlee Burge (Riverton, Utah/Herriman HS) chipped in six points and seven rebounds to go with two 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 head to California for a four-game trip in the Bay Area, beginning with a matchup at Notre Dame de Namur next Saturday, Jan. 13 at 1 p.m. (PT).