Dixie State women's basketball officially opens the 2018-19 season on Saturday, hosting Northern New Mexico College at 5:30 p.m. inside the Burns Arena.
Live video coverage is scheduled on television (CEC-TV – TDS Cable Channel 22) and internet (portal.stretchinternet.com/dixiestate). Live stats will also be provided at www.dixiestateathletics.com.
ALL-TIME VS. NORTHERN NEW MEXICO: Saturday's game marks the first meeting between Dixie State and Northern New Mexico. The Eagles will head first to Utah State in Logan on Friday before making the trip to St. George to battle the Trailblazers on Saturday.
KNOW YOUR FOE: Northern New Mexico enters the weekend with a 1-3 overall record. The Eagles dropped an 80-64 decision to RMAC member Fort Lewis last Friday and will battle Utah State in Logan before making the trip the St. George for the matchup with the Trailblazers. NNMC is led by sophomore guard Melanie Secody, who averages 13.3 points, freshmen forwards Katelyn Yuzos and Erykah Tallman, who both average 4.8 rebounds, sophomore guard Leah DeAguero, who averages 3.3 assists, and senior guard Cheyenne Cordova, who averages 3.0 steals.
2018-19 TRAILBLAZERS: Dixie State looks to build on a 12-15 overall record and an 8-12 mark in PacWest play during the 2017-18 season. The Trailblazers enter their first year as a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) in the 2018-19 campaign.
Dixie State returns two starters from the 2017-18 squad, including sophomore guard Mariah Martin (10.5 ppg, 4.6 apg) and senior forward Maile Richardson (7.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg). Three DSU reserves return for the new season, including junior guard Ali Franks (8.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg), sophomore guard Keslee Stevenson (6.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg), and sophomore guard Morgan Myers (2.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg). Redshirt senior forward Lisa VanCampen (7.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg) also returns after redshirting during the 2017-18 season.
The Trailblazers added three transfer players for the 2018-19 season, including junior guards Rashel Blazzard, Madi Loftus, and Deshka Olson.
Blazzard averaged 7.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.9 steals per game at USU-Eastern during the 2017-18 campaign. Blazzard played her freshman season at Westminster College, averaging 7.8 points and 1.0 rebound per game.
Loftus played two seasons at USU-Eastern, where she averaged a team-high 14.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game last season as a sophomore and earned first team All-SWAC honors.
Olson Appeared in 24 games and made one start at Loyola Marymount during the 2014-15 season. She averaged 8.8 minutes and 2.2 points per game and connected on 11 3-pointers.
Junior guard Amy Green also joins the Trailblazers this season for her first year of collegiate basketball. Green averaged 17.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.4 steals, and 4.3 assists per game as a senior at Snow Canyon High School, leading the Warriors to the 2012 3A State Championship. She earned Adidas All-American honors and was a McDonalds All-American nominee.
Five new freshman join the ranks this year in guards Kelsea Barker, London Pavlica, and Jaimee Stahlee, along with center Cameron Mooney and forward Lana Olevao.
Barker averaged 14.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game as a senior at Dixie High School. Pavlica averaged 11.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game as a senior at Liberty High School. Stahlee averaged 16.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game as a junior at Bountiful High School. Mooney averaged 11.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game as a senior at Skyline High School. Olevao averaged 10.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game as a senior at Highland High School.
COACHING STAFF: Head Coach JD Gustin begins his third 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 third-year assistant Nicole Yazzie (Westminster, 2013), while Utah Sports Hall of Fame Foundation inductee Deb Bennett (BYU, 1977) returns for her second year on the staff as an assistant coach. Jonathan Long joins the staff as an assistant coach for the 2018-19 season after serving last year as a student assistant, while Connor Frith remains as student assistant.
UP NEXT: Dixie State will host a four-team non-conference tournament next weekend. The Trailblazers will play Western Oregon on Friday and Saint Martin's on Saturday.
