Trailblazers battle No. 3 seed Westminster in RMAC Tournament Semifinals

2019-20 DIXIE STATE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
(18-11, 12-10 RMAC)

GAME 30 - RMAC SEMIFINALS
vs. #3 Westminster (23-6, 17-5 RMAC)
Friday, March 6 - 7:30 p.m.
Brownson Arena; Grand Junction, Colo.

Following its thrilling win in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference quarterfinals, No. 7 seed Dixie State women's basketball is set to take on No. 3 seed Westminster in the semifinal round, hosted by Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m., as the Trailblazers (18-11) and Griffins (23-6) meet for the third time during the 2019-20 campaign. Live video and live stats will be available. Links for both can be found at www.dixiestateathletics.com.

ALL-TIME IN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS: DSU's berth in the 2020 RMAC tournament marks its third overall appearance in a conference tournament, and its first since the 2013-14 season. Dixie State earned its third trip to the conference-tournament semifinals on Tuesday, claiming its third quarterfinal victory in as many appearances in the conference tournament opening round. The Trailblazers now hold a 3-2 record in conference tournaments.

ALL-TIME VS. WESTMINSTER: Friday's game marks the 11th overall meeting, and the first postseason matchup, between Dixie State and Westminster. The Griffins won the inaugural matchup in St. George on Dec. 1, 2006. The next two matchups were played in Salt Lake City, Utah, with Westminster earning two more victories in northern Utah, before taking a 61-55 victory in St. George during the 2015-16 season and a 69-58 triumph in Salt Lake City during the 2016-17 season. The Trailblazers claimed their first win in the series on Nov. 24, 2017, in a 64-62 thriller that saw Taylor Moeaki bury the game-winner with less than five seconds to play. The teams split two matchups during the 2018-19 season, with the home team winning each contest before Westminster claimed wins in each of the two regular season meetings during the 2019-20 season. The Griffins hold an 8-2 lead in the all-time series, while Friday's meeting will mark the first time the teams have met on a neutral court.

KNOW YOUR FOE: Westminster enters Friday's contest with a 23-6 overall record and the No. 3 seed in the RMAC tournament. The Griffins have won six consecutive games, including a 76-70 win over No. 6 seed South Dakota Mines in the RMAC quarterfinals.
The Griffins rank third in the RMAC in scoring, averaging 66.8 points per game, while allowing just 58.3 points per game. Westminster is led by RMAC-school transfers Mariah Martin (Dixie State; 15.7 ppg, 4.0 apg) and Sarah McGinley (Colorado Christian; 13.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg), along with junior forward Hunter Krebs (15.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg).

FRANKS AND LOFTUS EARN ALL-RMAC HONORS: Ali Franks earned first team All-RMAC honors on Tuesday, marking DSU's first first-team honors since the 2015-16 season. Additionally, Madi Loftus was an All-RMAC honorable mention selection.

MOST WINS IN EIGHT YEARS: With its 65-60 win at Western Colorado on Tuesday, Dixie State clinched its 18th victory of the year, marking the most wins in a season since the 2011-12 season (18-8).

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: Friday's game will mark DSU's 30th game of the season, marking the first time in the program's 14-year NCAA Division II-era that the Trailblazers will play 30 or more games in a single season.

ON THE ROAD: Since joining the NCAA Division II ranks in 2006-07, Dixie State has recorded a 72-98 (.423) record in true-road games and has logged a winning record on the road three times (2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13). Additionally, the Trailblazers have posted a 55-57 (.491) conference road record and a 20-16 (.555) record in neutral-site games.

FROM DOWNTOWN: The Trailblazers have connected on at least eight 3-pointers in 14 different games during the 2019-20 season, including five games of at least 10 triples. Through 29 games, DSU has converted 218 attempts from downtown.

Additionally, Dixie State has converted at least one 3-pointer in each of its last 164 outings, dating back to the 2013-14 season. In all, it's been six years since the Trailblazers have not connected on at least one 3-point shot in a single game.

1,000-POINT CLUB: Senior guard Ali Franks became the fourth DSU women's basketball player in program history to join the 1,000-point club after scoring 26 points on January 18 against Regis. Franks currently sits in second on the all-time scoring list with 1,143 career points.

MAKING THE GRADE: Dixie State placed five student-athletes on the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Academic Honor Roll. Representing the Trailblazers on the league's honor roll were senior guards Ali Franks (3.52 GPA, Communication Studies), Madi Loftus (3.69 GPA, Individualized Studies), and Deshka Olson (3.40 GPA, Individualized Studies), junior guard Keslee Stevenson (3.76 GPA, Exercise Science), and redshirt freshman guard Kelsea Barker (3.71 GPA, Business Administration).

2019-20 TRAILBLAZERS: Dixie State is fresh off its first overall winning season since the 2012-13 season and the first season of .500 or better in conference play since 2013-14. Additionally, the Trailblazers posted an 11-4 mark inside the Burns Arena during the 2018-19 campaign, marking the most home wins since the 2010-11 season.

DSU will look to add to last year's success during the 2019-20 season, and returns six players from last year's squad, including two starters and two redshirts.

Senior guard Ali Franks (12.6 ppg/4.5 apg) and junior guard Keslee Stevenson (9.8 ppg) represent the Trailblazers' returning starters, while two reserves also return, including sophomore guard London Pavlica (6.3 ppg/4.7 rpg) and senior guard Madi Loftus (5.9 ppg). Additionally, Deshka Olson and Kelsea Barker return after redshirting during the 2018-19 season.

The Trailblazers added four transfer players for the 2019-20 season, including redshirt sophomore guard Ashley Greenwood, junior guard Breana Moea'i, senior forward Chesney Stevens, and junior center Makayla Johnson.

Greenwood averaged 19.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.7 steals, and 3.5 assists per game as a senior at Desert Hills High School before playing one season at BYU. Greenwood holds the DHHS single-game scoring record and led the Thunder to two region titles and one state championship.

Moea'i played two seasons at Miles Community College after prepping at Pine View and Highland High School. Moea'i averaged 10.0 points and 3.9 rebounds per game last season as a sophomore at Miles CC, earning first team All-Region honors.

Stevens played two seasons at the College of Southern Idaho before spending her junior season at Division II Florida Southern. Stevens averaged 4.4 points and 3.6 rebounds during the 2018-19 season, helping the Mocs to the NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen.

Johnson played her freshman season at Division I Louisiana Tech before transferring to Hutchinson Community College last season for her sophomore campaign. Johnson averaged 4.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game as a sophomore.

Four new freshmen join the ranks this year in guards Breaunna Gillen, Maggie McCord, and Payton Miller, along with forward Emily Isaacson.

Gillen averaged 18.0 points and 6.2 rebounds as a senior at Copper Hills High School. McCord averaged 17.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game as a senior at Bingham High School. Miller led Millard High School to its first-ever state championship as a senior. Isaacson averaged 16.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game as a senior at Box Elder High School.

COACHING STAFF: Head Coach JD Gustin is in his fourth season at Dixie State in the 2019-20 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 again joined by fourth-year assistant Nicole Yazzie (Westminster, 2013), while Matt Legerski (Utah, 2001) and Kailie Quinn (Weber State, 2018) join the staff for the 2019-20 season.

UP NEXT: The winner of Friday's semifinal matchup will take on the winner of No. 1 seed Colorado Mesa and No. 4 seed Colorado School of Mines on Saturday in the RMAC Tournament championship game.

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Players Mentioned

#4 Taylor Moeaki: G; 5' 7"; Freshman

#23 Ali Franks: Guard; 5' 10"; Junior

#22 Deshka Olson: Guard; 5' 8"; Junior

#12 Madi Loftus: Guard; 5' 9"; Junior

#3 Mariah Martin: Guard; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#11 Keslee Stevenson: Guard; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#1 London Pavlica: Guard; 5' 7"; Freshman

#24 Kelsea Barker: Guard; 5' 7"; Freshman

#14 Payton Miller: GUARD; 5' 7"; Freshman

#24 Ashley Greenwood: GUARD; 5' 7"; Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#4 Taylor Moeaki
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: G

#23 Ali Franks
: 5' 10"; Junior
: Guard

#22 Deshka Olson
: 5' 8"; Junior
: Guard

#12 Madi Loftus
: 5' 9"; Junior
: Guard

#3 Mariah Martin
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: Guard

#11 Keslee Stevenson
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: Guard

#1 London Pavlica
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: Guard

#24 Kelsea Barker
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: Guard

#14 Payton Miller
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: GUARD

#24 Ashley Greenwood
: 5' 7"; Redshirt Sophomore
: GUARD