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EPHRAIM — Three wins on the road in Arizona last week extended the Snow College women's basketball team's season record to 8-0, and burst them into the National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association's poll with a No. 16 national ranking this week. The Lady Badgers defeated Chandler-Gilbert Community College on Wednesday, 69-50, before picking up wins at the Thanksgiving Classic tournament at Glendale Community College over Phoenix College, 70-56, and Glendale, 81-59. 

The Badgers used a decisive 71-40 rebounding edge to beat the Chandler-Gilbert Coyotes on Wednesday by a score of 69-50. So dominating were the Badgers on the boards that they pulled down more rebounds on their end of the floor than did Chandler -- 29 offensive rebounds to the Coyotes' 27 defensive rebounds.  Freshmen Matysen Evensen and Lisa VanCampen each grabbed a dozen boards for Snow with Whitney Saunders picking up nine and Madison Smith pulling down eight caroms. 

Kaitlyn Hurley scored 19 points to lead Snow while VanCampen scored 12 to go with her 12 rebounds, and Savannah Park scored 10. Jessica Neff scored 16 and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Coyotes in both categories. 
"Kait Hurley stepped up big the last two weeks and hit key shots," said Snow head coach Natalie Visger. "Our strengths have been our depth, our full court speed, and our leadership. We have multiple people scoring in double figures, which makes us hard to scout and predict; it's one of our strengths."

Snow opened play in the Thanksgiving Classic with a 70-56 win over the Phoenix College Bears on Friday. Hurley again led the Badgers with 19 points with Evensen's 13 points and Jilian Powell's 11 making three Badgers in double digits. Hurley was 4 for 5 from three-point range on the night to do most of her damage from long range. The Bears' Blanca Perez had a game-high 24 points in a losing effort.

The Badgers again dominated the backboards, pulling down 42 rebounds to only 20 for the Bears. Smith and Powell shared game-high honors with seven rebounds apiece. And again the Badgers did better on their offensive end of the floor than their opponent did defensively -- grabbing 15 offensive boards to the Bears' 14 defensive rebounds.

Snow closed out its Arizona trip with an 81-59 win over the tournament host Glendale Gauchos on Saturday night. This time out it was sophomore Ashton Henderson who led the Badgers with a game-high 14 points, going a perfect six for six from the field. Saunders chipped in 12 points for Snow. Glendale was led by Caitlyn Hetrick and Kaylee Tsingine who each scored 11. "Ashton Henderson played well in Arizona and so did Jilian Powell," Visger said.

"The opponents (on the Arizona trip) all played very hard, but we showed our dominance in the final game against Glendale," Visger said. "I feel that with nine freshmen our schedule fits us; we were the favorite in most games, but JUCO (junior college) is a strange game with all the youth.  Anyone can beat anyone on any night."

Visger plays down the significance of being ranked, saying, "The early season rankings don't carry much weight into conference play.  They aren't devised from a system -- like an RPI, etc. -- so it is nice that we are ranked, but I am not focused on that."

Conference foes Salt Lake Community College (SLCC), the College of Southern Idaho (CSI) and North Idaho College (NIC) are also ranked this week. SLCC has a record of 8-2 and comes in at No. 11, while NIC is at No. 24 with a record of 5-2. CSI is at 5-3 and ranked just below Snow at No. 18, but the perennial powerhouse Golden Eagles' three defeats include close losses at No. 3 Trinity Valley and No. 10 Odessa.

"I know we will be tested in conference, as all the teams have played tough games and plenty of road games," added Visger. "It will be a dog fight for the top two spots, but I feel like we are continuing to improve, especially defensively and with how we are moving the ball on offense."

The Badgers next play this Saturday when they host the Utah All-Stars at in Ephraim.