OPENING TIP: The Snow College women's basketball team heads out to play its first road games of the season in the Eastern Arizona Classic in Thatcher, Arizona. The Badgers will take on Cochise College, Eastern Arizona College, and Pima Community College at the three-day event.
Snow College is coming off an opening weekend that saw it go 1-1 with a 101-40 victory over Central Wyoming College Friday and a 79-64 loss against No. 13 Casper College. The Badger's victory over CWC was the first time they have scored at least 100 points since scoring 107 in a victory over Western Wyoming Nov. 16, 2017.
The 165 points the Badgers have scored through the first two games of the season is the most points they have scored in the first two games to open a season since the 2018-2019 season where they scored 152 points against Northwest College and Western Wyoming Community College.
Snow College will kick off the Eastern Arizona Classic against Cochise Thursday at 5:30 p.m. followed by a game with EAC Friday, also at 5:30 p.m. They will wrap up the tournament against PCC Saturday at 12 noon.
LAST TIME OUT: The Snow College women's basketball team defeated Central Wyoming College 101-40 before falling to No. 13 Casper College Saturday to open the 2022-23 season.
The Badgers came out firing on opening night Friday against the Rustlers. They opened the game on a 15-2 run before winning the first quarter 21-7. They continued to pour it on scoring 24 points in the second quarter to take a 45-20 lead.
Snow College really began to turn on the burners as the shooting came alive in the fourth quarter. The Badgers shot 55 percent from the field and 64 percent from three on 7-11 shooting in the final period. They enjoyed 68 points off the bench throughout the game to earn the 61-point victory.
Four Badgers scored in double figures led by
Emily Evans who put up a career-high 23 points in her first collegiate game.
Brandi White and
Emmie Barnes scored 15 points apiece while Sami Suguturaga added 12 points in the victory. 12 total players scored as the Badgers put up 101 points, the most such points they've scored in a single game since scoring 107 points in a victory over Western Wyoming Nov. 16, 2017.
Following the win, Snow College turned its attention to CC. The Thunderbirds entered the matchup as the No. 13 ranked team in the NJCAA Division 1 Women's Basketball Preseason Rankings. They were coming off a victory in the first game of their season against Utah State University-Eastern.
The Badgers opened the game leading 16-8 before the T-birds fired back and ended the quarter on an 11-4 run to bring the score to 20-19. It was a back-and-forth second quarter, but the T-Birds were eventually able to take a 39-36 at the halftime break.
The Badgers fought back and tied the game at 48 with just over two minutes to go in the third quarter, but the Thunderbirds finished the quarter on a 13-5 run to take a 61-53 lead into the fourth. CC would extend the lead to 17 midway through the fourth period. The Badgers would fight into the lead but would never be able to get back within single digits as they would eventually fall 79-64.
Evans led the Badgers in scoring with 19 points while also adding five rebounds.
Enid Vaifanua had 12 points and
Grayce Glover finished with 11 points. The Badgers struggled throughout the game from the free throw line going just 7-17 from the charity stripe. They also struggled to contain the T-Birds offense as CC shot 54 percent from the field throughout the game.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN: The Badgers will return four members of last year's team namely
Samiana Suguturaga,
Katie Trail,
Jessica Lange, and
Brandi White. The foursome averaged 13.7 points per game cumulatively led by Suguturaga who poured in 6.7 points per game in 16 starts a year ago. The Badgers lost their top four scorers from last season.
Alongside Suguturaga, Trail, Lange, and White, Snow College features two other Sophomores in
Kate Robinson and Regan Yamauchi. Yamauchi is in her second season as a member of the women's basketball team. She was also a member of the 2019-20 squad where she averaged 8.4 points per game in 29 starts. She shot 37 percent from the field and 35 percent from deep that season.
The Badgers will bring in seven freshmen to the 2022-23 team including
Epa Tia (Stansbury HS),
Marika Collins (Judge Memorial HS),
Grayce Glover (Kanab HS),
Enid Vaifanua (Desert Hills HS),
Emily Evans (American Fork HS),
Ainsley Thurber (Stansbury HS), and
Emmie Barnes (Cokeville HS).
BREAKING DOWN THE SCHEDULE: The Badgers play a total of 30 games this season with 11 home games and 19 games on the road. As mentioned, they will play two games against CC, who is ranked in the top 25. These will serve as the only non-conference matches against opponents in the preseason rankings.
The Badgers will open up SWAC play Dec. 2 and 3 with a pair of games against the College of Southern Nevada. Their first home SWAC match will take place Dec. 7 against Salt Lake Community College. The Bruins were ranked 18
th in the preseason poll. Snow College will play SLCC a total of three times this season with two games coming at home.
Snow College will face the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, Jan. 5 before welcoming them to Ephraim for two games Feb. 2 and 15. The Golden Eagles are ranked 10
th in the preseason poll after finishing last season with a 30-3 overall record and a 17-1 mark within the SWAC that won them not only the regular season SWAC Title, but the SWAC Tournament Title as well.
The Badgers will play six of its last seven matches of the season at home. They will end the regular season against Colorado Northwestern Community College Feb. 25 and will enter the Region 18 Tournament beginning March 2.
COACHING STAFF: Grinsell comes to Snow by way of Bonneville High School (Ogden, Utah), where she spent four seasons as an assistant coach to Tyler Dunyon. During her time with Bonneville, she was instrumental in helping the Lady Lakers win back-to-back Region 11 Championships in 2018 and 2019, and advance deep into the state tournament.
Grinsell, originally from Spring Creek, Nev., began her college playing career at CSI in 2012. During her time at CSI, she helped the Golden Eagles claim back-to-back regular-season SWAC Championships as well as two Region 18 Titles, which also meant two trips to the NJCAA National Tournament (2013, 2014). In high school, Grinsell was a two-sport athlete at Spring Creek High School, where she earned four letters in basketball and three in softball. She led her basketball team to three state championships and one state runner-up. As a senior, she was crowned player of the game for her performance in the state championship. On the softball field, she helped her team to a league championship in 2010.
After graduating from CSI, Grinsell continued her education at Weber State University, where she obtained a bachelor's degree in 2016 with an emphasis in Physical Education/Coaching. Subsequently, she received a master's degree in Sports Performance and Conditioning from Southern Utah University in 2018.
She is joined on the sideline by
Jaxon Barlow who is in his first season as assistant coach. Barlow is a graduate of Bournemouth University and played for Westminster College between 2019 and 2021.
UP NEXT: The Badgers will head to Price, Utah to take on a pair of opponents at the Eagle Classic Nov. 18 and 19. They will face off with Yavapai College Nov. 18 at 3:00 p.m. before taking on Laramie County Community College Nov. 19 at 11:00 a.m. For additional information, visit snowbadgers.com.
