GAME NOTES: The Snow College women's basketball team will travel to Price to take on Utah State University Eastern for the final time this season Thursday. The game will tip off at 5:00 p.m. inside the Bunnell-Dmitrich Athletic Center. The Badgers have lost both previous games this season to the Eagles.
Snow College is coming off a 68-57 victory over Colorado Northwestern Community College Feb. 6. The win pushed the Badgers to a 15-9 overall record and a 4-5 mark within Scenic West Athletic Conference play.
Three Badgers were just short of a double-double against the Spartans. Kiriana Hawaikirangi (So./Kalgoorlie, AUS/Eastern Goldfields College) grabbed nine boards and led Badger scorers with 15.
Lili Suguturaga (So./Orem, Utah/Mountain View HS) netted a career-high 14 points along with nine rebounds. Madison Hosino (So./Layton, Utah/Northridge HS) scored nine points with nine rebounds. The Badgers also recorded a season-high 56 rebounds - 20 of which were offensive.
The Badgers are just outside the top 10, slotted at 12th in the nation in field goal percentage. Snow College is shooting at a 44.6 percent clip through 24 games.
The Badgers are 23-15 historically against the Eagles, but are on a seven-game losing streak – their longest losing streak against USUE. Snow College is 11-7 when playing against the Eagles in Price.
The Eagles are 13-11 overall on the season with a 5-5 mark in SWAC play. USUE split last weekend after losing 63-49 against No. 23 Salt Lake Community College and defeating CNCC 84-36.
The Badgers are in fifth place in the SWAC standings, half a game behind USUE. A win Thursday would put Snow College ahead of the Eagles, and into the fourth spot of the Region tournament with four games remaining.
LAST TIME OUT: The Snow College women's basketball team defeated Colorado Northwestern Community College 68-57 Thursday. The Badgers move to 15-9 overall with a 4-5 conference record after sparking a three-game win streak.
Snow College was coming off a weekend sweep against the then No. 14 College of Southern Idaho and North Idaho College. The Badgers beat the Golden Eagles 69-60 and the Cardinals 76-69.
The game started out differently after CNCC committed a pregame violation which ended up being a technical foul and gave the Badgers two free throws before the opening tipoff. Kiriana Hawaikirangi (So./Kalgoorlie, Australia/Eastern Goldfields College) was selected to take the free shots and sank both to begin the game 2-0.
The Badgers won the tip and got a fast-break layup from Hawaikirangi to begin the game leading 4-0 just four seconds into the game. The Spartans answered back with a 6-2 run to knot the game at six with seven minutes to play in the period. The remainder of the period stayed close as the Badgers were only able to take a lead of two into the second quarter.
The Spartans started the period with a 6-4 burst to tie the game at 20 before the Badgers fired back with a 10-3 run to take a 30-23 lead with four minutes left in the half. Snow College kept CNCC at arm's length and entered halftime with a 40-30 lead.
CNCC caught the Badgers off guard and went on a 14-2 run over the first five minutes of the second half to go up 44-42. The remaining five minutes stayed close as neither team could get up by more than one possession. CNCC led by three entering the final period of play.
The first five minutes of the fourth quarter remained close as it saw three ties and two lead changes. The Badgers then found their groove and dominated the final four minutes of play going on a 13-2 run to claim the game, 68-57.
Three Badgers were just short of a double-double. Hawaikirangi grabbed nine boards and led Badger scorers with 15. Lili Suguturaga (So./Orem, Utah/Mountain View HS) netted a career-high 14 points along with nine rebounds. Madison Hosino (So./Layton, Utah/Northridge HS) scored nine points with nine rebounds. The Badgers also recorded a season-high 56 rebounds.
UP NEXT: The Badgers will go out on their final road trip of the season, first to CNCC Thursday Feb. 20. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. in Rangely, Colorado. Snow College will then travel to SLCC Saturday Feb. 22. Saturday's game will tip off 1:00 p.m. inside the Lifetime Activities Center in Taylorsville, Utah. For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.
