The Snow College women's basketball team downed Salt Lake Community College 54-52 in the regular season finale Wednesday. This victory raised the Badgers to 9-6 in conference play and 20-10 overall – their first 20 win season since 2018-19.

The Badgers also claimed the second seed in the Region 18 Tournament with the win over the Bruins. Snow College will play North Idaho College Thursday Mar. 13 at 5:00 p.m. in Twin Falls, Idaho, in the first round.

The Badgers entered the finale off a split weekend against the College of Southern Idaho and NIC. Snow College dropped 81-68 to the Golden Eagles before defeating the Cardinals 65-59. 

The first quarter remained close as the first 16 points of the match were split evenly through the first five minutes. The Badgers then put together a 4-0 run to grab their first lead of the game larger than two points. The Bruins fired back with a 6-0 burst of their own to go up 14-12 to end the first period.

Kiriana Hawaikirangi (So./Kalgoorlie, Australia/Eastern Goldfields College) opened the period with a triple to go up 15-14, before the lead was traded back-and-forth three times and eventually settling on a 20-17 Bruin lead.

Snow College went on a 10-4 burst over the next four minutes to gain a lead of 27-24. However, SLCC shot back with a 8-1 run to wrap up the first half and take a 32-28 lead.

The Bruins opened the second half with a made jumper to go up 34-28, the largest lead of the game for either side. The Badgers clawed back with a 7-0 burst to reclaim the lead at 35-34 – their first lead since 27-24 in the second quarter.

SLCC knotted the game at 35 with a made free throw before the next eight points were split evenly to make it 39-39. The Badgers outscored the Bruins 6-4 in the remaining three and a half minutes to take a 45-43 lead into the fourth.

The offense for both teams went quiet in the fourth quarter, allowing the defense to shine. The Bruins knotted the game at 45 before a scoreless stretch from both teams lasting nearly three minutes.

The Badgers scored their first points of the quarter on a made free throw by Hadley Richins (So./Henefer, Utah/North Summit HS) with six minutes left to play. This sparked a 5-0 burst that allowed the Badgers to get up 50-45.

SLCC answered back with a 4-0 burst to climb back within one with just under three minutes remaining. The Badgers defense then shined, recording four steals in the final three minutes, forcing the Bruins to foul. 

The Badgers made both free throws to go up 52-49 with 11 seconds to play. Following a timeout from the Bruins, SLCC drained a 3-pointer from the corner to even the score with 6.2 seconds to play. 

Snow College called a timeout of their own and drew up a play to try and win. Hawaikirangi inbounded but got the ball back. She drove left along the baseline and was able to skirt around her defender. She lofted up a tear-drop floater which found the bottom of the net with just 1.1 remaining. On the final possession of the game, the Badgers poked the ball away to claim the victory, 54-52.

Hawaikrangi led all scorers with 15 points, along with six rebounds and three assists. The Badgers also recorded a season high nine blocks, led by Iyana Beh (So./Murray, Utah/Murray HS) with four. 

The victory pushed the Badgers into second place in the Region 18 standings. Snow College will now face off against NIC Thursday Mar. 13. at 5:00 p.m. The Region Tournament will take place inside CSI Gymnasium in Twin Falls, Idaho. For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.