The Snow College women's basketball team defeated Colorado Northwestern Community College in its Scenic West Athletic Conference opener, 68-46, Saturday in Ephraim. The Badgers were 12-3 entering SWAC play and sat just outside the top 25 poll. 

The Badgers were coming off a home victory over Navajo Technical University, 101-40, in their non-conference closer. 

The contest opened as a defensive battle with both teams tied at four with 5:26 on the game clock. CNCC sparked a 10-0 run to end the first quarter, up 14-4. The Badgers shot just 1-16 from the field–their lowest scoring quarter of the season. 

The second quarter saw the Badgers' offense ignite with a seven-point run in the first three minutes to close the gap to three points. They saw their first lead of the night with 7:06 left in the half, 17-16. Both sides would continue to trade points as the Badgers held a slight lead of 25-21 to enter the half. 

Snow College started the second half, scoring 10 of the first 14 points to expand its lead to 35-29 halfway through the third. The Badgers would tack on six more points to go up 43-34 heading to the fourth period. 

The final stanza had the Badgers go on an 11-2 burst by the midway marker of the quarter to make it 54-36. The Badgers would coast to the finish line to defeat the Spartans 68-46.

Sara Aoki led Snow College in scoring with 16 points, with three other Badgers putting up 11 points: Megan Johnson, Seini Tuipulotu, and Sydnee Smith. Johnson recorded the first double-double of her career with a career-high 15 rebounds. 

The Badgers will continue their homestand to open conference play against Salt Lake Community College Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. and Utah State University Eastern Thursday at 5:00 p.m. Snow College is 8-16 at home against the Bruins and 12-8 against the Eagles. For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.