OPENING TIP: The Snow College women's basketball team will begin the 2026-27 season Saturday against Northwest College at the Snow Classic inside the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield.
 
The Badgers were originally scheduled to open the season Friday against Community Christian College, but that game was canceled. Snow College will now make its season debut against the Trappers Saturday at 11 a.m.
 
Saturday's game will mark the beginning of a new era for the Badgers as Michael Shreeve makes his debut as Snow College's head coach.
 
KNOW YOUR FOE: Northwest finished the 2025-26 season with a 23-11 overall record and advanced to the Region 9 championship game.
 
The Trappers won a share of the Region 9 North regular-season championship before advancing through the regional tournament. Their season ended with a runner-up finish. As a team, the Trappers averaged 78.1 points per game on 42 percent shooting from the field and 31 percent from deep.
 
Saturday's meeting will be the first between Snow College and Northwest since Nov. 2, 2018. The Badgers are 7-1 all time against the Trappers and have won seven consecutive games dating back to 2011. Over their previous seven meetings, the Badgers have surrender more than 60 points just twice.
 
2025-26 IN REVIEW: Snow College finished the 2025-26 season with a 19-12 overall record and a 7-8 mark in Scenic West Athletic Conference play.
 
The Badgers opened the season with victories over Yavapai College and the College of Southern Nevada at the Snow Classic. They won six of their first seven games, with their only loss during that stretch coming against third-ranked Eastern Arizona.
 
Snow College followed with a trip to Midland, Texas, for the Women's National Invitation Tournament. The Badgers suffered losses to Midland College and No. 11 South Plains College before closing the tournament with a 73-67 victory over Odessa College.
 
The Badgers won their final five nonconference games, beginning with victories over Arizona Western and Central Wyoming College at the Salt Lake Classic. Snow College then defeated Otero Junior College, Harford Community College and Navajo Technical University in Ephraim.
 
Snow College entered conference play with a 12-3 overall record. The Badgers opened the SWAC schedule with a 68-46 victory over Colorado Northwestern Community College before dropping four consecutive games.
 
The Badgers earned their first conference road victory with a 70-66 win against Utah State University Eastern in Price. They went 3-2 over their next five games before closing the regular season with four consecutive victories.
 
Snow College began the closing streak with a 57-45 victory over Salt Lake Community College and followed with a 94-63 win against Colorado Northwestern in its final home game. The Badgers then defeated North Idaho College 71-52 on the road.
 
Snow College completed the regular season with a 78-68 victory over sixth-ranked College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls. The Badgers outscored the Golden Eagles 24-10 in the fourth quarter to earn the 10-point victory.
 
The Badgers entered the Region 18 Tournament as the No. 4 seed and faced top-seeded CSI in the opening round. Snow College's season ended with a 73-49 loss to the Golden Eagles.
 
Lala Baldwin and Sara Aoki earned all-conference recognition following the season. Baldwin led the Badgers with 11.8 points and 3.3 assists per game, while Aoki averaged nine points and 1.9 assists per contest.
 
A QUARTET RETURNS: Snow College returns four players from last season's team, including Aoki, Avery Allred, Hillary Akomatsri and June Olsen.
 
Aoki leads the returning group after appearing in all 31 games during her freshman season. The Sapporo, Japan, native ranked second on the team with 9.0 points per game.
 
Aoki made 94 field goals and finished third on the team with 60 assists. She scored in double figures 12 times, including a season-high 28 points against Midland. She also recorded 26 points in Snow College's victory over No. 6 CSI to close the regular season.
 
Allred also appeared in all 31 games and averaged 7.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. Allred scored in double figures nine times during the season. She recorded a season-high 18 points in an 81-47 victory against Eastern Wyoming College Nov. 15, 2025.
 
Akomatsri played in 21 games and averaged 8.3 points and 3.8 rebounds on 50 percent shooting. She recorded 10 or more points on eight occasions including a season-high 22 points against Otero Dec. 12, 2025.
 
Olsen appeared in 25 games and averaged 3.5 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. The former Manti High School standout recorded 27 assists and scored a season-high 12 points in a victory over Harford Community College.
 
The four returners will be joined by sophomore transfers Lillian Meyer, Umu Tukuafu and Cecilia Olevao.
 
The Badgers will also welcome nine freshmen to the program. Ashleigh Tuumaialu, Madi Andrews, Addison Barnes, Crimson Childs, Maia Mottram, Grace MacArthur, Brooke Smith, Jaycee Barlow and Olivia Sorenson will begin their first collegiate seasons.
 
Snow College's 16-player roster includes 10 players from Utah. The Badgers also have one player each from New Zealand, Japan, Wyoming, Washington, France and Australia.
 
ON THE SIDELINE: Shreeve was named the Snow College women's basketball head coach in May after spending the previous four seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Utah Valley University.
 
Shreeve was part of the Utah Valley staff that helped the Wolverines post a program-record 19 victories during the 2024-25 season. Utah Valley advanced to the semifinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament before receiving an invitation to the Women's National Invitation Tournament.
 
The Wolverines defeated Air Force Academy 70-64 to earn the first postseason victory in program history.
 
During the 2025-26 season, Shreeve helped Utah Valley become the top defensive team in the WAC. The Wolverines ranked third nationally in steals per game, fourth in turnovers forced per game and seventh in turnover margin.
 
Before joining Utah Valley, Shreeve spent one season as the film coordinator at Rice University. He also served as a graduate assistant and interim director of basketball operations at Brigham Young University from 2018-21, helping the Cougars reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament twice.
 
Shreeve will be joined by assistant coach Liana Kaitu'u.
 
Kaitu'u spent the 2025-26 season as an assistant coach at West High School and helped the Panthers finish as the Class 5A state runner-up. She previously served as an assistant coach at Judge Memorial Catholic High School.
 
Kaitu'u played collegiately at Utah Valley and the University of Portland from 2018-24. She helped Portland win the West Coast Conference championship during the 2019-20 season and make an additional NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023.
 
SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN: The Badgers will play 29 regular-season games during the 2026-27 season, including eight games inside the Horne Activity Center.
 
Following Saturday's season opener, Snow College will travel to Thatcher for three games at the Gila Monsters Tournament. The Badgers will face Arizona Western Thursday, Eastern Arizona Friday and Cochise Saturday.
 
Snow College will take on Central Wyoming College and Western Nebraska Community College at the Eagle Classic Nov. 13-14 in Price. The Badgers will then play three games at the Battle for the Boot in Twin Falls, Idaho, against Pima Community College, Cochise College and Central Arizona College.
 
The Badgers will face Eastern Arizona for the second time Dec. 3 at the Salt Lake Classic before meeting Midland Dec. 5. Snow College's first game inside the Horne Activity Center will take place Dec. 11 against Western Wyoming Community College.
 
Snow College will finish its nonconference schedule with games against Laramie County Community College and WWCC at the Western Wyoming Classic Dec. 18-19 in Rock Springs, Wyoming.
 
SWAC play begins with home games against Salt Lake Community College Jan. 2 and Utah State University Eastern Jan. 4. The Badgers will then travel to Idaho to face North Idaho College and CSI.
 
Snow College will play each of its four conference opponents three times. The Badgers will conclude the regular season Feb. 25 against Colorado Northwestern in Rangely, Colorado.
The Region 18 Tournament, should the Badgers qualify, will begin March 12 and will be hosted by the SWAC regular-season champion.
 
BADGERS ON THE AIR: All Snow College home games this season will be broadcast by SnowTV. They will air on the Scenic West Digital Network. All home games and select road games will also be simulcast on KMTI 650 AM.
 
Tanner Wilkinson will provide the play-by-play for games broadcast by SnowTV this season. He is in his second season as 'Voice of the Badgers.'
 
All broadcasts will begin with a pregame show approximately 20 minutes before tipoff and will include coverage of the game and an interview with Shreeve. Postgame shows will begin immediately following the conclusion of the game and will last approximately 10 minutes.
 
Live statistics will be provided for all home games as well as several road games during the season. Links to video and audio streams and live statistics will be available at snowbadgers.com.
 
UP NEXT: Following Saturday's season opener, the Badgers will travel to Thatcher, Arizona, for three games at the Gila Monsters Tournament.
 
Snow College will take on Arizona Western Thursday, Thursday, at 4 p.m. before meeting host Eastern Arizona Friday, Friday, at 5 p.m. The Badgers will conclude the tournament against Cochise Saturday, Nov. 7, at 11 a.m.
 
Snow College defeated Arizona Western and Cochise last season. The Badgers earned a 68-42 victory over Cochise before falling to third-ranked Eastern Arizona 65-55.
 
All three games will be played inside Guitteau Gymnasium in Thatcher. For video streaming and live stats information, visit snowbadgers.com.