GAME NOTES:
- The Snow College women's basketball team will hit the road for the final time in the 2025-2026 regular season Thursday against North Idaho College before finishing the year Saturday in Twin Falls, Idaho, against No. 6 College of Southern Idaho.
- The Badgers are coming off their first conference sweep, defeating Salt Lake Community College 57-45 before cruising past Colorado Northwestern Community College 94-63.
- The Badgers sit at an overall record of 17-11 and 5-8 in conference play. They are tied for fourth place with NIC. The matchup on Thursday will decide who owns the tiebreaker and will make it into the Region 18 Tournament as the fourth seed.
- The Badgers lost the first meeting in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, 63-45. They shot just 30 percent from the field and eight percent from beyond the arc. In the second match, the Badgers earned the win 82-59, on 55 percent from the field and 50 percent from three. They also forced 27 turnovers from NIC, which is tied for the second most in a game this season.
- The Badgers last weekend held SLCC and CNCC to an average of 14 points per quarter, their best two-game stretch in conference play. Under Head Coach Zu Grinsell, the Badgers are 87-23 when they shoot at a higher efficiency than their opponents.
- Lala Baldwin earned her third Scenic West Athletic Conference player of the week, averaging 18.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game against SLCC and CNCC. She scored 24 points on 10-19 shooting and dished eight assists in the Badgers' victory against the Bruins.
- Baldwin leads all Badgers in points per game in conference play with 13.4 on 44 percent shooting. She also leads the team in assists per game with 3.2, which is third in the conference, and total steals at 25.
- NIC is 10-16 on the season and 5-8 in conference play. The Cardinals lead the all-time series against Snow College 15-8. The Badgers are 3-8 on the road against NIC, with their last road win coming on Feb. 1, 2025, 79-69.
- CSI holds an overall record of 25-3 and a conference record of 11-2. The Badgers trail in the series against CSI 39-14, with a 5-17 road record. They are 1-9 in the last 10 meetings, the sole win came on the road last season, 69-60.
LAST TIME OUT: The Snow College women's basketball team completed its first sweep of conference play as it took down Salt Lake Community College 57-45, before cruising past Colorado Northwestern Community College 94-63 in the final home game of the season.
The Badgers are coming off a standalone game where they fell to in-state rival, Utah State University Eastern, 73-66.
SLCC opened the contest on a 9-2 run through the first four minutes of play. The Badgers would respond with their own 7-0 burst capped by a
Lala Baldwin 3-pointer. SLCC would outscore the Badgers 9-2 the rest of the period to head into the second quarter up 18-11.
The second period saw Baldwin erupt for seven of the Badgers' nine points in the first five minutes to bring it back to a one-point game.
Sara Aoki would follow that up with her own five-point run that was capped by a layup and an and-one to give the Badgers their first lead of the game. The Badgers' defense held SLCC to just five points in the second quarter on 25 percent shooting and forced nine turnovers as they headed into the half up by nine.
The third quarter saw the Badgers' defense continue to hold SLCC to seven points on 3-14 shooting. The Badgers would extend their lead off the backs of a pair of
Megan Johnson layups and a pair of Baldwin triples. They would head into the final stanza up 48-30.
In the final period of play, SLCC would find an offensive footing, but it was too little too late as the Badgers were able to maintain their lead. Baldwin knocked down four of the Badgers' nine points in the period as Aoki chipped in a three, and Hillary Akomistri added a layup to the tally to defeat the Bruins 57-45.
Baldwin led all scorers with 24 points on 53 percent shooting to record her fourth 20+ point game of the season. She also added eight assists and four rebounds. Aoki recorded 10 points, and
Seini Tuipulotu led the Badgers with six rebounds.
After defeating SLCC, Snow College turned its attention to CNCC for the final home game of the 2025-2026 season.
The match against CNCC tipped off with explosive offenses from both sides as each erupted for 15 in the first five minutes of play. Both sides would continue firing on all cylinders to a 29-27 Badger lead by the end of the first quarter. The Badgers had eight different scorers in the first period, shepherd by Aoki with eight points off a 3-pointer, a pair of layups, and a free throw.
The second quarter saw both teams trade points back and forth, neither finding a clear edge over the other. Johnson strung together a pair of layups in the middle of the period to give the Badgers a slight lead, but the Spartans closed the gap back to one point.
Sydnee Smith would cash in a personal five-point run to close out the half, giving the Badgers a 45-41 lead into the break.
The third period started with
Avery Allred scoring four of the Badgers' first six points through the opening 4:30. The Badgers would then blow it wide open over the rest of the third quarter as they outscored CNCC 19-3, with Baldwin and Johnson both contributing six points, to give the Badgers a 72-49 lead heading into the final period of play.
In the final stanza, the Badgers would add to their lead behind an early pair of jumpers from Tuipulotu. Mckenna Garner and
June Olsen combined for the final eight points of the game, as the Badgers outscored the Spartans 22-14 in the final quarter to win 94-63.
Johnson would lead the Badgers with 14 points as five other Badgers would join her in double digits. Baldwin had 13, Tuipulotu had 12,
Dalana Jakovljevic, Aoki, and Smith each had 11. Baldwin led the way with seven assists, and Jakovljevic recorded eight rebounds.
UP NEXT: If the Badgers win Thursday, they will head to the Region 18 Tournament hosted by either CSI or USUE. The tournament is slated to begin March 12 and crown a champion March 13. For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.
