ANCHORAGE, Alaska-December 10, 2010-Shanae Vaifanua had seven steals and scored 15 points to lead the Dixie State College women’s basketball team to a 90-60 victory over University of Alaska at Fairbanks in the AT&T Hoops Classic.
The Red Storm, were just outside of the Week 3 USA Today ESPN Division II Top 25 coaches poll with 69 votes and ranked 28th heading into tonight’s matchup with Nanooks.
Dixie State (8-0) overmatched the Nanooks (0-7) from the onset. Three pointers by Breann Hill and Chanel Maxey helped DSC start the game on a 8-0 run and ignited the Red Storm to build a lead by as many as 24 points in the first half. DSC shot a stellar 51.3 percent from the field and 7-10 from behind the arc in the half.
Nicole Bozek for UAF was 3-4 from three-point range to help cut the Red Storm lead to 50-34 at intermission.
Coach Angie Kristensen commented on the play of Vaifanua and the play of her bench. “Our bench did a great job tonight, starting with the defensive pressure from Shanae (Vaifanua).” She had 11 of her 15 points at halftime and five of her seven steals. Her pressure helped to force 21 Nanook turnovers in the game.
All 12 Red Storm players saw action, with 10 of them scoring baskets. The Dixie State bench outscored the UAF bench 45-15 in the game.
In the second half, more of the same medicine was given. Erica Carlson added three additional blocks to her five first half blocks to set a new school record with eight for the game. Her presence in the middle forced the Nanooks into shots they did not want to take. UAF managed to shoot only 26.8 percent from the field for the game, the second time this year the Red Storm forced their opponents to shoot less than 30 percent in a game.
Dixie State did only shoot 42 percent for the game and were outrebounded 56-48, but limited their turnovers to only 14 for the game. DSC is averaging 20.6 turnovers per game.
Kristensen added, “We need to play much better tomorrow. We have to start playing more consistent for 40 minutes.”
UAF had four players in double figures with Bozek scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Jen Gabriel had 14 points, Autumn Green 12 points and Jessica Harrison pitched in 11 points.
Hill finished with a game-high 16 points, Maxey scored 12 points on 3-5 shooting from three-point range and Rachel Gines added 10 points rounding out double figure scorers for the Red Storm.
For the second time this season and for the second consecutive weekend, Dixie State will do battle with a Top 15 opponent. Last weekend the Red Storm defeated then #5 Seattle Pacific 76-66 in Burns Arena. This time around DSC will do battle with the host school Alaska Anchorage who is currently ranked #12 in the latest edition of the rankings. They defeated Minot State 74-49 tonight to improve to 7-2. Tip off for the game is scheduled for 9:00 PM Mountain Time and can be watched and heard live on www.dixieathletics.com.