The Dixie State College women’s basketball team is striving to come back strong after only one win so far in the preseason.
DSC left the court with its first win with an 80-75 victory against California State Polytechnic University on Nov. 12.
The Red Storm play their first conference game against University of Hawai’i at Hilo on Dec. 1.
“Since that is our first conference game, we want to start out with a big win,” head coach Angela Kristensen said. “Every game is just getting better and taking it to the next level.”
She said Dixie usually wins the games played against the Vulcans.
Last year, Dixie State beat UH-Hilo twice with a 10-point lead. Dixie went 13-5 in the conference and 18-8 for overall the previous year. The Red Storm never lost more than one game in a row.
Last week the Red Storm faced Montana State University-Billings and lost by four points. But DSC turned it around the next game against Colorado State University-Pueblo with a 67-61 win.
In order to make the changes needed and continue down that victorious path, Kristensen said they have to continue to grow every day in practice. She said the team just has to get more mentally tough. That is what they are emphasizing right now.
She said she was disappointed in the way her team started against Cal Poly on Nov. 12 even though Dixie won. The team could never hold a steady lead during that game, and until the final moments, were trailing by a couple points.
Kristensen said the team’s goals for this season are to win conference and post season.
But in order to win the conference, Dixie will have to beat California Baptist University and Grand Canyon University, which DSC wasn’t able to defeat last year.
Preparing to do just that, junior point guard Jordan Giles, a communication major from Rock Springs, Wyo., said she is focusing on rebounding.
“We need to get stronger on the board,” she said.
Dixie is taking the season one game at a time.
“I think right now our post game is really good,” Giles said. “Becca Thomas is coming in great, and right now Kaylah Miller can shoot the ball really well.”
DSC is highlighting those key things, and the team hopes to win more game than the previous year.
The Red Storm play at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Burns Arena.
