2017-18 SOUTHERN UTAH WOMEN’S BASKETBALL @SUUWBasketball | Kyle Birnbrauer | [email protected] | (760) 468-5799 | suutbirds.com 2017-18 Schedule/Results This Week In Lady T-Bird Basketball Overall Record: 1-9, Big Sky Record: 0-0 Southern Utah (1-8) at Grand Canyon (3-8) October Monday December 18th | 2:00 PM MT 30th N. New Mexico (Exhib.) W, 86-67 Phoenix, Arizona | GCU Arena November 3rd Concordia (Exhib.) W, 82-62 Stream: WAC Digital Network | Stats: suutbirds.com 10th @BYU L, 67-75 OT 14th @University of San Diego L, 59-72 Southern Utah (1-9) at Arizona (3-7) 18th Binghamton University L, 66-72 Wednesday December 20th | 7:00 PM MT 21st Utah State W, 70-67 Tucson, Arizona | McKale Center 24th UC Davis L, 59-85 27th CSU Bakersfield L, 45-46 30th @Utah Valley L, 61-69 Stream: Pac-12 Arizona | Stats: suutbirds.com December 5th UC Irvine L, 64-71 Thunderbirds Prepared for Final Non-Conference Roadtrip 9th @#9 Oregon L, 38-98 It has been exactly one week since the Lady T-Birds last competed and the team is well rested 18th @Grand Canyon L, 54-59 and ready to get back on the court. They will play their final two non-conference games this 20th @Arizona 7:00 PM week as they travel to the state of Arizona to take on Grand Canyon University and the Uni- 28th @Montana State* 7:00 PM versity of Arizona. 30th @Montana* 2:00 PM January Previously On Lady T-Bird Basketball 4th Idaho State* 6:30 PM The Thunderbirds last competed on December 9 in Eugene, Oregon against the No. 9 ranked 6th Weber State* 12:30 PM Oregon Ducks. Things didn’t go particularly well for the Lady T-Birds as the fell to the Ducks 13th @Northern Arizona* 5:00 PM 98-38. Breanu Reid led the team in scoring, putting up 11 points and pulling down four 18th @Idaho* 7:00 PM rebounds. 20th @Eastern Washington* 3:00 PM The Thunderbirds moved to 1-8 on the season with the loss and have just two more non-con- 25th Montana* 6:30 PM ference games before opening conference play on December 28. 27th Montana State* 12:30 PM February Leading the Way 1st @Weber State* 12:00 PM The Lady T-Birds currently lead the Big Sky Conference and are ranked 10th in the NCAA 3rd @Idaho State* 2:00 PM in steals, averaging 13.0 per game. Individually, Rebecca Cardenas is ranked second in the 10th Northern Arizona* 12:30 PM Big Sky averaging 2.9 steals per game and Skylee Doman is ranked fourth with her per game 15th North Dakota* 6:30 PM average of 2.7. 17th Northern Colorado* 12:30 PM The Thunderbirds also lead the Big Sky in turnover margin (+1.89) and offensive rebounding 22nd @Portland State* 8:00 PM 24th @Sacramento State* 3:05 PM (15.3 rpg). 28th Eastern Washington* 6:30 PM Scouting Report: Grand Canyon Antelopes (3-8) March The 3-8 Antelopes will kick off a four-game homestand Monday December 18 against the 2nd Idaho* 6:30 PM Thunderbirds. After starting the season on a four-game losing streak, the Antelopes have picked up wins over Benedictine-Mesa, Florida Atlantic, and most recently Northern Arizo- Home Games Conference Games* na. Senior Brie Mobley leads GCU in most statistical categories including points per game (18.9) and rebounds per game (7.9). 2017-18 Big Sky Standings The Thunderbirds and the Antelopes matched up for the first time last season in Cedar City. Team BSC ALL GCU used a strong fourth-quarter push to walk away with the 76-73 win. Weber State 0-0 7-2 Scouting Report: Arizona Wildcats (3-6) Idaho State 0-0 6-3 The Wildcats come into the weekend with a 3-6 record so far in 2017. They opened the season North Dakota 0-0 6-3 Northern Colorado 0-0 6-3 with back-to-back wins over Iona and Utah State before losing six in row. Their other win Montana State 0-0 6-4 came over New Mexico State on Thursday. Senior JaLea Bennett leads the Wildcats in scoring, Eastern Washington 0-0 4-5 averaging 16.7 ppg and freshman Sam Thomas is the leading rebounder, pulling down 8.3 Portland State 0-0 4-5 boards per game. Idaho 0-0 3-5 Last season, the Thunderbirds hosted the Wildcats and held a 39-34 lead going into halftime. Northern Arizona 0-0 3-6 The Wildcats used a 43-point second half to beat the Lady T-Birds 77-65. They will host Montana 0-0 3-7 the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine on Sunday December 17 before welcoming in the T-Birds on Sacramento State 0-0 2-6 December 20. Southern Utah 0-0 1-8 Roster Breakdown 2017-18 Southern Utah Women's Basketball Roster By Position No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown (Previous School) Guard(9) 2 Rebecca Cardenas G 5’5” So. El Paso, Texas (Burges High School) Chloe Bradford, Rebecca Cardenas, 4 Ashley Larsen G/F 6’0” RSo. American Fork, Utah (Utah Valley) Skylee Doman, Ashley Larsen, Kiana Johnson, Breanu Reid, 10 Natalie Sanchez G 5’8” Fr. El Paso, Texas (Burges High School) Natalie Sanchez, Mo Tapasa, 11 Megan Kamps F 6’0” RFr. Manhattan, Mont. (Manhattan Christian HS) Peyton Torgerson 12 Chloe Bradford G/F 5’10” So. Heyburn, Idaho (Treasure Valley CC) Forward(6) 14 Breanu Reid G 5’7” Jr. Oklahoma City, Okla. (Piedmont HS) Chloe Bradford, Jessica Chatman, Megan Kamps, Ashley Larsen, 15 Kiana Johnson G 5’10” So. Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Northern Colorado) Sariah Swallow, Mo Tapasa 20 Skylee Doman G 5’8” So. Canby, Oregon (Canby High School) Center(2) 21 Whitney Johnson C 6’2” Sr. Highland, Utah (New Mexico) Whitney Johnson, Carlie Jones 24 Jessica Chatman F 6’0” So. Ridgefield, Washington (Brigham Young) 25 Peyton Torgerson G 5’10” Fr. Salina, Utah (North Sevier High School) By Class Seniors(1) 30 Carlie Jones C 6’3” Fr. Forney, Texas (Dallas Christian HS) Whitney Johnson 34 Mo Tapasa G/F 5’7” So. Monmouth, Oregon (Western Oregon) Juniors(1) 40 Sariah Swallow F 6’2” Fr. Flowell, Utah (Millard High School) Breanu Reid Sophomores(7) Head Coach: Chris Boettcher, 4th season (Brigham Young University, ‘94) Chloe Bradford, Rebecca Cardenas, Associate Head Coach: Dionisio Gomez, 4th season (University of Arkansas, ‘03) Jessica Chatman, Skylee Doman, Assistant Coach: Anne Freitas Sabatini, 1st season (Metodista de Piracicaba ‘99) Kiana Johnson, Ashley Larsen, Assistant Coach: Robert Yonce, 4th season (University of Tennessee, ‘12) Mo Tapasa Student Assistant: Jessica Richardson Freshmen(5) Student Manger: Harley Glad Megan Kamps, Carlie Jones, Assistant to the Head Coach: Mary Catherine Mazzella Natalie Sanchez, Sariah Swallow, Athletic Trainer: Nate Lower Peyton Torgerson Strength & Conditioning: Marcus Romero By State Pronunciation Guide/Preferred Names Utah(4) Rebecca Cardenas: Car-day-nas Ashley Larsen, Whitney Johnson, Sariah Swallow, Peyton Torgerson Breanu Reid: “Breanna”; prefers “Bre” Texas(3) Mo Tapasa: Tuh-pa-suh Rebecca Cardenas, Carlie Jones Chris Boettcher: Betch-er Natalie Sanchez Oregon(2) Skylee Doman, Mo Tapasa Alabama(1) Kiana Johnson Idaho(1) Chloe Bradford Montana(1) Megan Kamps Oklahoma(1) Breanu Reid Washington(1) Jessica Chatman 2017-18 Southern Utah Women's Basketball Coaching Staff Head Coach Chris Boettcher Chris Boettcher moves into his fourth season as the head coach of the SUU women’s basketball team in 2017-18. In his inaugural season, Boettcher led the team to one of the strongest starts in school history as they jumped out to an 12-5 record over their first 16 games. The Thunderbirds notched wins over Boise State, UNLV and Boettcher’s former team, Utah Valley. Injuries would plague the Thunderbirds for the rest of the season as SUU would finish the season with a 13-15 record overall and 6-12 in conference play. SUU finished in the top-5 in the Big Sky statistically in assists, steals, offensive rebounding, blocked shots and 3-point field goals made. Boettcher has a long history of coaching NCAA Division I basketball in the state of Utah, spending eight years at Utah Valley and four seasons on the BYU staff with current head coach Jeff Judkins. Boettcher began his career as a student assistant at Brigham Young University, working in the men’s program at the same time as former Thunderbird coach Roger Reid. He went on to join Metro State College of Denver as an assistant and administrator. In 1997, Boettcher was appointed the basketball advisor for the city of Takayama, Japan where he helped the local teams reach the National Tournament for the first time ever. He returned to collegiate coaching in the women’s ranks at Utah Valley in 2001, aiding in the school’s transition from a junior college to an NCAA Division I program as the Wolverine’s associate head coach. In 2009 he re- turned to his alma mater and helped the Cougars to a combined record of 97-37 during four years as a member of the coaching staff. Boettcher most recently coached the Shiga Lakestars of the Professional Basketball Japan League, leading the team to its best-ever finish in the standings as well as a postseason appearance. Boettcher earned a degree in math from BYU in 1994 with a P.E. coaching minor. He prepped at Weiser (Idaho) High School, lettering in football, basketball and baseball. He and his wife Cinthya have five children.