TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (December 13, 2017) - The Salt Lake Community College Women's Basketball program is in a good place as they prepare for a home contest Friday.
First off, Finals Week on campus is in full swing, meaning players are about to celebrate their semester-long pursuit of scholastic excellence. On the basketball side, the Bruins have had a strong preseason against a stout schedule, going 10-3 with several wins over national contenders. Additionally, longtime coach
Betsy Specketer picked up her 500th win and has brought a wave of prestige and attention to the state's largest public institution.
Still, as the Bruins prepare for a game Friday against Western Wyoming Community College, Specketer is looking back at the highs-and-lows of the preseason slate.
"In terms of scheduling, I always try to challenge our teams prior to the start of conference play, as well as help them continue to learn and develop as a team and as players," she said. "To that end, I think we've accomplished that in our first 13 games, playing some really tough competition and going 10-3."
SLCC certainly has established some known commodities on the floor, with guards Tia Hay and Ashley Scoggin setting the scoring pace out top. Scoggin is part of a talented group of freshmen that includes Malia Brown and Miki'ala Maio. Other sophomores have developed with strength as Kimauri Toia has shown her strength down low.
The Bruins will need all of those tools in Friday's game, as the Mustangs are 2-11 but winners of 2 of the last 3. Salt Lake is mentally prepared for Western Wyoming, having successfully defeated the Mustangs 93-47 to open the season.
In spite of the dominant win to open the season, Specketer is hopeful that the program can push forward with another marquee performance to head into a hiatus with confidence.
"We'd like to finish the year with a win here at home Friday and a strong showing in the Vegas Tournament at the end of December," she said. "Hopefully by then we'll be ready to start the grind of Scenic West play."
