SURPRISE, ARIZ. – The OUAZ women's basketball team gets its chance to play on the Faith Arena floor for the first time in 19 days, and it is the perfect opportunity for the Spirit to get back into the conference playoff race.

They first face off against San Diego Christian, a team the Spirit have yet to lose to in four matchups. The Spirt took the lead early and continued to build on it on the way to a record-breaking 75-53 win on Jan. 11. The 22-point difference was the largest margin by OUAZ in program history.

While the Spirit have yet to lose to the Hawks, they are still looking for its first win against Saturday's opponent – (6)Vanguard. OUAZ scored only four points in the first quarter, all from free throws, and could not dig out of the big hole early in an 84-55 defeat on Jan. 9.

The Spirit will need its best effort to pick up two wins, as they currently sit two games out of a conference tournament spot. OUAZ trails Hope International, who holds the tiebreaker thanks to the Royals win at Faith Arena on Jan. 16.

OUAZ has not lost because of its effort on the glass, as they rank top ten in multiple rebounding categories. They are second in the nation in total rebounds per game, averaging 47.6 each contest. They are also fourth in defensive rebounds per game (31.6) and seventh in offensive rebounds per game (16.0).

The leader in rebounds for OUAZ is Natasa Radovic, as she is averaging 10.5 per game. She ranks top 20 in the nation in all rebounding categories, including 11^th in offensive rebounds per game (4.0) and 12^th in total rebounds per game. Radovic is averaging 16.8 points per game as well, making her the only Spirit player averaging a double-double.

Mai'Zhrae Zeno has helped on the boards in her seven games this season, averaging 6.3 per game. She is also putting in useful contributions to the offense, as Zeno is averaging 9.0 points per game.

Mickey Freeman has been important for the Spirit defensively. In her eight games played, she already has 12 blocked shots, is averaging 5.4 rebounds per game, and collected three steals.

Thursday's matchup against SDCC is scheduled for 5pm AZ Time, and Saturday's contest is scheduled to tip-off at Noon AZ Time. Live video and stats of both games can be found at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ottawaaz/.