CEDAR CITY, Utah - Jan. 5 - Sophomore Erin Haskins and freshman
Stephanie Sampson hit late free throws to ice a 61-56 home victory for
the Thunderbirds over IUPUI on Saturday night. The win moves SUU to 1-2
in the Summit League and 3-11 overall while IUPUI drops to 0-2 in
conference play and 4-10 overall.
"Those free throws were huge for both of those girls tonight," head coach Steve Hodson said after the game. "Hasky (Haskins) did a great job in playing in what could have been the most meaningful minutes she's had here at SUU."
Haskins' two free throws with 16 seconds remaining in the game put the Thunderbirds up three. The free throws proved to be incredibly clutch after she missed two shots from the charity stripe with 1:00 on the clock. Sampson's free throws seal the game as she hit both with six seconds remaining to secure the win.
Southern Utah entered the second half down for the 13th time this season despite battling back and forth with the Jaguars for the first 20 minutes. Neither team had a lead greater than three until IUPUI pulled together a mini run to build a 28-21 advantage with 2:22 on the clock. SUU countered the trim the lead to three (28-25), but a 3-point field goal by IUPUI's Christina Cunningham with 32 seconds left gave the Jaguars a 31-25 lead at the break.
Following the intermission, the Thunderbirds opened the half with an 8-1 run, taking their first lead of the game since the 9:23 mark of the first half. Once again neither team built a significant advantage until SUU opened up a 7-0 run over a two minute span to secure a lead of 53-46 with 7:22 on the clock. The lead grew to eight (57-49) with 3:19 to play as Aubrey Mackintosh scored her only bucket of the game.
IUPUI countered with two jumpers and two free throws, trimming the lead to one (57-56), but it was the final points that IUPUI would score as Southern Utah's defense stymied the Jaguar attack over the final 1:25 of the half. Haskins and Sampson punctuated the win with their work at the free throw line.
"It was great to win that game on the defensive side of the ball," Hodson said of the defense down the stretch.
Southern Utah's Erin Heuett led all scorers with 21 points and added five rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal to fill out the box score. Anne Westwood almost collected her sixth double-double of the year with 10 points and nine rebounds.
IUPUI was led by Jernisha Cann with 16 points and a game-high five steals, followed by Christina Cunningham with 14 points and Julia Whitted with 12.
The win improves the Thunderbirds' home record over the Jaguars to 9-2 and avenges the team's loss during the 2006-07 season on the floor of the Centrum.
Southern Utah will look for a similar result when the Thunderbirds host Western Illinois on Monday night. Tip-off for the Summit League contest is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
