PROVO, Utah - Nov. 28 - Southern Utah carried a 35-31 lead into the break, but a sluggish start to the second half led to a 70-64 defeat against the Brigham Young Cougars in the Marriott Center on Friday night. The loss drops the Thunderbirds to 1-4 on the year, while BYU moves to 3-2.
"We did really well tonight, other than those first eight minutes of the second half," interim head coach Kit Janes said. "We got away from out fundamentials and what we do best and it led to turnovers. We knew we had to match their intensity coming out of the locker room, but we just didn't do it."
Southern Utah struck first on a Cassi Jones jumper, but that was countered by a 5-0 run by the Cougars. The Thunderbirds fought back with a run of their own, putting together a 12-2 run to capture a seven-point lead (14-7) with 12:09 remaining in the half.
The T-Birds continued to lead throughout the half until a Cougar 12-5 run tied the game at 19-19 with 5:56 until the break. Another deadlock with the score at 23-23 with 4:24 in the first half kick started a 12-4 run for the Thunderbirds capped with a Morgan Slade lay-up.
Back-to-back buckets by the Cougars over the final 1:01 of the half put the Thunderbird lead at four (35-31) going into the intermission.
Southern Utah dominated on the glass over the first 20 minutes, out rebounding the Cougars 29-13 led by freshman Dani Hosking with six.
The Thunderbirds came out of the locker rooms with a sluggish start as the Cougars opened the first part of the final half on a 21-6 run, building a double-digit lead of 52-41.
The gap continued to grow, culminating in a 61-43 hole with 9:50 remaining in the game. However, the Thunderbirds battled back, bringing the game to within single digits as Lyndie NeVille's lay-up cut the score to 63-54 with 5:27 showing on the clock.
Hosking's 3-point field goal with :21 remaining pulled Southern Utah to within five, but free throws down the stretch for the Cougars sealed the 70-64 victory for the home team.
Caitlyn Sears led the Thunderbirds with 13 points, following by Challis Pascucci and Anne Higbee with 10 each. Shawnee Slade led the Cougars with a game-high 18 points and was joined in double digits by Cariann Wood with ten.
Southern Utah will be back in action on Monday night when the Thunderbirds travel to Boise, Idaho for a game with the Boise State Broncos. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
