BOISE, Idaho - Dec. 1 - Despite double-digit scoring performances from
senior Anne Higbee and sophomore Kaila Goff, Southern Utah women's
basketball found itself on the wrong side of a 74-60 decision in Boise
on Monday night. The loss to Boise State leaves the
Thunderbirds with a 1-5 record, while BSU improves to 3-4.
Boise State recorded the first basket of the game, a 3-pointer by Jamia Malone, and would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the game. Malone's basket was one of ten 3-point field goals for the Broncos during the contest.
Southern Utah was down by double digits early in the half as Boise State connected on three long-range jumpers and a lay-up, putting together an 11-2 run over the space of two minutes to extend the lead from 5-4 to 16-6. The Thunderbirds countered with back-to-back shots by Higbee and freshman Cassi Jones to trim the lead to six. However, the Broncos echoed the run with a jumper and another 3-point basket, extending the lead to double digits to a 21-10 advantage.
The deficit grew to as much as 18 (33-15), before the Thunderbirds finished the first half on a 7-0 run to cut the score to 33-22 going into the break.
The 11-point interval was the closest that the T-Birds would get down the stretch, falling behind by 23 late in the second half. SUU then put together 23-12 run over the final seven mintues of the game before a late jumper by Boise made the final score 74-60 when the whistle blew.
The bench proved to be the telling state between the two teams as Boise's reserves collected 41 points to Southern Utah's 20. BSU's Heather Pilcher led the charge for the Broncos from the pine with 19 points to lead all scorers. She was joined in double figures by Malone with 14 and Marisa Stotler with ten.
Higbee and Goff led the Thunderbirds with 17 and 14, respectively. In all, Goff accounted for 14 of the 20 points recorded by the Thunderbird bench. Southern Utah was out rebounded in the game for only the second time this season as BSU recorded 43 rebounds to the Thunderbirds' 38.
Southern Utah will look to shake off the loss as the Thunderbirds now prepare to begin Summit League play this weekend when the Oakland Golden Grizzlies visit Cedar City on Friday night. SUU will then play host to IPFW on Monday night. Tip-off for those games are scheduled for 5:00 and 7:00 p.m., respectively.
