CEDAR CITY, Utah - Senior guard Caitlyn Sears led Southern Utah University in scoring for the second straight game, finishing with 16 points for the Thunderbirds who dropped their home-opener 76-62 to Montana State University at the Centrum Arena Friday night.
The Thunderbirds (0-3) ran into another hot-shooting team for the second straight game as the Bobcats (2-2) shot 48.4% from the floor, including 9-for-13 from behind the arc. In Tuesday night's loss at Boise State, SUU faced a Bronco team that hit 10 three's and finished the game shooting 45%.
Sears grabbed nine boards and freshman guard Andrea Jones produced the best performance of her young career, scoring 14 points after hitting three from down town. Sophomore forward Tayler Anderson finished with a career-high nine rebounds while freshman guard DJ Norman came off the bench to score nine points.
Montana State worked both inside and out against the young Thunderbirds that saw their lineup feature three freshmen on the floor at numerous times throughout the night. MSU guard Katie Bussey highlighted the first half, scoring 19 points before Bobcats extended their lead in the second half by getting production from its post players.
MSU got off to an early lead, eventually owning a 21-15 advantage midway through the first half before a Jones three and Sears jumper brought SUU back within one. Both teams would trade baskets over the next eight minutes before Bussey scored MSU's final nine points of the half, capping her run with a three just before the buzzer to give MSU a 39-27 lead at the break.
The Bobcats kept their lead in double digits throughout the second half, despite Jones hitting a pair of threes and Sears and Norman both scoring eight in the second period alone.
The Thunderbirds forced 19 MSU turnovers and held a 13-10 advantage in offensive rebounds but the Bobcats second half shooting and inside presence led to the MSU win.
Next up for Southern Utah is a Tuesday night matchup against University of the Pacific. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Centrum Arena.
