OREM, Utah (Nov. 26, 2010) - Southern
Utah University opened the second half with a 23-8 run and never looked back,
posting a 73-63 win over Utah Valley University Friday afternoon.
The Thunderbirds (2-3) posted their second
consecutive win after a pair of seniors in Challis Pascucci and Kaila Goff
turned in their best performances of the young season. Pascucci scored a
game-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds and Goff scored a career-high 15
points, dished out a season-best six assists and made a career-best six steals
for SUU who had 10 players score. Senior guard Caitlyn Sears grabbed a
game-high 10 rebounds for SUU who outrebounded the Wolverines (0-4) 39-30 and
held them to 26.0% shooting while shooting 45.8% themselves.
Southern Utah came out firing as Goff led the
way with three three's to finish the half with 11 points and freshman forward Carli
Moreland came off the bench to score seven points in the first 20 minutes. The
Thunderbirds trailed just once in the half, opening up their largest lead,
26-16 with 7:01 left before a 7-0 run by UVU cut the lead to three with 4:28
remaining. After SUU expanded its lead back to eight, Utah Valley again rallied
back to again make it a three-point game in the closing seconds. Freshman guard
Andrea Jones gave the Thunderbirds a 36-31 lead at the half after she raced the
length of the floor following a UVU made free throw and hit a runner from the
free throw line as the buzzer sounded.
SUU pulled away from the Wolverines by
opening the second half with 26-8 run capped by a 10-0 spurt after a pair of
Pascucci free throws gave them a 59-39 lead midway through the half. Goff and
Pascucci highlighted the second half run as Goff made three steals and turned
two steals into coast-to-coast layins while Pascucci went to work down low,
scoring 11 points and grabbing four rebounds in the second half alone.
Southern Utah's lead would stay in the double
digits the rest of the way, as UVU would cut it to 10 on the final play of the
game.
The Thunderbirds' bench scored 24 points with
Moreland finishing with seven, freshman Angel Dorn adding six, highlighted by a
big three pointer with the shot clock winding down that answered a UVU run.
Jones finished with five points while fellow freshman Meghan Ringer also came
off the bench to score four points and record three rebounds.
SUU continues its four-game road swing with a
stop in Logan, Utah on Monday to face Utah State University beginning at 7 p.m.
