T-Birds Downed by BYU in Road Contest

PROVO, Utah Dec. 8 – The Southern Utah Thunderbirds were unable to keep pace with BYU Thursday as the Cougars pulled away for a 82-49 victory in Provo. SUU struggled to settle in on offense and surrendered several large runs to its opponent in the loss.

The T-Birds recorded the first basket of the game as freshman point guard Hailey Mandelko sank a three from the right corner to put SUU out in front 3-0. The Cougars scored the game's next six points, finding center Kristen Riley inside for a pair of baskets. Moments later a driving lay-up by Tayler Anderson pulled SUU back within one at 6-5.

BYU would then run off nine straight points before Mandelko broke up the streak with a jumper to set the score at 15-7. The Cougars followed the basket with another run, scoring 12 straight points to extend their lead to 27-7. The two teams then traded baskets for the remaining seven minutes of the opening half, until BYU took a 35-15 advantage into the break.

Anderson led the SUU offense in the first half, scoring six points while going 2-4 from the floor. The junior forward also pulled down four rebounds in the opening 20 minutes of play. Kim Parker paced BYU early on, tallying 10 points before the break.

The Cougars steadily built their lead in the second half, eventually pulling away for the 82-49 victory. Both teams got into foul trouble early on and made a combined 45 trips to the free throw line in the second period. Kimie Hawkins led the Thunderbird attack late in the game, scoring all seven of her points in the final 20 minutes.

Brigham Young used its defensive pressure to force the Thunderbirds into 28 turnovers, which they were able to turn into 22 points. Southern Utah essentially matched BYU on the glass, pulling down 49 rebounds to the Cougars 54.

Freshman guard Kim Parker led BYU with 17 points in the game while going 7-13 from the field and 2-2 from the three point line. Tayler Anderson tied her career high with 12 points, and led SUU with two assists and three steals. Hailey Mandelko finished with 11, converting 2-5 shots from behind the arc.

With the win BYU improves to 8-2 on the season while SUU falls to 2-6. The Thunderbirds will be back in action this Saturday as they visit Utah Valley for a rematch with the Wolverines. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 3:00 p.m. (MST) in Orem.

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Players Mentioned

#31 Tayler Anderson: G/F; 6' 0"; Junior

#34 Kimie Hawkins: F; 5' 11"; Junior

#23 Hailey Mandelko: G; 5' 8"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#31 Tayler Anderson
: 6' 0"; Junior
: G/F

#34 Kimie Hawkins
: 5' 11"; Junior
: F

#23 Hailey Mandelko
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: G

Players Mentioned

#31 Tayler Anderson

#34 Kimie Hawkins

#23 Hailey Mandelko

Players Mentioned

#31 Tayler Anderson

#34 Kimie Hawkins

#23 Hailey Mandelko