Southern Utah recorded their fifth straight victory and improved to 16-12 overall and 10-7 in conference play, the most wins by a Thunderbird club since the 2000-01 team won 11 games in Mid-Continent Conference play. Oakland saw its record fall to 17-11 overall and 11-6 in Summit League play.

Pascucci grabbed team-high nine boards while fellow senior Caitlyn Sears added 10 points and senior point guard Kaila Goff dished out seven assists. OU's Bethany Watterworth finished with 11 points after coming into the game averaging 18.1 ppg. SUU's sophomore forward Tayler Anderson grabbed six boards and chipped in with four points while being matching up against Oakland's leading scorer for much of the game.

 "I really liked how we played on both ends of the floor tonight after a tough first half," commented head coach JR Payne. "We needed work on the boards and that's what we did in the second half. Challis is our rock. To get 28 points and nine rebounds against the best defense in the league was huge and just shows the type of player she is. She showed great aggressiveness down low and when we needed her most. I was also excited with the play of Tayler who played great defensively against their top scorer, holding her well below her average."

SUU overcame the sluggish first half by shooting 50 percent and outscoring Oakland 40-26 in the second half. Southern Utah also knocked down 19-of-20 free throws in the game and held Oakland to just 28 percent from the floor in the game.  The Thunderbirds also forced 14 turnovers and committed a season-low eight.

Oakland used some early offensive rebounds to open up a 9-2 lead just over three minutes in. The Thunderbirds eventually settled in, using back-to-back jumpers from Sears and Pascucci and a three by Sears to cut the Golden Grizzlies lead to 12-9.

Both teams would struggle to knock down shots for the remainder of the half, with the Thunderbirds receiving a layup and three from freshman guard Angel Dorn. Dorn's three from the right wing at the 2:56 mark was the final bucket by either team in the half as Oakland held a 23-20 lead at the break.

SUU shot 28 percent from the floor while Oakland was held to 29 percent shooting but owned a 31-12 rebound advantage at the break, including 12-1 in offensive boards. Pascucci led SUU with six points while Sears and Dorn each added five.

The Thunderbirds came out firing in the second half, answering a Oakland baskets with back-to-back buckets by Pascucci and Goff to cut the lead to one. The Golden Grizzlies opened up a six-point lead at the 15:05 mark but the Thunderbirds came right back with a 7-2 spurt, with freshman guard Andrea Jones capping the run with three to again make it a one-point game, 34-33.

SUU would stay within one for the next several minutes before Sears broke free behind the OU defense, taking a long pass form Goff and quickly laying one up and in while getting fouled. The play brought the crowd to its feet and proved to be the spark as Sears finished the old-fashioned three-point play with the free throw to give SUU their first lead since the opening seconds of the game. Pascucci later followed with consecutive layins to cap a 9-2 run for SUU, giving them a 46-41 lead with 5:47 remaining.

The Thunderbirds slowly pulled away after that stretch, knocking down their free throws and getting stops on the defensive end to play much of the remainder of the game with a six-point lead. History was made at the 1:26 mark as Pascucci grabbed a defensive rebound, her ninth of the game, surpassing Larsen's mark and was recognized by the public address announcer and receiving a standing ovation from the Centrum Arena crowd.

SUU connected on their final six free throws to seal up the conference win.

The Thunderbirds will close out the regular season hosting IPFW on Monday at 7 p.m. in the Centrum. Prior to the game, SUU will acknowledge its three seniors, Goff, Pascucci and Sears who will be playing their final home game for Southern Utah.