Women's Basketball 1/24/2012 4:42:00 AM SUU Strategic Communication

Oakland Uses Late Rally to Take Win Over SUU

CEDAR CITY, Utah – Jan. 23 – Andrea Jones scored a career-high 22 points against Oakland for Southern Utah on Monday night, but the Grizzlies were able to come back in the game's final minutes to take a 64-60 win over the Thunderbirds.

The two sides went back-and-forth early on until SUU found itself up by a 7-6 score three-minutes in behind five points from junior forward Tayler Anderson. Kimie Hawkins then scored inside to spark a 7-1 run as the Thunderbirds doubled up Oakland at 14-7.

The Golden Grizzlies battled back over the next five minutes to trim the deficit to two on a Vicotria Lipscomb jumper. Carli Moreland then collected four consecutive baskets for the SUU offense as part of a 9-4 run that saw the Thunderbirds go up by a count of 27-20.

Oakland narrowed the margin to five in the final minute of the half after Malika Glover connected on a jumper. Andrea Jones came back with her second three-pointer of the night to push the advantage back to eight as SUU took a 34-26 lead into the locker room.

The Thunderbirds displayed a balanced attack in the opening half as Moreland finished the period with 11 points to lead SUU while Jones had 10. Southern Utah also dominated the glass early on, outrebounding the Grizzlies 21-11 in the first period.

Hawkins opened the second half with a lay-up to extend the T-Birds lead to 10, but a three-pointer and jumper by Amy Carlton pulled the Grizzlies back within five at 36-31. Southern Utah got six points from Jones over the next five minutes to push the margin back to nine at 44-35.

A 20-5 Oakland run down the stretch saw the Grizzlies level the score at 49, then go up seven at 57-50. Southern Utah scored 10 points in the final minute-and-a-half to draw within four, but Oakland was able to convert from the free throw line to hold on for the 64-60 victory.

“The shots were there in the second, but we weren't making them,” said SUU head coach JR Payne. “We missed some lay-ups and ill-timed free throws that really cost us.”

Jones' 22 led all scorers while Moreland added another 18 along with 16 rebounds for SUU. Bethany Watterworth had 20 points for the Grizzlies, including 16 in the second half, and Amy Carlton came off the bench for a dozen.

“Watterworth is a good player, and I felt like Tayler did a tremendous job defending her,” said Payne. “But to ask her to stay with her for all 40 minutes is a tall order and I think we lost her in the second half as she got more aggressive when that fatigue started to set in.”

With the win the Golden Grizzlies improve 9-9 on the year and 5-4 in the Summit League. Southern Utah is now 5-15 this season and 1-8 in conference play.

The Thunderbirds will be back in action this Saturday as part of a college basketball doubleheader. The SUU Women will tip things off against South Dakota at 5 p.m., followed immediately by the men's team at 7:30.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#5 Andrea Jones: G; 5' 5"; Sophomore

#15 Carli Moreland: F; 6' 1"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

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

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

#5 Andrea Jones
: 5' 5"; Sophomore
: G

#15 Carli Moreland
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: F