SUU Takes 74-67 Win at Texas A&M Corpus Christi

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, 11/14/13 – The Southern Utah University women's basketball team came up with its second straight win on the road to start the year as the Thunderbirds (2-0) took down Texas A&M Corpus Christi (1-2) by a final score of 74-67 Thursday night. SUU forwards Carli Moreland and Lori Parkinson each posted a double-double as the team scored 40 points in the paint to earn the victory.

The score went back-and-forth early on as the first 20 minutes of action saw four ties and five lead changes. The Islanders hit five threes to keep things close in the early going, but the T-Birds shot over 44 percent from the field to hold a 30-27 lead at the break.

Neither side could gain an edge in the opening minutes of the second period until Moreland went to work inside for six points over a two-and-a-half minute span that turned a 34-34 tie into a nine-point advantage for SUU. Junior Hailey Mandelko added a couple of threes during the run to stretch the margin to 46-36 with just over 12 minutes remaining.

Southern Utah then went back inside to Parkinson who dropped in a layup to extend the lead to a game high 13 points as the T-Birds went up by a count of 52-39. A&M would narrow the gap in the closing minutes, but another three by Mandelko and a basket for Andrea Jones put SUU back up by 11. The Thunderbirds took care of business down the stretch to come away with the 74-67 victory.

The game marked the first time that two Thunderbirds recorded a double-double on the same night since Moreland and her former teammate Kimie Hawkins accomplished the feat against Western Illinois during the 2011-12 season. Moreland has scored and rebounded in double figures in each of the first two games this year to bring her career total to 14 double-doubles.

Mandelko handed in a season-high 15 points as SUU finished the night shooting over 47 percent from the field and going 17-24 at the foul line. The Thunderbirds held a 45-35 advantage on the glass with Morleand pulling down 11 boards to go along with 16 points and Parkinson grabbing another ten while scoring 18. Senior Jasmine Shaw led the Islanders with 23 points on 7-13 shooting and went 5-6 from 3-point territory.

The T-Birds finish up their Texas road trip this Saturday night with a visit to Houston Baptist. The game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. (MT) with coverage available online at www.suutbirds.com.

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