Women's Basketball 3/12/2013 7:57:00 PM SUU Strategic Communication

SUU Headed to its First Big Sky Tournament

BIG SKY TOURNAMENT BOUND
After its inaugural season in the Big Sky, Southern Utah (15-15, 9-11 BSC) is set to make its first appearance at the conference tournament held this week in Missoula, Mont. The T-Birds claimed the seventh spot and will face second-seeded Northern Colorado (18-11, 15-5 BSC) in the opening round on Wednesday at 3 p.m. (MT) SUU was the only Big Sky team that won both of its matchups with UNC during the regular season and handed the Bears their lone home loss of the year back on Feb. 23.

Coverage of the tournament can be found on www.suutbirds.com and at www.bigskyconf.com.

ABOUT NORTHERN COLORADO
Northern Colorado finished second in the Big Sky with a conference mark of 15-5. The Bears feature one of the toughest defenses in the BSC, allowing just 55.3 ppg on 36.9-percent shooting. The group is led by junior guard D'shara Strange who named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year after ranking among the conference leaders with 15.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg and 2.3 spg. Head coach Jaime White is an SUU alum and in her seventh season at UNC where she holds a record of 99-111. The Thunderbirds took a 73-57 win over the Bears in Greeley less than three weeks ago, handing Northern Colorado its only home loss of the year, then knocked off UNC again in its season finale at Cedar City last Thursday by final score of 71-58.

T-BIRDS CAP SEASON WITH TWO W'S
Southern Utah closed the year with two straight wins at home over Northern Colorado and North Dakota. The Thunderbirds 71-58 triumph over UNC would clinch their spot in the Big Sky Tournament and a 95-94 double overtime win over UND on senior day two days later helped the team finish the regular season on a high note. Senior forward Kimie Hawkins led SUU with 13 points in the win over the Bears then scored 19 to lift the T-Birds past North Dakota. The week's highlight came from Sofia Hepworth however, who scored the game -winning basket againt UND in the final seconds of double overtime.

BATTLE ON THE BOARDS
The Thunderbirds have proven themselves to be a strong rebounding team and are currently averaging 43.9 boards a game, which is the best mark in the Big Sky. SUU also holds a +5.8 rebounding margin advantage over its opponents, which ranks 41st nationally. Kimie Hawkins and Carli Moreland each average of 6.3 rpg to lead the T-Birds on the glass.

SHARP SHOOTER
Sophomore guard Hailey Mandelko is shooting 36.4 percent from behind the arc this season, a mark that puts her in the top ten shooters in the Big Sky and among the top 60 players in the nation. She hit six threes at SJSU early in the year and knocked down five against NAU.

LIGHTING UP THE “SCORE-BIRD”
The T-Bird offense has been putting up big numbers this season, twice eclipsing the 90-point mark and averaging just over 70 points a game. That number puts SUU in the top 32 among the nation's scoring offenses and second in the Big Sky. Southern Utah also ranks 68th in the NCAA shooting 32.9 percent from three.

JAMIE WHITE ONCE WORE SUU RED
Northern Colorado head coach Jamie White played for the Thunderbirds during the 1993-94 season, during which SUU put together a record of 16-11.

BIG SKY HONORABLE MENTION
The Big Sky Conference released its 2013 Women's Basketball All-Conference awards Monday, with Southern Utah guard Hailey Mandelko being named among the student-athletes to receive honorable mention recognition. The sophomore guard led SUU during the regular season by scoring 11.9 points a game. Mandelko ranked among the top-shooters in the country, averaging 2.21 3-point field goals a game while hitting 36.0 percent of her attempts from beyond the arc. She also recorded 50 assists, 40 steals and 83 rebounds for the T-Birds while shooting over 78 percent at the foul line. Mandelko was twice named the Big Sky Player of the Week during the past season.

TWO FOR THE T-BIRDS
Southern Utah's men's and women's basketball teams will both compete at the Big Sky Conference Tournament in the school's first season as a league member. The last times the two programs made a trip to the postseason in the same year came back in 2007-08 when the Thunderbirds were in the Summit League.

SUU ELEVENTH IN PRESEASON POLL
After being picked to finish last in the Big Sky preseason poll, Southern Utah exceed expectations by going 9-11 in its premier year in the league to qualify for its first conference tournament appearance.

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Players Mentioned

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

#13 Sofia Hepworth: G; 5' 6"; Junior

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

#13 Sofia Hepworth
: 5' 6"; Junior
: G

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

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