CEDAR CITY, Utah – Southern Utah took a break from Big Sky play to defeat Utah Valley, 66-61.
Utah Valley took a quick 9-0 lead before Marquelle Funk tacked in a layup followed by back-to-back three-pointers to get the Thunderbirds rolling and cut the Wolverines lead to three.
Southern Utah trailed by four midway through the first half before Ashleigh Munns nailed a three to creep within one-point of the Wolverines.
Brenna Gates knocked in four-straight layups to give the Thunderbirds their first lead of the night, 28-27. Utah Valley regained its lead to round of the half with a 32-30 lead.
Funk and Gates each wrapped up the half with 10 points with Munns adding six. The Thunderbirds shot 32.4% from the field and 30.8% from beyond the arch. Desiree Jackson led SUU in assists with three as Gates added two blocks.
The second half tied at 36 before Utah Valley rallied to gain a 45-36 lead. A layup from Emma Weinreich and a jumper from Jackson decreased the Wolverine's lead to three.
“The focus was taking of the ball and making every possession count,” Gates said.
A jumper from Sydnee Taylor followed by a fast break from Madison Wright launched the Thunderbirds ahead by three. The battle continued before a three-point play from Gates pushed SUU's lead to four.
The game tied at 55 with 3:34 remaining before a drive and a three-pointer from Jackson put the Thunderbirds back in the lead. Gates nailed a jumper with 40 seconds to play to extend SUU's lead to three. Jackson drained a pair of free throws to seal the win at 66-61.
“It was about us outworking the other team,” head coach Christ Boettcher stated. “There were things we needed to do to win and we had players step up.”
Gates led the Thunderbirds with 19 points as Jackson and Funk each added 12. Funk and Jackson each totaled five assists with Gates leading the game in blocks with five. Southern Utah rounded out the game with a 39.1 field goal percentage.
The Thunderbirds return to Big Sky play by hosting Northern Arizona University on Jan. 6 at 7 p.m.
