CEDAR CITY, Utah - The SUU women's basketball team opened the 2016-17 season Tuesday night with an exhibition match against the Colorado Mesa Mavericks. After four quarters and 40 minutes, the Thunderbirds would emerge victorious with 75-70 win over CMU.

“I'm really excited about the way they competed tonight. You never know what is going to happen in exhibition games and the first games of the season,” head coach Chris Boettcher said about the game. “Mesa is a good team. They shot the ball really well, but we stayed focused and continued to compete on both ends and that allowed us to maintain a lead.”

The first quarter began with the Mavericks going up 5-0 on the T-Birds. The Lady T-Birds would then answer with a nine-point scoring run, highlighted by a Jamie Smith three-pointer to make it 9-5 SUU. There would be two more lead changes in the first quarter, but eventually the T-Birds would hold a 25-22 lead heading into the second quarter.

The three first-quarter lead changes would be the only ones of the game, as the Lady T-Birds would take their 25-22 lead and run with it. After securing their lead, the T-Birds began to pull away in the second quarter. They scored 20 more points throughout the quarter to head into halftime leading 45-37. Senior Jessica Richardson led the team in scoring at the half with 13 points. Freshman Rebecca Cardenas lead the team with four assists at the half and shared the rebound lead with sophomore Breanu Reid with three each.

Things got a lot closer in the third quarter. A ten point lead for the Thunderbirds would be cut to three, the closest the Mavericks had been since the first quarter. With the score at 51-48, sophomore Maren Herrud would draw a foul, sink both free throws, and send the Thunderbirds on a six-point scoring run that saw get back out to a nine-point lead. They would maintain their nine-point 59-50 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Mavericks would open the fourth with a six-point scoring run of their own to cut the Thunderbirds lead back down to three. However, they would never be able to catch the Lady T-Birds and the game would eventually end in a 75-70 win for the Thunderbirds. Jessica Richardson finished the game as the top scorer with 17 points. Sophomore Darri Frandsen wa right behind her with 16 on the night. Rebecca Cardenas and fellow freshman Skylee Doman led the team in total rebounds(6) and steals(3). Junior Whitney Johnson also had six total rebounds on the night.

The next game for the Lady T-Birds will be an exhibition match on November 4th against Eastern New Mexico.