Box Score CEDAR CITY, Utah - The SUU women's basketball team were in the lead for just over 25 minutes Saturday afternoon, but were not able to hold on as they lost their first game of the season 77-65 to the Arizona Wildcats.
“They played a great fourth quarter with pressure and we weren't able to hit our shots. We hit the categories we wanted to with both rebounding and shots attempted and in the first half we did a great job of taking care of the ball,” head coach Chris Boettcher said. “The second half we didn't do such a great job with the ball-handling and little things like that catch up to you when it's a tight game against a team with the stature of Arizona.”
It was a back-and-forth battle from the beginning as senior Jamie Smith sunk a jump shot to get the Thunderbirds on the board first, but the Wildcats would answer immediately with two free throws from forward LaBrittney Jones. There were a total of two lead changes and three ties in the first quarter, but the Thunderbirds would eventually take a 19-15 lead on a 6-2 scoring run in the final minutes. Junior Whitney Johnson had seven points and two rebounds in the first quarter.
The second quarter was the biggest of the night for both sides as the Wildcats would score 21 points and the Thunderbirds scored 20. Senior Jessica Richardson led the charge in the second quarter shooting 4-4 from the field and pulling in four rebounds. The Thunderbirds finished the half shooting 53.3 percent from the field and holding the Wildcats to only 35.7 percent shooting. They would take a 39-36 lead into halftime.
The third quarter had five lead changes as the Wildcats were able to outscore the Thunderbirds 18-13. Smith was the scoring leader in the third with five points. Johnson added four more points and three more rebounds to her total. The third quarter would come to an end with a score of 54-52 in favor of the Wildcats.
With a two point lead and 10 minutes to go, the Wildcats would were able to blow the game open with the help of a 21-5 scoring run in the final seven minutes of play. Sophomore Darri Frandsen had six points in the final quarter, including a buzzer-beating layup, but it wouldn't be enough to close the gap as the Thunderbirds would lose the game 77-65.
Whitney Johnson finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, leading the Lady T-Birds in both categories. Jamie Smith added 12 points bringing her total to 33 on the week.
“Every game we gain a lot more confidence in different areas. The last two games on the road were big confidence builders and even though today was a loss in the fourth quarter, we understand and have something to improve on,” Boettcher said.
The next game for the Lady T-Birds will be Wednesday November 30th in Salt Lake City against the University of Utah.
To stay up to date during the games and throughout the 2016-17 season follow @SUUWBasketball on Twitter and Instagram and like the SUU Women's Basketball page on Facebook.
