CEDAR CITY, Utah - The SUU women's basketball team played their final non-conference home game Friday night in the Centrum Arena. The game was close all the way through as the Antelopes led for 18:46 and the Thunderbirds led for 18:18, but in the end GCU was able to walk away with the win.

“I'm really happy with how hard they worked. For most of the game the level of play was really good and really tough. Down the stretch, Grand Canyon was able to out execute us and we had too many mistakes in the fourth quarter that cost us our lead,” head coach Chris Boettcher said of the tough loss Friday night.

The Thunderbirds had a 48.3 shooting percentage and 19 rebounds in the first half and were able to take a 36-35 lead on a layup by freshman Skylee Doman heading into halftime.

The second half had seven lead changes, but with the score tied 70-70 and 1:15 left to play, the Antelopes would turn a 6-3 run into a 76-73 victory.

Sophomore Darri Frandsen led the scoring for the Thunderbirds with 19 points on the night. She also was able to add five rebounds and two blocks. Senior Jessica Richardson was the leading rebounder for the T-Birds with six.

Casey Rarrick and Zelor Massaquoi led the attack for the Antelopes with 18 points each.

The next game for the Lady T-Birds will be Monday night in California against UC Irvine.

Boettcher said that the next two games before conference play will be key as they will be looking to grow as a team and find the consistency they need on the court.