Box Score LARAMIE, Wyo. - The SUU women's basketball team played it's first road game of December Friday night against the Wyoming Cowgirls. A 21-point, third-quarter comeback would not be enough as the Thunderbirds lost their third game of the season 68-48 in Laramie.
“It was kind of a tough road game where it felt like it was an uphill battle the whole time and we kept making progress, getting our way back into it. We had a great third quarter, great energy and just kind of ran out of gas in the fourth,” head coach Chris Boettcher said after the game. “I'm really proud of what they did in the middle of the game, but we definitely need to work on finishing and being tougher in the fourth quarter.”
The Cowgirls opened the scoring with six unanswered points, but senior Jamie Smith would get the Thunderbirds on the board with her first three point basket of the night. A Kiana Johnson three pointer would be the only other points scored for the Thunderbirds in the first quarter as they found themselves down 13-6 by the end of the first.
After only scoring two baskets in the first quarter, the Thunderbirds shot 50 percent from the field and put up 14 points in the second quarter. Even with the T-Birds' high shooting percentage, the Cowgirls were still able to outscore the Thunderbirds in the second quarter by putting up 17 points of their own. Smith and freshman Rebecca Cardenas finished the first half with five points each as the Lady T-Birds went into halftime down 30-20.
The third quarter was the best one of the night, and one of the best of the season, for the Thunderbirds as they came out and outscored the Cowgirls 21-15. The quarter opened with two free throws by the Cowgirls, but the Lady T-Birds answered by going on a 13-4 scoring run and cutting the Wyoming lead down to four points for the first time in the quarter. The Cowgirls were able to extend their lead back to 10, but another scoring run by the Thunderbirds made it 45-41 by the time the third quarter came to a close.
The Thunderbirds were only able to pull within three points of the lead before the momentum shifted back to the Cowgirls in the fourth quarter. The Cowgirls went on a 21-4 scoring run in the final eight minutes to more than double their lead and put the Thunderbirds away for good.
Jamie Smith led the way in scoring for the T-Birds with 15 points on the night. She also had four rebounds, a block, and a steal. Freshman Skylee Doman had a good night as well with six total rebounds and seven points.
The next game for the Lady T-Birds will be on Tuesday December 6th at home against Utah Valley University.
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.
