IRVINE, Calif. - The Southern Utah women's basketball team continued a three-game road stretch Tuesday night, taking on the UC Irvine Anteaters in California. The Thunderbirds outrebounded the Anteaters, but ultimately fell 58-75.
"I think their pressure got to us and that is something we have been focusing on for the last few days so it is a little disappointing," head coach Tracy Sanders said. "We started off with turning the ball over and that just fed into their pressure and made it more difficult for us to execute. Irvine played tough and that is just something we have to continue to work on."
UCI brought the pressure on the Thunderbirds right out of the gate. The T-Birds turned the ball over nine times in the first quarter, allowing the Anteaters to go on a 13-2 run. Peyton Shepherd was able to break the run with a jumper from mid-range to make it 13-4 UCI. Breanu Reid sunk a three-point shot with :25 left in the quarter to put Southern Utah at seven points in the opening quarter.
Things started to pick up offensively for the Thunderbirds in the second quarter as they shot 80 percent from the field and dropped in 17 points, more than doubling their first quarter total. However, the Anteaters kept up their offensive drive, outscoring the T-Birds 22-17 to maintain a 40-24 lead at halftime.
Reid had nine points in the first half and Hannah Robins finished with four opening half rebounds.
The Anteaters opened the second half with a 6-0 scoring run to go up 46-24. Megan Kamps broke the run with a layup with 7:33 left in the quarter and launched a 10-2 scoring run for the Thunderbirds to make it 48-34 UCI. Southern Utah continued to put away points, outpacing the Anteaters in a quarter for the first time. The Thunderbirds were able to outscore UCI 19-18 in the quarter.
After a layup by Harley Hansen to open the final quarter, the Anteaters responded with a 10-2 run of their own to grab their biggest lead of the night at 68-45. The Thunderbirds were able to cut into the lead, but would not be able to recover from the big run, falling 75-58.
Reid was the leading scorer for the Lady T-Birds with 14 points. This was her third straight game scoring in the double-digits. Larsen and Kiana Thomas also finished in double-digits with Larsen scoring 12 points and Thomas scoring 10. Rebecca Cardenas finished with seven rebounds and five assists.
"We did a solid job rebounding and scoring tonight, but we have to do a better job taking care of the ball and getting to the free throw line," Sanders said.
The Thunderbirds will now head north to take on UC Davis on Friday November 23.
Tickets
Tickets for the Lady T-Birds' next home game against BYU on November 27 are available at tbirdtickets.com or the America First Event Center Ticket Office. Fans can also purchase a Women's Sports Pass for access to all 2018-19 home games.
Follow Us
Stay up to date during the 2018-19 Lady T-Bird Basketball season by following @SUUWBasketball on Twitter and Instagram and liking the Southern Utah Women's Basketball page on Facebook.
