CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Thunderbird women's basketball team will return home to the America First Event Center this Wednesday (February 28) and Friday (March 2) for their final two games of the regular season leading up to the Big Sky Tournament in Reno, Nevada.  

Last Time Out

Despite playing two incredibly close games, the Thunderbird women's basketball team came home empty handed from their road trip to Portland State and Sacramento State.

Against the Vikings four T-Birds scored in double figures, as Whitney Johnson and Ashley Larsen finished with 13 points, Natalie Sanchez dropped in 12 and Rebecca Cardenas finished with 11. The Thunderbirds had a hard time slowing down PSU's Ashley Bolston, who finished the contest with 26 points.

The Lady T-Birds lost a heartbreaker on Saturday, as they fell to Sacramento State at the buzzer 79-77. Kiana Johnson finished with 16 points in the game, while Sanchez and ZLarsen both dropped in 13. Bre Reid also reached double digits for the T-Birds, scoring 11 points.  

Senior Day

At Southern Utah's final home game of the season, they will honor just one senior as Whitney Johnson will be playing her final regular season game in the America First Event Center.

Johnson, who competed for the Thunderbirds just last season and this season, has been a major factor for SUU.

Last season Johnson started in all but four games she played in for SUU, averaging 8.3 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game. She was also a member of the Big Sky All-Academic team.  

She has improved on those numbers this year, as she's averaging 9.4 ppg and 6.0 rpg with still two regular season games and a tournament appearance to go in a Thunderbird uniform.

Prior to her time at Southern Utah, Johnson suited up for the New Mexico Lobos where she was awarded the 2012-13 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award. While at New Mexico she averaged 5.2 ppg and 3.2 rpg.

Opponent Preview: Eastern Washington Eagles (15-13, 10-6 Big Sky)

The Eagles of Eastern Washington have won their last two matchups and will make their way to Cedar City looking to make it three in a row.

Last weekend EWU knocked off Weber State and Idaho State, improving their conference record to 10-6.

The Eagles are led in scoring by Delaney Hodgins, who averages 21.2 ppg. She also leads her team in rebounding with 7.3 rpg.

Violet Kapri Morrow averages 14.6 ppg for the Eagles, appearing in all but two contests for EWU.

Opponent Preview: Idaho Vandals (15-12, 11-5 Big Sky)

Coming into their last weekend of competition the Idaho Vandals had won 10 straight contests, but fell twice to Idaho State and then Weber State to move their Big Sky record to 11-5 on the season heading into the last week of regular season action.

The Vandals will play in Flagstaff before making their way to Cedar City.

Mikayla Ferenz leads the Vandals in scoring by averaging 22.8 ppg. Geraldine McCorkell averages 16.9 ppg and Taylor Pierce averages 14.4 ppg.

Game Info

Both games this week (Wednesday and Friday) will tip off at 6:30 p.m. Both games will be available on the PlutoTV App and WatchBigSky.com  

Follow Us

Stay up to date during the 2017-18 Lady T-Bird Basketball season by following @SUUWBasketball on Twitter and Instagram and liking the Southern Utah Women's Basketball page on Facebook.

Tickets

Tickets for this week's home games against North Dakota and Northern Colorado 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 home games.

Road To Reno

Tickets for the Big Sky Men's and Women's Basketball Championships can be purchased at www.RoadtoReno.com.