PORTLAND, Ore. - The Southern Utah women's basketball team played the first of two west coast Big Sky games Thursday night, falling to the Portland State Vikings 49-63.
It was a story of two halves as the first half was a very close, back-and-forth contest. Neither team led by more than seven points, with the Vikings getting up by that many before the Thunderbirds cut the lead to one just 30 seconds later.
The Thunderbirds took their first lead of the game with 7:55 to go in the second quarter as Ashley Larsen drew a foul and converted the free throw for a three-point play to make it 16-15. Portland State was able to the lead back, but a three-pointer from Breanu Reid helped SUU jump back out front. After extending their lead to as much as six, they would go into halftime with a 27-26 lead.
Larsen almost had a double-double in the first 20 minutes of play, putting up 11 points and eight rebounds in the first half.
Southern Utah had trouble finding a shot to fall in the third quarter, as the Vikings opened with a 11-0 run that lasted nearly eight minutes. The Thunderbirds didn't score until there was less than two minutes left to play in the quarter. They ended up with seven points, all scored by Rebecca Cardenas, but the Vikings put up 14 and took a 40-34 lead into the final 10 minutes.
The T-Birds improved offensively in the fourth quarter, but were outscored by PSU 23-15. They were able to cut the lead to four, but the Vikings finished the game on a 9-0 run to seal the 63-49 victory.
Larsen was the leading scorer for the Thunderbirds with 14 points. She also pulled in nine rebounds and had two blocks. Cardenas finished with seven points, eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals.
The Thunderbirds outshot the Vikings from behind the arch, 39 percent to 20 percent, and outrebounded them on the offensive side of the ball 16-14.
PSU's Courtney West had a school-record nine blocks in the win.
The Lady T-Birds will head south now to take on Sacramento State on Saturday. Tip off is set for 3:00 p.m. Mountain time.
Tickets
Tickets for the Lady T-Birds' next home game on January 24 against 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 2018-19 home games.
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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.
