CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Southern Utah women's basketball team opened their regular season Thursday afternoon with a 79-63 win over the CSU Fullerton Titans. The Lady T-Birds outscored the Titans 46-6 off the bench as Madelyn Eaton, Jessica Chatman, and Darri Frandsen all had big games.
Eaton led the Thunderbirds in scoring in her first collegiate competition, shooting 70 percent from the floor and scoring 20 points. She also had three assists and two steals. Four other Thunderbirds put together double-digit scoring efforts in the win, including Chatman with 15, Harley Hansen with 13, and Rebecca Cardenas with 12. Frandsen had 11 points and seven rebounds in her return to the floor.
CSUF's Amiee Brock led all scorers with 27 points.
The Thunderbirds didn't shoot the ball particularly well in the first quarter, but they were able to play solid defense and hold an 18-15 lead over the opening 10 minutes.
In the second quarter, the T-Birds were able to outscore CSU Fullerton 23-12 and take a 41-27 lead into the locker room.
True freshman Madelyn Eaton led all scorers at the break with 12 points.
The Titans came out in the third quarter and outscored the Thunderbirds 7-2 through the first four minutes to cut SUU's lead to nine. They ended up outscoring the T-Birds 19-16 in the quarter to cut the lead to 11 heading into the final 10 minutes.
That momentum didn't last long however, as the Thunderbirds opened the fourth quarter with a 15-5 run. They shot 64 percent from the floor during the final minutes and outscored the Titans 22-17 to lock down the 79-63 victory.
The Thunderbirds will head out on the road this weekend, as they'll take on the Utah Valley Wolverines on Saturday at 4 p.m. MT.
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