CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah women's basketball team kept their undefeated home record alive Thursday night with a 79-68 victory over UC Riverside behind a big performance from freshman Shalyn Fano.
"I'm excited about where we are at. To end non-conference and head into Big Sky play on a win feels really good. It was a tough game for us," head coach Tracy Sanders said. "We are battling the cold that seems to be going around so for them to persevere and get through that was huge. It will be nice to have a couple of days off."
Fano led all scorers with 26 points and was the leading rebounder in the game with 14. Both were career-highs for the Spanish Fork native and combined to give her her first career double-double. It was also the first double-double by a Thunderbird this season.
"I think we are starting to see what Shay can do. She's hard to guard because she can go out on the wing and shoot the three and she can get to the basket," Sanders said. "She did an awesome job on the boards. I think I'm more excited about the rebounds than the points, but that is what she is capable of and it is fun to watch."
Rebecca Cardenas scored 24 points on the night and went 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Ashley Larsen also broke into double digits in scoring with 13 points
It was a tight contest through the first half, with 17 lead changes in the first 20 minutes and neither team able to build a lead bigger than four points. With UCR up by two and one second left in the half, Cardenas knocked down a buzzer beating three to give the Thunderbirds a one-point lead and all the momentum heading into the break.
The Highlanders would come out of the break and end up taking a 46-39 lead with 6:36 to go in the quarter. A steal and a wide-open layup from Alexa Lord would end up being the spark the T-Birds would need to go on a 15-2 run to retake the lead and go into the final quarter with a 54-48 lead.
They would add 14 more points to the run to make it 29-2 and push their lead to 21 with 5:49 to go. The Highlanders were able to climb back in it somewhat, but only were able to get as close as nine with 29 seconds left, before taking the 79-68 loss.
The Thunderbirds will open Big Sky Conference play at home on December 30 against Portland State.
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Tickets
Tickets for the Lady T-Birds' next home game on December 30 against Portland State 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 2019-20 regular season home games.
