CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah women's basketball team will travel to Arizona and California this week for matchups with Northern Arizona and Sacramento State.
Last Time Out
Last week the Thunderbirds remained undefeated at home with a 72-65 overtime victory over Idaho State. Shalyn Fano led all scorers in the game with 22 points, was 4-for-6 from the free throw line, and was also the leading rebounder for the T-Birds with eight. Rebecca Cardenas put up 18 points and had five steals, two of which came in overtime. Harley Hansen contributed 13 points and five rebounds.
With 16 games still to play in the 2019-20 season, the Thunderbirds have matched their win total from 2018-19 with eight wins already this season.
A Chance to Make History
Rebecca Cardenas will have a chance to hit two milestones this week as she goes into Thursday's game just four steals shy of the all-time career record and 22 points shy of being the 14th member of the 1,000-point club.
The all-time steals record is 244 held by Kim Free who played for Southern Utah from 1985-89. Cardenas will be the second player in the last two seasons to break into the 1,000-point club as Breanu Reid did it last season. Reid finished with 1,056 points in her career.
Scouting Report: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (6-8, 3-2 BSC)
The Lumberjacks are currently in the midst of a three-game winning streak, having won their last three matchups over Idaho State, Sacramento State, and Weber State. Their win over the Hornets was a double-overtime thriller that saw redshirt junior Caitlin Malvar put up the first triple-double in program history (17 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists).
Junior Khiarica Rasheed leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.9 points per game, and rebounding, averaging 5.9 per game. Her 15.9 ppg is second-best in the Big Sky, trailing only Cardenas who sits at 17.8 ppg.
The two teams split the season series last year with the Thunderbirds winning in Flagstaff and the Lumberjacks winning in Cedar City.
Scouting Report: Sacramento State Hornets (3-11, 1-4 BSC)
The Hornets earned their first Big Sky win last week, beating Weber State 91-67 in Ogden, after starting the conference season with four straight losses to Montana State, Montana, Idaho State, and Northern Arizona.
Senior Camariah King leads the team in scoring, averaging 13 points per game. Fellow senior Kennedy Nicholas is right on her heels with a 12.9 ppg average and also leads the team in rebounding at 8.6 per game.
The Hornets have won the last nine matchup between the two teams with the Thunderbirds' last win coming in 2014 in the Big Sky Championship Tournament.
Game Info
Thursday's game in Flagstaff is set to tip off at 6:30 p.m. Mountain time. The game will be streamed live on PlutoTV channel 539 and live stats will be available at tbirdstats.com.
Saturday's game in Sacramento is set to tip off at 3:05 p.m. Mountain time (2:05 p.m. Pacific). The game will be streamed live on PlutoTV channel 533 and live stats will be available at tbirdstats.com.
Follow Us
Stay up to date during the 2019-20 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 the Lady T-Birds' next home game on January 25 against Eastern Washington 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.
