CEDAR CITY, Utah - After multiple delays and various iterations of their schedule, the Southern Utah women's basketball team are finally ready to kick-off the 2020-21 season. They will open this Wednesday, November 25 in Salt Lake City against the University of Utah at 2:00 p.m.
2019-20 Season Recap
The Lady T-Birds are coming off of one of their best seasons in recent memory.
As a team, they won 18 games, the most since the 2013-14 season when they won a share of the Big Sky title. They also had their second-best all-time scoring season with 2,186 points scored, and set a new record for three-pointers made in a season with 197.
Rebecca Cardenas was named the 2019-20 Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year at the end of the season.
Cardenas led the conference in steals, averaging 3.0 steals per game overall and 3.2 during conference play. The senior was ranked 14th in the entire NCAA in steals per game and 13th in total steals. The 5' 5" guard was also ranked 23rd in the Big Sky in blocks with 12 blocks on the season.
Offensively, Cardenas led the conference in scoring, averaging 17.6 points per game and scoring 510 total points. She was the only Big Sky player to break the 500 point mark during the season.
The Thunderbirds also finished the 2019-20 academic year with a team GPA of 3.742, good enough for No. 5 in the country. Southern Utah was the top-ranked team in the Big Sky with the next closest team being Northern Arizona at No. 20. Montana was the only other Big Sky team in the WBCA Top 25 at No. 22.
2020-21 Big Sky Preseason Polls
The Big Sky Conference released the results of the Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches and Media Polls at the beginning of the month and Southern Utah was picked to finish eighth in both polls.
Idaho was picked to win the conference in both polls with Idaho State, Northern Arizona, Montana State, and Northern Colorado rounding out the top five. The Bobcats won the Big Sky last season with a 19-1 record in conference play.
The Thunderbirds will kick off the Big Sky play on December 3 against Montana in Missoula.
Fresh Faces
The Thunderbirds have added nine new faces to the roster ahead of the 2020-21 season. Cherita Daugherty, Liz Graves, Bryar Tronnier, and Lizzy Williamson all transferred from other institutions this season. Graves was the leading scorer at Weber State last season, averaging 11 points per game.
The T-Birds also added five true freshmen to the roster: Daylani Ballena, Kinsley Barrington, Camille Carpenter, Samantha Johnston, and Pyper Thornberry.
Scouting Report: University of Utah Utes
The Utes finished the 2019-20 season 14-17 overall and 6-12 in PAC-12 play, good enough for an eighth place finish in the conference.
Utah had two players named to the 2020-21 Preseason All-PAC-12 team with sophomore Brynna Maxwell named to the first team and junior Dru Gylten earning an honorable mention spot. Maxwell was the leading scorer for the Utes last season, averaging 13.1 points per game.
The Thunderbirds and the Utes last matched up during the 2016-17 season with Utah coming away with a 69-43 victory. The T-Birds last beat the Utes in 1993 by a score of 55-49.
Head coach Lynne Roberts is in her sixth season at the helm of the program.
Game Info
Wednesday's game is set to tip off at 2:00 p.m. Mountain time inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The game will be streamed live on utahutes.com and over the airwaves on ESPN 700. Live stats will also be available at tbirdstats.com.
Fans will not be allowed inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center per a decision made by the PAC-12's COVID-19 Medical Advisory Committee.
Follow Us
Stay up to date during the 2020-21 Lady T-Bird Basketball season by following @SUUWBasketball on Twitter and Instagram and liking the Southern Utah Women's Basketball page on Facebook.
