OREM, Utah - The Southern Utah women's basketball team opened their 2020-21 season Saturday afternoon in Orem against Utah Valley. The Thunderbirds led at halftime, but would go on to drop their season opener 47-58.

Liz Graves was the leading scorer for the Thunderbirds with 11 points and was one rebound away from her first double-double as a T-Bird. Darri Frandsen was the leading rebounder with 11. Lizzy Williamson had two blocks in her first game as a Thunderbird.

Megan Kamps and Cherita Daugherty hit back-to-back buckets to open the game and take a quick five point lead over the Wolverines. The Thunderbirds would then stay in control for much of the first half, never trailing by more than one. They held the Wolverines to just 8.3 percent from the field in the second quarter and closed out the first half on a 7-1 run that lasted over five minutes to go into halftime with a 23-17 lead.

Utah Valley answered back right as the second half started, scoring three straight times and tying things up at 23-23. The two teams went back and forth for the rest of the third quarter with neither team leading by more than one. That is until the T-Birds went on a 7-3 run to close out the quarter with a three-point lead.

They pushed their lead to five points and were able to keep the Wolverines at arm's length until UVU launched a 10-1 run to take a five-point lead. Redshirt junior Nehaa Sohail scored seven of the 10 points during that run. The Wolverines continued to pile it on while the Thunderbirds were only able to score five points and would end up losing 47-58.

The Thunderbirds will turn their attention to the opening of Big Sky play next week in Missoula, Montana against the University of Montana.

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.