CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah women's basketball team took down a previously-undefeated Grand Canyon University Saturday afternoon by a score of 84-83.
"That was a great win for us. GCU is a great team. Really proud of our girls," head coach Tracy Sanders said. "We told them it was going to be a game of runs and it was. I thought we did a great job at the end of really playing defense and being aggressive. Just proud of the overall performance. We had a lot of girls really step up today."
Liz Graves was once again the leading scorer on the floor with 24 points. The redshirt senior also pulled down 11 rebounds for her first double-double as a Thunderbird. Darri Frandsen scored 20 points, pulled down eight rebounds, and had three blocks. Cherita Daugherty scored 19 points, had three steals, and went 9-for-9 from the free throw line. The trio of upperclassmen shot a combined 52.6 percent (20-for-38) from the floor and scored 63 of the T-Birds' 84 points.
Freshmen Pyper Thornberry and Daylani Ballena also saw significant minutes for the Lady T-Birds. Thornberry went 3-for-4 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the free throw line to score a career-high 10 points. Ballena was 4-for-4 from the free throw line and dished out four assists.
"It feels really good to be able to come in for my freshman season and work hard and do my best and take advantage of the opportunity I'm given," Thornberry said. "I'm super happy that Tracy trusts me to come in and do what I need to do."
As a team the Thunderbirds shot 44.8 percent from the floor, including a huge 52 percent in the second half. They scored 46 points in the paint and 19 points on second chance baskets. They also held the WAC's leading scorer, GCU's Katie Scott, to just six points on the day.
This was a tight, gritty contest with the 'Lopes leading for most of the time. GCU jumped out to a six-point lead in the first quarter, but had also racked up seven fouls in just over seven minutes of play. With 2:56 to go in the quarter, Daugherty scored five-straight points to pull the Thunderbirds within one. Graves then knocked down a jumper to take the lead. SUU would go on to build a six-point lead at the end of the first ten minutes.
That lead would grow to as much as 10 points just over three minutes into the second half. The 'Lopes then put together a 15-1 run over the next three and a half minutes to take the lead back at 39-35. Thornberry and Ballena were able to stem the bleeding, scoring the next nine points for the Thunderbirds between the two of them. Thornberry knocked down a three-pointer as the shot clock expired to bring the T-Birds back within one with 21 seconds to play in the half. A block from Frandsen on the other end would keep the 'Lopes in range as they went into halftime with the 45-44 lead.
The two teams continued to go back-and-forth as the third quarter started. There were four lead changes in the first six minutes before GCU started to pull away with a short 7-2 run. They would go on to outscore the Thunderbirds 23-19 in the quarter and take a 68-63 lead into the final 10 minutes of play.
The 'Lopes continued to keep their distance in the fourth quarter, with neither team able to gain any ground in the first couple of minutes. With 2:09 to play and the visiting team up by seven, Daugherty drew a foul and knocked down both of her free throws to get SUU within five. The Thunderbirds would go on to connect on six more free throws while holding the 'Lopes scoreless, erasing the lead and setting themselves up for the win with 57 seconds left.
GCU missed two jumpers in the final minute as the T-Birds completed the comeback and handed the 'Lopes their first loss of the season.
The Thunderbirds will continue their homestand next week as they host Utah Valley and Dixie State.
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