CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah women's basketball team will head out on the second leg of their four-game road stretch this week for matchups with Northern Colorado on February 6 and Portland State on February 8.
Last Time Out
The Thunderbirds split their road trip last week picking up a 87-71 win over Weber State before falling to Idaho State 54-73.
In the win over the Wildcats, Rebecca Cardenas picked up her second double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 assists. The senior also went 7-for-9 from the field and had four steals. Harley Hansen put up 16 points and also had four steals. Four other Thunderbirds hit double-digits as Madelyn Eaton had 14 points, Shalyn Fano had 12, Jessica Chatman had 10, and Ashley Larsen had 10.
As a team the Thunderbirds shot 55.4 percent from the field and forced the Wildcats into 22 turnovers, scoring 26 of their points off those turnovers.
State of the Big Sky
With five weeks left in the regular season, the Montana State Bobcats sit at the top of the Big Sky standings with a 9-1 record. Idaho (8-2) and Northern Arizona (8-3) round out the top three.
The middle of the standings are tightly packed with three teams sitting at 6-5 and Northern Colorado at 5-5. The Thunderbirds are currently in eighth place with a 4-6 record in conference play.
Southern Utah has the fourth best scoring offense in the Big Sky, averaging 70.8 points per game and they are third in the conference in steals, averaging 8.79 per game.
Rebecca Cardenas continues to lead the conference in scoring, averaging 17.0 points per game. The senior is also second in steals (2.4 spg), third in assists (4.9 apg), and fourth in field goal percentage (.409).
Harley Hansen is sixth in the conference in scoring (13.7 ppg), second in three-point field goal percentage (.398), and third in field goal percentage (.450).
Scouting Report: Northern Colorado Bears (9-10, 5-5 BSC)
The Bears are coming off of a 69-65 win over Weber State and have won two of their last three games and currently sit in seventh place in the Big Sky standings.
Junior Alexis Chapman leads Northern Colorado in scoring, averaging 12.8 points per game and freshman Alisha Davis leads the team in rebounding, averaging 6.8 per game. As a team, the Bears lead the Big Sky in blocking (4.95 bpg) and are the second-best rebounding team in the conference, averaging 40.9 per game.
The Bears have won the last nine matchups between the two teams with the Thunderbirds last winning in 2013-14.
Scouting Report: Portland State Vikings (12-9, 6-5 BSC)
This will be the second meeting of the season already for the Vikings and the Thunderbirds, with the T-Birds taking home the 71-58 victory back on December 30. Harley Hansen led the Thunderbirds in scoring in the win with 21 points. She also had four steals and five rebounds. Rebecca Cardenas put up 20 points, had six assists, and also contributed four steals.
Redshirt junior Tatiana Streun continues to lead the team in scoring and is the fourth leading scorer in the Big Sky, averaging 13.9 points per game. Senior Jordan Stotler leads the conference in blocks and is third in the entire NCAA, averaging 3.6 blocks per game.
The Vikings had won the last four matchups before losing in Cedar City earlier this season.
Game Info
Thursday's game against the Bears is set to tip off at 7:00 p.m. inside Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley. The game will be streamed live on PlutoTV channel 541 and live stats will be available at uncbears.com.
Saturday's game against the Vikings is set to tip off at 3:00 p.m. inside Viking Pavilion in Portland. The game will be streamed live on PlutoTV channel 532 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 February 13 against Sacramento 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.
