GREELEY, Colo. - Rebecca Cardenas scored 30 points for the second time this season as the Southern Utah women's basketball team took down Northern Colorado 68-55 in overtime Thursday night.
The win moves the Thunderbirds to 11-9 on the season and 5-6 in Big Sky play.
Cardenas led all scorers with her 30 points and also pulled down nine rebounds and picked up six steals. She is the only player in the Big Sky with two 30+ performances so far this season. The senior moved into ninth on the SUU all-time scoring list and currently has 1,099 career points scored.
Shalyn Fano also hit double-digits with 10 points and Ashley Larsen also pulled down nine rebounds.
As a team, the Thunderbirds forced the Bears into 21 turnovers and only turned the ball over seven times themselves. They also had 13 steals and held UNC to 0-for-16 from three-point range.
There were 21 lead changes in the contest with neither team leading by more than six at any point in regulation. That six-point lead was in favor of the Thunderbirds in the first quarter as they went on an 8-0 run and took a 12-6 lead early on back-to-back threes from Harley Hansen and Madelyn Eaton and a layup from Cardenas.
The Bears answered right back, erasing the T-Bird lead with a 10-0 run of their own and making it 16-12 with 9:29 to go in the half. The Thunderbirds fought back and the score tied three times before the end of the second quarter. Southern Utah would end up taking a 25-24 lead into the halftime break.
The lead continued to change hands in the third quarter and both teams always seemed to have an answer for each other. The biggest scoring run put together by either team was a 7-0 run by the Bears, but the Thunderbirds answered with five unanswered points of their own. Southern Utah still held a one-point lead as they headed into the final 10 minutes of play.
With 1:45 left in the game, the teams were all tied up at 50-50 before the Bears knocked down three of their next four free throws to make it 53-50 with :29 to go. Time was winding down for the Thunderbirds until Cardenas nailed a three-pointer to tie things up and send the game to overtime.
The Thunderbirds dominated the overtime period, outscoring the Bears 15-2. They closed out the period on a 13-0 run to take home the 68-55 victory.
The Lady T-Birds will be back in action on Saturday in Oregon against Portland State.
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.
