CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah women's basketball team will get back to Big Sky play this week as they host Weber State on Thursday January 21 before traveling to Ogden on Saturday January 23.
Last Time Out
The Thunderbirds are coming off of back-to-back victories over the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on Sunday and Monday.
In game one, Liz Graves put up a double-double before the fourth quarter started, finishing with 33 points and 12 rebounds. Daylani Ballena put up a career-high 14 points and was 4-for-5 from the three-point line as the T-Birds rolled on to a 80-73 win.
In game two, the Thunderbirds shot a whopping 63.0 percent (34-for-54) from the floor, the fifth highest single game field goal percentage in the history of the program. They also outrebounded the Vaqueros 38-20 and their bench outscored the UTRGV bench 45-26. Graves was once again the leading scorer with 18 points and four other T-Birds hit double-digits in the victory as Madelyn Eaton and Kinsley Barrington both scored 12 points and Cherita Daugherty and Darri Frandsen both had 11.
Southern Utah scored a combined 172 points between the two games and now owns the second highest scoring offense in the Big Sky, scoring 72.9 points per game. They continue to dominate every rebounding category in the Big Sky, with a rebounding margin of +12.2.
Big Sky Player of the Week
The Big Sky Conference named Southern Utah senior Liz Graves the Women's Basketball Player of the Week last week after her performance in game one against UTRGV.
Graves scored 33 points in the Lady T-Birds' win, one point shy of her career high she set earlier this season against BYU. She shot 48 percent from the floor, went 9-for-10 from the free throw line, and pulled down 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season.
Graves currently leads the conference in scoring, averaging 18.9 points per game through her first nine games. She is also second in the conference in rebounding and field goal percentage, averaging 8.9 rebounds per game and shooting 53.9 percent from the floor.
Scouting Report: Weber State Wildcats (0-7, 0-4 BSC)
The Wildcats have yet to win a game this season and are coming off of back-to-back losses to Eastern Washington two weeks ago.
Junior Kori Pentzer is the leading scorer for the Wildcats, averaging 10.1 points per game through seven games. Sophomore Emma Torbert is the leading rebounder, pulling them down at a rate of 6.8 rebounds per game.
The Thunderbirds and the Wildcats matched up three times last season and Southern Utah came out on top in all three games, including a first round matchup in the Big Sky Conference Championship Tournament.
Game Day Information
Thursday's game inside the America First Event Center is set to tip off at 6:30 p.m. The game will be streamed live on PlutoTV channel 1055, over the air on KSUU Thunder 91.1 FM, and live stats will be available at tbirdstats.com.
Saturday's game in Ogden is set to tip off at 12:00 p.m. The game will be streamed live on PlutoTV channel 1054 and live stats will be available at weberstatesports.com.
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.
