CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah women's basketball team picked up their third win in a row Thursday night, beating in-state rival Weber State 77-68.
Liz Graves was the leading scorer for the Thunderbirds with 21 points against her former team. She also pulled down eight rebounds and went 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Darri Frandsen was right behind her with 18 points on the night. She also had three blocks and three steals. Cherita Daugherty and Kinsley Barrington both also reached double-digits as Daugherty scored 11 points and Barrington scored 10.
As a team, the T-Birds shot 43.5 percent from the field and forced the Wildcats into 19 turnovers. They also got to the free throw line 39 times compared to Weber State's 11.
It was certainly the tale of two halves Thursday night as the Thunderbirds outscored the Wildcats 44-28 in the first half, but were then outscored themselves 40-33 in the second half.
Southern Utah shot 60.9 percent (14-for-23) from the floor while holding the Wildcats to just 36.1 percent in the first half. They led by as many as 18 points in the second quarter and went into the halftime break leading 44-28.
When the teams came out in the second half, Weber State was able to flip the script on the Thunderbirds. They held SUU to just two buckets in the third quarter, while shooting 52.9 percent from the field themselves. They put together a 10-0 run with just under five minutes remaining in the quarter to cut the T-Bird lead all the way down to three points.
The Thunderbirds would go into the final ten minutes leading 57-54.
The Wildcats were able to get within two with 4:21 remaining, but solid free throw shooting and buckets from Frandsen and Barrington would keep them from getting any closer. The Thunderbirds went 12-for-12 from the free throw line down the stretch, pushing their lead all the way back out to 11 points at one point before closing out the 77-68 victory.
The Thunderbirds and Wildcats will match up again on Saturday, but this time it will be in Ogden. Tip off is set for 12:00 p.m.
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