CEDAR CITY, Utah – After falling behind by 14 points early in the fourth quarter, the Southern Utah University women's basketball team fought back to pull within five and had multiple good looks to make it a one-possession game. Unfortunately, the Thunderbirds were unable to convert any of those looks and went on to drop a 60-54 decision to Utah Valley in the home opener Tuesday night at America First Event Center.

The loss dropped the T-Birds to 0-3 on the season while Utah Valley improved to 2-1.

"I think we ended the game playing pretty hard," said Southern Utah head coach Tracy Sanders. "I thought we made some great plays defensively and picked it up. Our second half was obviously a lot better than our first half. We struggled in the first half to defend. We gave up 21 points in the first quarter, and I think we put ourselves in a difficult spot. The second half was a lot better, but we've still got a lot of work to do."

Southern Utah made its run in the fourth quarter courtesy of a big boost off the bench from Lizzy Williamson. The Australia native went on her own personal 6-0 run and came away with a steal on defense to help the T-Birds close the gap. Williamson finished the night with a plus-minus of seven, the best mark on the team.

Kinsley Barrington led the way for SUU in scoring with 12 points and was followed by Cherita Daugherty who finished the night with nine. Daugherty also pitched in eight rebounds and three steals while Madelyn Eaton led the team with four assists.

The Thunderbirds will hit the road again for their next game when they travel down I-15 to take on UNLV in Las Vegas. The T-Birds and Rebels will tip-off at 1:00 p.m. MT on Saturday, November 20, with a broadcast available on the Mountain West Network.

For all the latest on Southern Utah women's basketball, follow @SUUWBasketball on Twitter and Instagram, and like the Southern Utah Women's Basketball page on Facebook.