FULLERTON, Calif. – Despite double-doubles from both Cherita Daugherty and Kinsley Barrington, the Southern Utah University women's basketball team could not maintain its lead in the closing minutes of Tuesday's season opener as Cal State Fullerton went on to claim a 71-69 victory at Titan Gym.
The loss dropped SUU to 0-1 on the season while CSUF improved to 1-0 to start the year.
"We had some good stretches, but overall, this was a tough learning experience for us," said SUU head coach Tracy Sanders. "We didn't get the stops or the rebounds down the stretch. We need to do a better job of valuing each possession."
Southern Utah led for nearly the entirety of the game after taking a 6-5 advantage in the opening minutes of the first quarter. The T-Birds stayed ahead of the Titans all the way until the 2:04 mark in the fourth quarter when a three pointer from Fullerton put the Titans on top. SUU would tie the game two more times before the final buzzer sounded, but a jumper from CSUF with just five second remaining proved to be the difference as the Thunderbirds could not score on their final possession.
Even with the disappointing result, the T-Birds put together a strong showing with five scorers in double figures. Daylani Ballena led the way with 16 points while Daugherty chipped in 13. Barrington, Madelyn Eaton and Darri Dotson all contributed 10 apiece. Daugherty added 10 rebounds to achieve double-double status while Barrington pulled down a game-high 11 boards.
Things appeared to be going SUU's way all night with a 36-27 advantage going into the halftime break. The Titans slowly chipped away at the deficit, though, and pulled within five at the end of the third quarter. Southern Utah still managed to hold onto its lead for much of the final quarter, but Fullerton started hitting tough jump shots, including a few from three-point range, to complete the comeback and earn the victory.
The Thunderbirds face a quick turnaround as they will stay in California to face another Big West Conference opponent in UC Irvine on Thursday night. Tip-off is slated for 5:00 p.m. MT with a live broadcast available on ESPN+.
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