SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Led by a 20-point performance from Daylani Ballena, the Southern Utah University women's basketball team defeated Sacramento State, 80-70, Thursday night for its third-consecutive victory.
The win pushed Southern Utah to 7-5 overall on the season and a perfect 3-0 in conference play. Sacramento State fell to 4-8 for the year with the setback, and remained winless in Big Sky competition.
"It was a great team win," said SUU head coach Tracy Sanders. "I thought we executed our stuff really well and did a great job of taking care of the ball and rebounding, especially that first half. Dayla really stepped up to the challenge tonight. She was spectacular on defense and had a great scoring night as well."
In addition to her team-high 20 points, Ballena brought down five rebounds and dished out four assists. The Thunderbirds received several other strong performances as well, including Darri Dotson with 13 points and five rebounds and Lizzy Williamson who scored 12 points and grabbed seven boards. Natalia Otkhmeezuri was the other T-Bird in double figures with 12 points of her own.
SUU won the rebounding battle on the night with a 39-31 advantage, and took good care of the ball by committing only eight turnovers to the Hornets' 11. The Thunderbirds outscored Sacramento State in the first three quarters of the game before the Hornets won the fourth quarter, but the deficit was too much to overcome.
The opening quarter was Southern Utah's most dominant as the T-Birds jumped out to an eleven-point lead after 10 minutes of play. SUU also outscored the Hornets by four in the second quarter to take a 15-point advantage into the locker room at halftime. SUU picked up right where it left off in the third quarter growing its lead as large as 26 off back-to-back jumpers from Alexa Lord. The Hornets frantically tried to get back into the game, outscoring the Thunderbirds 24-15 in the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late.
Southern Utah will celebrate the New Year with a trip to Northern Colorado to take on the Bears on the first day of 2022. Tip-off is slated for 2:00 p.m. MT with a live stream available on ESPN+
For all the latest on Southern Utah women's basketball, follow @SUUWBasketball on Twitter and Instagram, and like the Southern Utah Women's Basketball Facebook page.
