CEDAR CITY, Utah – The Southern Utah University women's basketball team will welcome former head coach JR Payne back to town Tuesday when it takes on No. 25 Colorado.

GAME INFO

Southern Utah vs Colorado

Date: December 7, 2021

Tip-Off: 6:30 p.m. MT

Location: Cedar City, Utah

Venue: America First Event Center

TV: ESPN+

Live Stream | Live Stats | Listen Live | Tickets | Southern Utah Notes (PDF)

ABOUT COLORADO (8-0)

-The Buffaloes enter Tuesday's game as the No. 25 team in the country after starting the season 8-0. In its most recent game, Colorado defeated Dixie State, 78-53.

-Colorado is led by former Southern Utah head coach JR Payne. Payne led the Thunderbirds to a Big Sky Conference championship in the 2013-14 season.

-Mya Hollingshed leads Colorado with 13.9 points per game to date. Quay Miller is CU's second-leading scorer at 9.6 points per contest.

-Colorado boasts wins over Oklahoma State, Marquette and Wisconsin so far this season.

LAST TIME OUT

The Southern Utah University women's basketball team shot the lights out, including a 9-of-17 mark from 3-point range, on the way to defeating Idaho, 87-65, for the team's first win against the Vandals since 1996.

The victory moved the Thunderbirds to an even 4-4 on the year and 2-0 in Big Sky play. It was also SUU's fourth-straight win. Idaho dropped to 1-6 on the season in defeat and fell to 0-1 in conference competition.

The Thunderbirds were red hot in the first half as they connected on 8-of-12 3-point attempts on the way to taking a 50-35 lead into the locker room. Six of those threes came courtesy of Natalia Otkhmezuri and Samantha Johnston, who connected from distance three times apiece. That would account for all of Johnston's scoring on the night while Otkhmezuri would go on to add one more layup to her stat line.

Cherita Daugherty led the T-Birds with a game-high 26 points, which sets a new career high for the senior guard. Daugherty also followed up her 14-of-14 free throw performance from a game ago with an 11-of-12 mark against the Vandals. She also finished two rebounds shy of a double-double. Daylani Ballena also gave the Thunderbirds a big lift with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists. Lizzy Williamson led both teams in rebounds with 14, and finished just two points shy of a double-double with eight.

Although Southern Utah held a large lead heading into the second half, Idaho would not go away, and made a run to cut SUU's lead to just three points heading into the final quarter. The Thunderbirds were able to respond and locked down Idaho on the defensive end, allowing just five points through the entire fourth quarter. A 7-0 run to open the fourth also gave the T-Birds enough breathing room to operate and build their lead.

NOTES AND QUOTES

-The Thunderbirds are 0-2 against teams from the PAC-12 Conference under head coach tracy Sanders.

-Southern Utah and Colorado have met four times on the hardwood with the Buffaloes winning all four games.

-The T-Birds and Buffs last met in 2014, the same year that CU head coach JR Payne led the Thunderbirds to a Big Sky Conference championship.

-Tuesday will mark the first time that Southern Utah and Colorado have played in Cedar City. All four previous meetings between the two schools were played in Boulder, Colorado.

-In its last contest, Southern Utah defeated Idaho by a score of 87-65. It was SUU's first win against the Vandals since 1996, and snapped a 16-game losing streak against Idaho.

-Lizzy Williamson continues to lead the Big Sky Conference in rebounds per game (10.0), field goal percentage (.647) and blocks per game (1.5).

-Southern Utah leads the Big Sky in points per game at 74.3.

-As a team, the Thunderbirds are 28th in the country in blocks per game at 5.2.

"I'm proud of the way the girls played today. This was our first win against Idaho since 1996 and we snapped a 16-game losing streak to those guys, so it feels good to accomplish that. Our girls were resilient and fought off a run to get another big win. With this being our last year in the Big Sky, we had some boxes we wanted to check, so we're excited to get our first win over Idaho in a while."

-Head Coach Tracy Sanders after the T-Birds beat Idaho for the first time in 25 years

"The ladies have been hard at work and are so excited to take the floor this November. We have some great games in our preseason with several WAC opponents as well as Colorado here in Cedar City. The Big Sky Conference will be tough as usual with some talented new coaches in the league. We just can't wait to start the season."

-Sanders on the release of the 2021-22 schedule

"I am so proud to call Southern Utah University and Cedar City home. It has been an incredible three years and I'm so excited about the direction of our program. We have some extremely talented players that have bought into both the vision and the culture of Southern Utah women's basketball. I'd like to thank Athletic Director Debbie Corum and Deputy Athletic Director Sonia Hahn for their continued support of our program and the opportunity they have given me to continue doing what I love alongside an incredible staff here at Southern Utah University."

-Sanders on her contract extension

"We are thrilled that Tracy will be leading our program for years to come. The improvement her teams have shown each year since she joined the Thunderbird family has been evident. Her players have excelled both on the court and in the classroom, and we are confident in her ability to take the program to new heights in the coming years."

-Southern Utah Athletic Director Debbie Corum on Sanders' contract extension

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