CEDAR CITY, Utah – After seeing its four-game winning streak snapped against No. 25 Colorado, the Southern Utah University women's basketball team will look to start a new streak when it hosts Life Pacific Thursday afternoon.

GAME INFO

Southern Utah vs Life Pacific

Date: December 9, 2021

Tip-Off: Noon MT

Location: Cedar City, Utah

Venue: America First Event Center

TV: ESPN+

Live Stream | Live Stats | Listen Live | Tickets | Southern Utah Notes

ABOUT LIFE PACIFIC (0-9)

-Life Pacific enters Thursday's contest winless at 0-9 overall.

-Bryana Williams is in her second season as head coach of the Warriors. She graduated from Cal Baptist.

-Rachel Spinosa leads life pacific in scoring at 9.4 points per contest. She is followed closely by Bryanna Felix who is currently averaging 8.5 points per game.

-Life Pacific University is located in San Dimas, California.

LAST TIME OUT

In her return to Cedar City, former Southern Utah head coach JR Payne and her No. 25 Colorado Buffaloes defeated the Southern Utah University women's basketball team, 81-47, Tuesday night at the America First Event Center.

With the loss, the Thunderbirds saw their four-game winning streak snapped and fell to 4-5 overall. Colorado won its ninth-consecutive contest and now sits at a perfect 9-0.

"Colorado is a great team," said SUU head coach Tracy Sanders. "It was fun to have them and JR here. We struggled right away with their pressure on the defensive side, and they made everything difficult for us tonight. There is a lot of stuff we can watch on film and hopefully learn from and get better."

SUU and CU went back and forth for a few possessions to open the game, but the Buffaloes' defense quickly turned up the pressure and helped Colorado build a large lead. CU continued to pressure the Thunderbirds on defense, and forced Southern Utah into 26 turnovers on the night.

Despite the tough defense, Darri Dotson performed well for the T-Birds with a team-high 16 points to go with five rebounds, two assists and three blocks. Lizzy Williamson led SUU in rebounding with eight and also dropped in six points. Cherita Daugherty and Samantha Johnston also added six points apiece.

NOTES AND QUOTES

-Southern Utah is 2-0 against non-Division I opponents under head coach Tracy Sanders. The T-Birds defeated SAGU earlier this season and William Jessup in 2020.

-Against #25 Colorado, the Thunderbirds saw their four-game winning streak snapped. SUU will look to start a new streak Thursday.

-Thursday's matchup with Life Pacific will mark Southern Utah's final home game before departing on a five-game road swing that will round out non-conference play and resume Big Sky competition.

-Darri Dotson scored a season-high 16 points in SUU's game against Colorado.

-Despite having no individual players in the top-10 in Big Sky scoring, the Thunderbirds are the second-best scoring team in the league at 71.2 points per contest.

-Lizzy Williamson leads the Big Sky in rebounds per game at 9.8 per contest.

-Southern Utah has attempted a total of 150 free throws this season which is best in the Big Sky and 89th in the NCAA.

-The T-Birds are the best offensive rebounding team in the Big Sky at 13.1 per game.

"Colorado is a great team. It was fun to have them and JR here. We struggled right away with their pressure on the defensive side, and they made everything difficult for us tonight. There is a lot of stuff we can watch on film and hopefully learn from and get better."

-Head Coach Tracy Sanders after falling to Colorado in JR Payne's return to SUU

"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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