CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah women's basketball team wrapped up regular season play Friday night with a 57-60 loss to Portland State.
The loss drops them to 6-5 in the Big Sky standings, but they will remain in fifth place and earn the final bye spot in the first round of the Big Sky Conference Championship Tournament next week in Boise, Idaho. This will be the first time the Thunderbirds have earned a bye in the first round since the 2013-14 season when they were Co-Regular Season Champions.
Madelyn Eaton was the leading scorer for the T-Birds with 17 points. She also went 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Liz Graves posted her ninth double-double of the season with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Darri Frandsen was also in double-digits with 12 points.
The Thunderbirds led most of the way in this one. The Vikings didn't grab their first lead until there was 6:22 remaining in the first half. Both teams only scored 25 points over the first 20 minutes as a jumper from Lizzy Williamson would tie the game as they headed into the break.
The Vikings built up a five-point lead in the third quarter, but with 6:08 left to go, Southern Utah went on a 12-2 scoring run that swung the lead in their favor. They continued to build upon that lead in the fourth quarter and with 5:36 to go they led 54-43.
Portland State then went on a 12-3 scoring run and had pulled within two of the T-Birds with 18 seconds left. With 10 seconds to go, PSU's Jada Lewis knocked down a three-pointer to make it 58-57. They would tack on two more free throws before the game came to a close at 60-57.
The T-Birds were outscored by the Vikings 19-9 in the final quarter of play.
The Thunderbirds will now turn their attention to the Big Sky Conference Championship Tournament where they will be the fifth seed. They will open the tournament on Tuesday March 9 against No. 4-seeded Northern Colorado.
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