BOISE, Idaho - The Southern Utah women's basketball team will open play at the Big Sky Conference Championship Tournament on Tuesday March 9. They will come in as the fifth seed and take on No. 4-seeded Northern Colorado at 2:00 p.m. inside Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho.
Last Time Out
The Thunderbirds wrapped up the regular season by splitting a two-game series with Portland State in Cedar City.
They won the series opener on Wednesday by a score of 58-51, but lost the next matchup on Friday 57-60.
Liz Graves scored a combined 37 points and pulled down 26 rebounds over the two contests. She had double-doubles in both games to bring her to nine total on the season. Darri Frandsen had 27 points and 19 rebounds. Madelyn Eaton also scored 27 points and went 8-for-8 on free throw attempts.
Combined with a loss from Montana on Friday, the split moved them up to fifth place in the Big Sky standings, giving them the final bye in the first round of the tournament.
All-Conference Performers
The Big Sky Conference announced the 2020-21 Women's Basketball All-Conference team on Sunday and both Liz Graves and Cherita Daugherty were named members of the team.
Graves was named to the All-Conference Second Team while Daugherty was named All-Conference Honorable Mention.
Graves is second in the Big Sky in scoring heading into the Big Sky Championship Tournament, averaging 16.9 points per game. She is also second in the conference in rebounding (9.2 rpg) and third in field goal percentage (.485). Her 34 points scored against BYU is the highest single-game mark in the Big Sky this season and the sixth-highest single-game total in SUU history.
Daugherty is second on the team and 18th in the Big Sky in scoring, averaging 11.8 points per game. She is also eighth in the Big Sky in free throw percentage (.821) and eighth in assists, averaging 2.9 per game.
Scouting Report: Northern Colorado Bears (13-11, 12-7 BSC)
The Bears are currently in the midst of a six-game winning streak, having swept their last three Big Sky series' against Weber State, Portland State, and Sacramento State. Their last loss came on February 4 against the Thunderbirds. Southern Utah won the first game of the series in Greeley 70-63 before the second game was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
Sophomore Alisha Davis was named the Big Sky Women's Basketball MVP on Sunday after averaging a double-double and leading the conference in scoring (17.1 ppg) and rebounding (10.1 rpg).
The Thunderbirds have won the last three matchups between the two teams
Game Day Information
The Thunderbirds and the Bears will face off at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, the second game of the day. The game will be streamed live on PlutoTV channel 1050 and live stats will be available at www.bigskyconf.com/stats.
Follow Us
Stay up to date during the 2020-21 Lady T-Bird Basketball season by following @SUUWBasketball on Twitter and Instagram and liking the Southern Utah Women's Basketball page on Facebook.
