CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah University women's basketball team put on a dominant performance on Wednesday night, defeating the Benedictine University at Mesa RedHawks with a score of 102-60.
Despite the large margin of victory, there were several things that Southern Utah will aim to improve upon in future games, such as their 17 turnovers as a team. "We have to continue to get better," said Coach Tracy Sanders about her team's mindset moving forward. "We have to really focus and pay attention to detail."
Sanders was pleased with her team's chemistry through the first two games. "It's one of our strengths. They're playing well together," said Sanders. "From top to bottom, the chemistry is good."
Team chemistry played a role tonight, as the victory was a total team effort. 11 Thunderbirds scored, with four players hitting double digits. Ashley Banks led Southern Utah offensively with 19 points, along with seven offensive rebounds. Tomekia Whitman poured in 15 points on remarkable efficiency, shooting above 60 percent from the field. Daylani Ballena had a versatile performance, recording a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists.
SUU dominated the game on many fronts. The Thunderbirds outrebounded the RedHawks 70 to 28, including 29 offensive rebounds that turned into 22 second chance points. Team basketball was on display tonight, as Southern Utah would rack up 27 assists overall.
The Thunderbirds started off hot in the first quarter. SUU jumped out to an 18-4 lead in the first five minutes after some excellent three point shooting from Ballena, Whitman, and Samantha Johnston. The Thunderbirds led 23-10 at the end of quarter one.
Southern Utah continued their offensive dominance, scoring 27 points in the second quarter to extend their lead to 50-28 at the half.
The third quarter was a competitive one. The RedHawks found their stride offensively, scoring 23 points in the period. Whitman came up huge for SUU, scoring 10 points in the quarter. Southern Utah led 75-51 heading into the final quarter.
Southern Utah outscored the RedHawks 27-9 in the fourth quarter, easily racing to the finish line. Banks had 11 points in the final period, helping SUU soar to victory with a final score of 102-60.
With the win, the Thunderbirds remain undefeated at home and improve to 2-0 overall.
Up Next
Southern Utah will travel to Spokane, Washington on Saturday for a matchup against the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The game is scheduled to tip off at 5 p.m. MT.
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