CEDAR CITY, Utah-- Megan Jensen and Cherita Daugherty combined for 38 points as the Southern Utah University women's basketball team trounced Utah Tech 76-61 in its WAC opener Thursday night in the America First Event Center. The win improves the Thunderbirds to 5-7 on the season and 1-0 in the conference.
"I'm super proud of this team's performance, said SUU head coach Tracy Sanders." " We came out and had a great first quarter. We knew they would make a run at some point and that they would shoot a lot of threes, which could get them back in it fast, but we handled things very well. I'm so proud of our game plan and its execution. We will celebrate this win and get ready for New Mexico."
TBIRD TIDBITS
SUU had a balanced attack outshooting the Trailblazers from the floor 46 percent to 31.7 percent while knocking down nine three-pointers. The Thunderbirds dominated in the paint scoring 34 points compared to Utah Tech's 22, and they also capitalized on the offensives boards, scoring ten second-chance points.
Jensen lead the way offensively with a new season-high of 19 points on 9 of 10 shooting, snatching ten rebounds and three assists. Daugherty just narrowly missed out on an identical stat line, finishing with 19 points, nine rebounds, and two assists.
The T-Birds had three other players finish with double digits on the night. Samantha Johnston splashed four three-pointers, to finish with 12 points. Alexa Lord had 11 points with five rebounds, and Daylani Ballena added 10 points and a game-high seven assists of her own.
FIRST HALF
Southern Utah got off to a fast start jumping out on a 13-1 run off eight combined points from Daugherty and Lizzy Williamson inside the paint, forcing a Utah Tech timeout at the 5:31 mark in the first.
Coming out of the timeout, the Thunderbirds kept their foot on the gas, as Jensen muscled in two quick layups, and Lord nailed a three-pointer to extend the lead 20-1. The Trailblazers remained scoreless until 1:24 left when they knocked down a three-pointer, but Daugherty would answer back with a corner jumper to push the score to 26-4, heading into the second quarter.
Utah Tech began to claw back into the game out of the break, hitting two threes on their first two possessions, sparking a 14 to four-run that cut the deficit to 30-20 with 4:31 to go in the half. Southern Utah would immediately battle back as Johnston and Ballena connected from deep, and Daugherty topped off the quarter with a mid-range jumper and a layup to push the Thunderbirds into the half up 40-25.
SECOND HALF
SUU opened the second half with two back-to-back layups from Jensen and Daugherty, but Tech would stay in it and chip away, bringing the Thunderbird advantage back down to 46-37 with 7:15 left.
After a scoring lull for both teams, SUU would take control as Johnston swished two three-pointers, and Jensen remained dominant down low, totaling eight third-quarter points to propel the T-Birds out to a 61-45 lead.
Southern Utah kept the intensity coming into the fourth as Ballena sunk a deep pump-fake three, pushing the Thunderbirds back onto an 8-2 run and putting the game out of reach.
UP NEXT
SUU will have a short turnaround as they head to Las Cruces, NM to take on the New Mexico State Aggies on Saturday, Dec. 31, at the Pan America Center. Tip-off is set for 1 P.M. MT.
Follow Us
For all the latest on Southern Utah women's basketball, follow @SUUWBasketball on Twitter and Instagram and like the Southern Utah Women's Basketball Facebook page.
