CEDAR CITY, Utah – After clawing its way back from down 11 in the fourth quarter to force overtime, the Southern Utah University women's basketball team used a 12-2 advantage in the extra period to take down first-place Montana State, 70-60, Thursday night at the America First Event Center.
The win lifted Southern Utah to 14-8 for the year, and moved them into a three-way tie atop the Big Sky Conference standings with a record of 10-3. In defeat, Montana State fell to 15-9 and an identical 10-3 in league competition.
"I'm just really proud of our game today," said SUU head coach Tracy Sanders. "I thought we had so many different people step up. It was such a huge team win. We thought we were taking today off and then got this game thrown on us at the last minute, so I'm proud of the way we responded. I think overall that's how this team has been throughout the year. We always find a way to respond to adversity, and I couldn't be more proud of this group."
The early going proved tough for the Thunderbirds as they had a tough time scoring, but Darri Dotson kept SUU alive with her career-best rebounding effort. The senior pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds while also scoring eight points. Cherita Daugherty and Daylani Ballena kept attacking the basket to lead SUU with 19 and 15 points, respectively.
Both teams struggled shooting the ball for the majority of the game, but it was the T-Birds' dominant rebounding that pushed them over the edge. Southern Utah pulled down 58 rebounds to Montana State's 35, including a 21-9 advantage on the offensive glass. The Thunderbirds also dominated down low with 42 points in the paint to MSU's 20.
The Bobcats led the majority of the game and appeared to be running away in the fourth quarter when they stretched their lead to 11 which forced SUU to take a timeout. The Thunderbirds responded out of the timeout by ripping off a 15-2 run to take the lead. Both teams traded baskets for the remainder of regulation, and Daugherty's last-second shot for the win fell short as the game headed to overtime.
Daugherty connected on her next shot to draw first blood in overtime, and Montana State responded with a pair of free throws. Those would prove to be the final points of the night for the Bobcats as SUU closed the game on a 10-0 run to even the race at the top of the conference standings.
Southern Utah continues its homestand Saturday afternoon when it hosts Sacramento State at 2:00 p.m. MT. Saturday's game will serve as the pink game to honor those who have battled and are battling breast cancer as well as other types of cancer. The game can be seen on ESPN+.
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