CEDAR CITY, Utah – Darri Dotson led the way with 20 points and nine rebounds, and the Southern Utah University women's basketball team dominated Northern Colorado from start to finish Monday night on the way to a 77-53 victory at the America First Event Center.
The win improved Southern Utah's record to 15-9 for the season, including an 11-4 mark in conference play. Northern Colorado dropped to 9-13 on the year and 5-9 in the Big Sky.
"I think this was just a great team win," said SUU head coach Tracy Sanders. "From one all the way down the line, the girls came in ready to play. I thought we had some great people that were sparks off the bench for us. Honestly, we needed a game like this. We've had a long stretch, but they executed the way we asked them to. We did a great job of locking in and then putting it away."
The Thunderbirds outscored the Bears in every quarter on the way to the 24-point victory. SUU was also dominant in nearly every statistical category. The T-Birds shot 45.9 percent from the floor on the night while UNC could only manage a 34.4 percent clip. SUU also earned 17 free-throw attempts to just six for the Bears. Southern Utah pulled down 47 rebounds to Northern Colorado's 29 and assisted on 15 made baskets while the Bears could only manage 10.
In addition to Dotson's impressive performance, SUU got a big lift from the shooting of Samantha Johnston. Johnson knocked down four threes in the first half to help the Thunderbirds gain early separation. Madison Eaton also pitched in 11 points off the bench while Lizzy Williamson, Daylani Ballena and Natalia Otkhmezuri all added eight apiece. Alexa Lord also gave Southern Utah valuable minutes off the bench with four points and six rebounds.
The opening quarter had the makings of a close game as SUU led by just five points through 10 minutes, but Johnston nailed back-to-back threes to open the second quarter and the T-Birds went up 11. Southern Utah maintained that lead through the entire second quarter and took an eight-point advantage into the locker room at halftime.
After a 3-pointer by the Bears to open the second half, the Thunderbirds used a 9-3 run to regain their 11-point lead. A 12-4 run later on to close the third quarter put SUU in the driver's seat and up 17 points heading into the final 10 minutes. The T-Birds quickly got to work extending their lead in the closing quarter as they found themselves up 21 points just over two minutes in. Northern Colorado would get no closer than 19 the remainder of the game.
The victory closes a four-game homestand for Southern Utah as the Thunderbirds will now head to Bozeman, Montana where they will face Montana State on Saturday, February 19. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. MT.
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