CEDAR CITY, Utah – With a victory over Montana State already under its belt, the Southern Utah University women's basketball team will make the return trip to Bozeman where it will look to complete the season sweep of the Bobcats Saturday afternoon.
GAME INFO
Southern Utah at Montana State
Date: February 19, 2022
Tip-Off: 2 p.m. MT
Location: Bozeman, Montana
Venue: Brick Breeden Fieldhouse
Stream: ESPN+
Watch | Live Stats | Southern Utah Game Notes
SUU NOTES (15-9, 11-4 Big Sky)
-Southern Utah's 24-point victory over Northern Colorado was its largest since beating Portland State by 24 points. The final score of that game was also 77-53.
-The Thunderbirds defeated Montana State in overtime earlier this season in Cedar City. It took overtime, but SUU went on to win by a score of 70-60.
-Southern Utah has not swept Montana State during the regular season since the 2013-14 campaign.
-Southern Utah is the top rebounding team in the Big Sky Conference with an average of 42.2 rebounds per game. Darri Dotson and Lizzy Williamson rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in individual rebounds.
-As a team, Southern Utah is 30th nationally in blocked shots.
ABOUT MONTANA STATE (16-10, 11-4 Big Sky)
-The Bobcats enter Saturday's matchup off a loss to Eastern Washington. Before that, Montana State defeated Northern Arizona by a score of 83-77.
-Darian White leads Montana State in scoring with an average of 15.9 points per game. Kola Bad Bear also averages double figures with 10.4 points per game.
-The Bobcats own the number three scoring offense in the Big Sky Conference and the number eight scoring defense.
LAST TIME OUT
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 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.
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