MOSCOW, Idaho-- The Southern Utah University women's basketball team suffered a crucial 82-63 loss to the Idaho Vandals Thursday night in Moscow. 

With the loss, the Thunderbirds fall to 12-7 overall and 8-2 in the Big Sky Conference, while Idaho improved their record to 5-13 on the year and 4-5 in the conference. 

SUU had 20 total turnovers compared to Idaho's ten. The Thunderbirds were also limited to just 41% shooting from the floor. They did outrebound the Vandals 39-36. 

Alexa Lord was the leading scorer for SUU with 16 points. Lord shot a perfect 2-2 from downtown with two rebounds. Daylani Ballena also played efficiently, racking up 14 points with two rebounds. Cherita Daugherty also added 10 points of her own and Darri Dotson led the team with 12 rebounds. 

The Thunderbirds got off to a slow start as they allowed Idaho to control the paint and find open looks to give them an early 15-8 lead midway through the first quarter. SUU did regain their footing quickly after Alexa Lord grabbed ten fast points, and Daylani Ballena found eight points of her own to cut the deficit to two points at the end of the first quarter. 

In the second period, Idaho began to surge forward. The Vandals grabbed seven offensive rebounds and capitalized on nine T-Bird first-half turnovers to outscore the Thunderbirds 27 to 9 in the quarter and give them a 49-29 lead heading into the half. 

Out of the half, it was more of the same story for the Vandals as they put continuous pressure on the Thunderbirds and created turnovers. They went on an 8-2 run in the third quarter to extend their lead to 29 points. 

SUU did not quit and kept throwing back blows of their own in the fourth going on a 19-6 run to cut the lead down to 16 points, but in the end, it was too much to overcome. 

The T-Birds will now have a short turnaround as they are set to travel to Cheney, Washington to face off against Eastern Washington on Saturday, February 5th. Tip-off is at 3 P.M. and the game can be viewed on ESPN+. 

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.