CEDAR CITY, Utah – Despite fighting back to take the lead midway through the fourth quarter, the Southern Utah University women's basketball team fell to Montana in the final second by a score of 69-64 Monday night at the America First Event Center.

The loss puts Southern Utah at 13-8 overall on the season with a 9-3 mark in Big Sky Conference play. The Grizzlies improved to 14-6 for the year and 7-4 in league competition.

"I think overall we played a hard game," said SUU head coach Tracy Sanders. "Defensively we did a pretty solid job. Offensively we got some good looks. Obviously, you always want to make more shots, but I think it came down to the rebounds. That's something we talked about before the game, and we said whoever wins the rebounding battle is going to win this game."

The Grizzlies outrebounded SUU by a tally of 46-36, including a 20-16 advantage on the offensive glass and 20-16 advantage on the offensive glass and 26-20 advantage in defensive rebounding. Two key rebounds for the Grizzlies occurred late when they held just a two-point lead with 49 seconds left. Montana missed two shots on the offensive end, but SUU failed to secure either rebound, and the Grizzlies forced the T-Birds to foul and send them to the free-throw line.

The Thunderbirds had three players in double figures in the losing effort, led by Daylani Ballena who scored a game-high 18 points on an 8-of-16 clip from the field. Samantha Johnston added 11 points with three 3-pointers, and Cherita Daugherty scored 10 on the night. Southern Utah was led defensively by Darri Dotson who recorded five blocks and a steal.

Southern Utah trailed for most of the game with Montana leading for nearly 36 minutes of game time. The Thunderbirds fought their way back in the second half to claim a two-point lead, but it was short lived as the Grizzlies continued to score off second-chance points. SUU had possession with 15 seconds remaining in the game and faced just a three-point deficit, but could not get a shot off as Montana forced a turnover and iced the game at the free-throw line.

SUU will now prepare for a visit from Sacramento State on Saturday, February 12, at the America First Event Center. Tip-off is slated for 2:00 p.m. MT, and the game can be viewed live on ESPN+.

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