CEDAR CITY, Utah– Following two dominant road victories to remain unbeaten in WAC play, the Southern Utah University women's basketball team will return home this week to host rivals Utah Valley on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 6:30 p.m. MST. On Saturday, Jan. 13, at 4:30 p.m. the Thunderbirds will take on the Sam Houston Bearkats.
Game Info
Southern Utah vs Utah Valley
Date: January 11, 2022
Tip-off: 6:30 p.m. MT
Venue: America First Event Center
Watch Live Stats
Southern Utah vs Sam Houston
Date: January 14, 2022
Tip-off: 4:30 p.m. MT
Venue: America First Event Center
Watch Live Stats
Southern Utah (7-7; WAC 3-0)
TBird Tidbits
Southern Utah still ranks the 24th team in the country and the top team in WAC in rebounds, grabbing 42.93 rebounds per game.
The Thunderbirds have been impressive from the free throw line this season, averaging a .720 free throw percentage. SUU also leads the WAC in blocks shot per game with 2.14.
Individual Leaders
Cherita Daugherty has been on a tear for the Thunderbirds since the beginning of Western Athletic Conference play. Daugherty is ranked sixth in the conference in points per game(14.64) while averaging 21.25 points, 3.5 assists, and 5.3 rebounds in her last four matchups.
Daylani Ballena averages 11.6 points, a team-leading 4.2 assists, and has been a complete workhorse for SUU leading the WAC in minutes played per game with 34.88.
After earning a new season-high of 20 points against Seattle, Megan Jensen enters this week averaging 11.4 and 6.7 rebounds per game. Wednesday's matchup against UVU will be Jensen's first union with her old school since transferring to Cedar City this fall.
Lizzy Williamson still averages a double-double with 11.1 points and a WAC-leading 10.5 rebounds per game. Williamson is also second in the conference in total blocked shots with 30.
Last Time Out
SUU last finished off a two-game road trip with a dominant 67-52 win over the Seattle Redhawks on Saturday, January 7.
First Half
Each side traded buckets to open the game before the Thunderbirds catapulted to an early 8-4 lead off of six straight points from Jensen and a mid-range jumper from Ballena.
After the Redhawks cut into the deficit with two three-pointers, Daugherty and Ballena connected on two layups to give the SUU the lead of 16-11, going into the first media timeout.
Coming out of the timeout, the T-Birds turned on the pressure and surged back on a quick 6-2 run off two layups from Jensen and Williamson to push SUU out to a 22-13 lead.
As Seattle U started to find life towards the end of the first quarter, Daugherty went straight to the basket, earning four free throws and putting the Thunderbirds in front 25-19 at the end of the first.
The Redhawks found an answer, coming out of the break with three deep jumpers from downtown, grabbing their first lead of 34-33 at the 4:45 mark in the second quarter. The Thunderbirds went into the half on a 9-0 run-off from a Daugherty three-pointer and a flurry of Jensen layups to get SUU's lead back up to double digits, 46-36.
Second Half
Ballena and Williamson sunk two layups out of the half to give the Thunderbirds their largest lead, 50-36, with 8:27 left.
Seattle would respond with a mid-range jumper and a layup, but the Thunderbirds kept the intensity as the half progressed. A Ballena pull-up jumper and a Daugherty crafty layup helped maintain a 61-51 at the end of the third.
Southern Utah bolstered their lead to start the fourth quarter when Jensen and Daugherty both went end to end for transition layups to help make the score 69-54 with under five minutes to play.
The Redhawks would not go away as they fought back on a 6-0 run to bring the game to 69-60 with 3:37 left to play, but the Thunderbirds would close out the game with a Daugherty fade-away jumper and a, slicing coast-to-coast layup from Ballena to secure the victory for the SUU.
Scouting Report: Utah Valley (4-11; WAC 1-3)
The Wolverines have had a rough start to conference play, dropping their last three games to California Baptist, New Mexico State, and Utah Tech.
UVU scores 53 points per contest and is sixth in the WAC in steals with 9.67 per game.
Jaeden Brown has been an electric scorer for the Wolverines, averaging 14.6 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks each game. The Forward has also had two of the WAC's top performances this season. Against Grand Canyon, Brown compiled 20 points and 20 rebounds and followed it up with 31 points and 10 rebounds in their rivalry loss to Utah Tech.
Junior Forward Shay Fano is another Wolverine averaging double digits with 10.4 points and 6.8 rebounds.
Scouting Report: Sam Houston (6-7; WAC 2-1)
Sam Houston has had an impressive start to WAC play, securing wins against Seattle U (92-72) and Abilene Christian (69-66) before losing to Utah Tech (79-67) this last weekend.
The Bearkats have had an efficient offense this season, scoring 69.8 points compared to their opponents' 68.5. Sam Houston is another solid rebounding team corralling nearly 44 rebounds every game.
Graduate student guard Chyna Allen fuels the Bearkats offensively. Allen is 4th in the WAC in scoring, averaging 14.67 points, three assists, and 1.3 steals per game. Sam Houston also has another threat with junior forward Kaylee Jefferson, who has scored more than 10 points in his last five games. Jefferson also averages 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists each contest.
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