PHOENIX, Ariz– The Southern Utah University women's basketball team earned its seventh straight WAC victory Wednesday night, after a thrilling 63-60 come-from-behind win over Grand Canyon in Phoenix. Trailing to start the fourth quarter for the second game in a row, Southern Utah came storming back, and a flurry of Tomekia Whitman free throws pushed the Thunderbirds past the Lopes. The win improves SUU's record to (11-7; WAC 7-0), while the Lopes fell to (14-6; WAC 6-3). 

TBird Tidbits 

• Southern Utah remained dominant on the boards, corralling 42 rebounds compared to GCU's 28. 
• The Thunderbirds also stayed solid from the free throw line, shooting 88% to Grand Canyon's 72%. 

Daylani Ballena was the driving force all night for the Thunderbirds, scoring 15 points and four rebounds. After dealing with a nagging injury throughout the season Tomekia Whitman had a triumphant performance scoring 14 points with five rebounds, shooting 8-8 from the free throw line. Cherita Daugherty added nine points, three rebounds, and two assists, while Samantha Johnston pitched in nine points of her own. 

First Half

In a battle between two of the WAC's top three teams, Grand Canyon would dart out onto an 8-4 run to begin the game. After the first media timeout,  Daugherty hit a smooth mid-range jumper to get things going for the Thunderbirds, but some furious defense allowed the Lopes to close out the quarter with the 15-8 lead. 

Southern Utah caught fire out of the break, bolting out on an immediate 10-3 run, highlighted by a coast-to-coast layup from Daugherty and two consecutive Johnston three-pointers to help the Thunderbirds take their first lead of the game, 20-18 at the 6:13 mark.  

Grand Canyon put a stop to the Thunderbird surge out of a timeout, going on a 9-2 run to extend their lead back out to 27-22. SUU climbed back with layups from Alexa Lord and Whitman to bring the game within one point, 27-26. As the clock ticked under two minutes left in the half both teams began to heat up. 

Following a GCU jumper, Daugherty found a lane to the rim for a layup, and Lord earned a three-point play to tie the game at 31-31 with under a minute to play. The final 45 seconds of the first half would see three separate lead changes. After the Lopes clanked in a layup, Johnston splashed her third three-pointer of the half to take the 34-33 advantage with 23 seconds remaining, but the Lopes sunk a floater on the next possession to secure the 35-34 lead into the half. 

Second Half

The Lopes turned up the intensity out of the half and stretched its lead to 43-34 off an 8-0 run into the 4:49 media timeout. Ballena would take the lid off the Thunderbirds scoring lull, hitting a jumper and banking in a back-door layup to cut the deficit to 43-38. GCU halted the Thunderbird run in the next two ensuing possessions connecting on two free throws and a layup to give them the 47-41 at the end of the third quarter.

Each side traded buckets to open the fourth quarter until GCU extended their lead to 53-45 after two straight jumpers. Southern Utah immediately responded with fire, forcing three straight Lopes turnovers and exploding out onto a 7-0 run, courtesy of a Williamson layup and two jumpers from Ballena and Jensen to bring the Thunderbirds within one 52-53, with 3:07 remaining. 

After Grand Canyon answered back with a layup and two free throws, SUU rocketed out another 7-0 run led by a second-chance layup from Whitman and a Ballena corner three to snatch the lead back, 59-56, with 44 seconds left. 

The Lopes would not go away easy as they capitalized on an SUU turnover and sunk two free throws to pull the game within one 59-58 with 31 seconds on the clock. With the Lopes needing to foul,  Whitman would go to the line and hit four clutch free throws to clinch the 63-60 victory. 

Up Next

The Thunderbirds will now return home for an afternoon matchup with the Tarleton State Texans on Saturday, Jan 28, at 2 P.M. MT in the America First Event Center. 

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