CEDAR CITY, Utah - Four players scored in double-figures as the Southern Utah University women's basketball team defeated Seattle University 83-56 on Saturday, Dec. 2 at the America First Event Center. The Thunderbirds improve to 2-4 overall and 1-1 in Western Athletic Conference play, while the Redhawks drop to 1-7 on the season and 1-1 in conference play.
HEAD COACH TRACY MASON SAYS
"I thought our team executed well on both ends of the floor. Offensively and defensively we stuck to the game plan and I thought a lot of people stepped up today."
Link to Full Post-Game Interview
TOP T-BIRDS
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Daylani Ballena led the T-Birds attack with 15 points and six assists.
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Ava Uhrich (12), Alexa Lord (12), and Ashley Banks (11) each scored in double-digits for the Thunderbirds.
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Megan Smith pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds to go along with eight points and a steal.
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Shiho Isono added valuable minutes off of the bench, recording seven points, six assists, and five rebounds.
T-BIRD TIDBITS
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The Thunderbirds won the rebounding battle by a wide margin, corralling 48 boards while limiting the Redhawks to only 29.
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Southern Utah shot an efficient 53 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from beyond the arc, and 83 percent from the charity stripe.
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The T-Birds played suffocating defense, limiting the Redhawks to only 56 points on 28.8 percent shooting from the field.
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Offensively, the Thunderbirds worked well as a team as they compiled 24 assists, compared to only 10 for the Redhawks.
GAME RECAP
First Half
The Thunderbirds opened the game with a dominant first quarter. After the Redhawks managed to get within a single point (7-6) midway through, the Thunderbirds stormed ahead with a ferocious 15-2 run to take a 22-8 advantage heading into the second period.
SUU stayed aggressive, using an 11-3 start to the second quarter to go in front 33-11 with 6:23 on the clock. However, the Redwawks fired back with a 16-8 stretch to close the half. Alexa Lord led the team with eight points in the period as the Thunderbirds went into the break with a 41-27 lead.
Second Half
Southern Utah came out strong in the second half, as Charli Kay and Daylani Ballena combined for 10 points in the third quarter to give the Thunderbirds a commanding 60-39 lead approaching the final frame.
Eight players scored in the fourth quarter for Southern Utah as the T-Birds outscored the Redhawks 23-17 to secure a 83-56 victory.
NOTABLE PLAYS
UP NEXT
Non-conference play is set to resume again for the Thunderbirds as the team hits the road for a matchup against Texas A&M University - Commerce on Tuesday, Dec. 5. The game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. MT.
FOLLOW US
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.
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