CEDAR CITY, Utah - Cherita Daugherty poured in a career-high 32 points as the Southern Utah University women's basketball team defeated UTRGV 73-66 on Thursday, Feb. 16 at the America First Event Center. 

The Thunderbirds improved to 16-8 overall this season, including a 12-1 record in Western Athletic Conference play. Meanwhile, the Vaqueros dropped to 9-15 overall with a 3-10 mark in WAC play.

T-Bird Tidbits

• Southern Utah shot 49.0 percent from the field in an efficient outing. 

• The Thunderbirds stifling defense held UTRGV to only 34.8 percent shooting from the field.

• The T-Birds won the rebounding battle 42-35 including a 32-19 advantage in defensive rebounds.

• SUU outscored UTRGV 27-15 in the fourth quarter.

Individual Leaders

• Cherita Daugherty led the way for Southern Utah, dropping a career-high 32 points on 9-19 shooting from the field and 13-14 from the free throw line, while also recording six rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

• Daylani Ballena added 13 points along with four rebounds, three assists, and one steal.

• Megan Jensen dominated down low defensively, tallying a season-high four blocks over 28 minutes of action.

• Lizzy Williamson corralled a team-high nine rebounds in addition to an excellent defensive showing with three steals and three blocks.

First Half

The Vaqueros jumped out to a 7-0 lead over the first 2:06 of play.

Cherita Daugherty then scored the first points of the contest for the 'Birds, splashing a three pointer with 7:37 on the clock to make the score 7-3.

UTRGV connected on a jumper to extend its lead to six, 9-3, at the 6:03 mark.

Daugherty answered on the T-Birds next possession, racing to the rim for the score to cut the deficit to four, 9-5. Megan Jensen then hit back-to-back layups to tie the match at nine points apiece with 4:12 remaining in the first quarter.

The Vaqueros ended the drought with a jumper, taking a 11-9 advantage with 3:39 to go.

The Thunderbirds caught fire, reeling off a 7-0 run over the next 1:44 of play, behind a pair of scores by Daugherty and a three pointer by Daylani Ballena, to go up 16-11.

UTRGV split a pair of free throws, then hit a layup on the following possession to cut the T-Birds lead to two, 16-14, with less than a minute remaining in the period.

With only five seconds on the clock, Alexa Lord earned a trip to the foul line, where she canned a pair of free throws to make the score 18-14 in favor of Southern Utah heading into the second period. 

Lord stayed hot to begin the second quarter, using a crafty move to get to the rim and score, pushing the 'Birds advantage to 20-14 with 9:04 on the clock.

The two squads traded a pair of free throws, with Daugherty hitting both foul shots for the T-Birds, to make the score 22-16.

The Vaqueros then fired off six straight points over the next 1:44 to tie the match at 22-22.

The T-Birds replied with a 4-0 run with Ballena hitting a jumper and Tomekia Whitman scoring a layup, giving Southern Utah a 26-22 advantage with 5:03 left.

After UTRGV scored a basket on the following play, Lizzy Williamson crashed the glass for an offensive rebound and the score to push SUU's lead back to four, 28-24.

The Vaqueros scored four of the next six points of the ballgame to trim the lead to only two, 30-28, with 3:41 remaining.

The Thunderbirds then sprinted ahead with an 8-1 run over the final 3:10 of play to take a 38-29 advantage at the half.

Second Half

UTRGV opened the second half with a 7-1 run, cutting Southern Utah's lead to 39-36 at the 7:34 mark.

On the following play, Daugherty drove to the paint and dished the ball to Jensen, who scored the easy layup to give SUU a 41-36 lead.

The Vaqueros fired off a 6-1 run, hitting two three pointers, to tie the game at 42-42 with 5:09 on the clock.

Jensen and Whitman combined for four straight points to give SUU a 46-42 lead with 3:41 to play.

UTRGV ended the quarter with a 9-0 sprint to take a 51-46 advantage heading into the final period.

The Vaqueros connected on a layup on the opening possession of the quarter, pushing their lead to seven, 53-46.

Southern Utah countered with a 6-0 run, with Williamson contributing a layup and Daugherty canning four shots from the charity stripe to pull within a single point, 53-52, at the 7:31 mark.

Over the next 53 seconds of play, the Vaqueros scored five straight points to take a 58-52 advantage.

The Thunderbirds responded with a 6-0 run, as Daugherty hit a pair of layups and then splashed a jumper, tying the game at 58-58 with 3:37 remaining.

Samantha Johnston retook the lead for Southern Utah, sinking a floater to make the score 60-58 in favor of the 'Birds with 3:01 to go.

After the Vaqueros tied the game once more with a layup, Daugherty drove to the basket and banked in a layup to make the score 62-60 at the 2:27 mark.

Williamson distributed the ball to a wide open Ballena, who splashed the three pointer. On the following play, Daugherty dished the ball to Williamson for the layup, giving the 'Birds a commanding 67-60 lead with only 52 seconds to play.

The lead proved insurmountable, as Southern Utah held on to claim a 73-66 victory.

Up Next

The Thunderbirds will have a short turnaround as they host Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, Feb. 18. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 2:00 p.m. MT.

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