CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah University women's basketball team, winners of 13 of its last 14 games, will travel to Texas for a pair of conference games this week. The Thunderbirds will begin the two-game road trip with Abilene Christian on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 5:00 p.m. MT before heading to Tarleton State on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 1:00 p.m. MT.
GAME INFO
Southern Utah vs. Abilene Christian
Date: Thursday, Feb. 23
Tip-off: 5:00 p.m. MT.
Live Stream | Live Stats
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Southern Utah vs. Tarleton State
Date: Saturday, Feb. 25
Tip-off: 1:00 p.m. MT.
Live Stream | Live Stats
WAC Standings
The Western Athletic Conference is different from most conferences when it comes to seeding its teams for its conference tournament, as the standings factor in non-conference play into its rankings.
So, even though Southern Utah has a better record in conference play, it ranks second to Stephen F. Austin due to non-conference play.
This week, SUU faces ninth-seeded Abilene Christian and eleventh-seeded Tarleton.
2022-23 WAC WBB Resume Seeding System (as of Feb. 19)
|
Rank
|
Team
|
W
|
L
|
CW
|
CL
|
WACPts
|
|
1.
|
Stephen F. Austin
|
22
|
5
|
12
|
3
|
5.84
|
|
2.
|
Southern Utah
|
17
|
8
|
13
|
1
|
3.39
|
|
3.
|
Grand Canyon
|
18
|
7
|
10
|
4
|
1.99
|
|
4.
|
California Baptist
|
15
|
11
|
11
|
4
|
0.89
|
|
5.
|
Utah Tech
|
16
|
9
|
8
|
6
|
0.39
|
|
6.
|
Sam Houston
|
12
|
13
|
8
|
6
|
-1.42
|
|
7.Â
|
UT Arlington
|
13
|
14
|
7
|
8
|
-1.49
|
|
8.
|
NM State
|
13
|
14
|
8
|
7
|
-2.48
|
|
9.
|
Abilene Christian
|
12
|
14
|
6
|
9
|
-3.98
|
|
10.
|
UTRGV
|
9
|
16
|
3
|
11
|
-4.49
|
|
11.Â
|
Tarleton
|
7
|
19
|
1
|
14
|
-8.00
|
|
12.
|
Utah Valley
|
6
|
19
|
3
|
11
|
-8.42
|
|
13.
|
Seattle U
|
4
|
20
|
4
|
10
|
-8.52
|
PREVIEW
SOUTHERN UTAH (17-8, 13-1 WAC)
Sanders Success
With the 75-70 win against Utah Valley on Saturday, Feb. 11, head coach Tracy Sanders collected her 70th win at the helm of the Thunderbirds. That's the most wins in the first five seasons of any coach in school history (and counting)
Here are the full coaching records for wins per accumulated season with Sanders jumping into first through five seasons already this year with multiple opportunities to tack on to that lead.
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Wins in First Season
Joy Peterson, 18 wins, 1976-77
Chris Boettcher, 13 wins, 2014-15
Boyd Adams, 9 wins, 1982-83
Joe Hillock, 9 wins, 1996-97
Steve Hodson, 9 wins, 2006-07
Kit Janes, 9 wins, 2008-09
Kathryn Berg, 8 wins, 1975-76
Tracy Sanders, 8 wins, 2018-19
Clay Anderson, 7 wins, 1988-89
JR Payne, 7 wins, 2009-10
Larry Shurtliff, 6 wins, 1991-92
Gordon Kerbs, 4 wins, 1990-91
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Wins Through 2 Seasons
Joy Peterson, 31 wins, 1976-78
Tracy Sanders, 26 wins, 2018-20
Joe Hillock, 25 wins, 1996-98
JR Payne, 23 wins, 2008-10
Boyd Adams, 21 wins, 1982-84
Chris Boettcher, 19 wins, 2014-16
Larry Shurtliff, 18 wins, 1991-93
Steve Hodson, 15 wins, 2006-07
Clay Anderson, 12 wins, 1988-90
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Wins Through 3 Seasons
Joy Peterson, 46 wins, 1976-79
Joe Hillock, 41 wins, 1996-99
Tracy Sanders, 37 wins, 2018-21
Boyd Adams, 34 wins, 1982-85
Larry Shurtliff, 34 wins, 1991-94
JR Payne, 29 wins, 2009-12
Chris Boettcher, 26 wins, 2014-17
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Wins Through 4 Seasons
Joy Peterson, 57 wins, 1976-80
Tracy Sanders, 55 wins, 2018-22
Joe Hillock, 53 wins, 1996-00
Larry Shurtliff, 51 wins, 1991-95
Boyd Adams, 50 wins, 1982-86
JR Payne, 44 wins, 2009-13
Chris Boettcher, 29 wins, 2014-18
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Wins Through 5 Seasons
Tracy Sanders, 72 wins, 2018-Present
Joe Hillock, 69 wins, 1996-2001
Larry Shurtliff, 68 wins, 1991-96Â
JR Payne, 67 wins, 2009-14
Boyd Adams, 66 wins, 1982-87
Joy Peterson, 63 wins, 1976-81
National Rankings!
Southern Utah ranks among the top in the country in several categories.
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Total Rebounds/Game - TEAM
1. Troy, 51.56
22. Southern Utah, 42.16
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Rebound Margin - TEAM
1. South Carolina, 21.4
16. Southern Utah, 8.3
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Total Blocks/Game - TEAM
1. South Carolina, 9.3
21. Southern Utah, 4.9
Williamson's Dominance
Lizzy Williamson is ranked among the top 50 in the nation in many statistics.
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Blocked Shots/Game - INDIVIDUAL
17. Lizzy Williamson, 2.24
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Defensive Rebounds/Game - INDIVIDUAL
17. Lizzy Williamson, 7.6
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Rebounds/Game - INDIVIDUAL
20. Lizzy Williamson, 10.3
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Total Blocks - INDIVIDUAL
17. Lizzy Williamson, 56
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Total Rebounds - INDIVIDUAL
29. Lizzy Williamson, 257
T-Bird Tidbits
-
The Thunderbirds own a 13-1 conference record.
-
Southern Utah has already clinched its spot in the WAC tournament next month.
-
The Thunderbirds score 67.4 points a game while holding their opponents to 64.8 points each game.
-
Cherita Daugherty powers the Thunderbirds offense with 15.1 points per game.
-
Lizzy Williamson averages a double-double by scoring 10.1 points a game and snatching a team-high 10.3 rebounds per game.
-
Megan Jensen (11.4) and Daylani Ballena (10.8) also score in double digits for the Thunderbirds.
-
Ballena paces the squad with 3.7 assists a game.
LAST TIME OUT
First Half
In a matchup between the WAC's two top dogs, the Thunderbirds would get a fast start, rifling out a 10-4 spurt after Williamson and Jensen each hit opening buckets, and Daylani Ballena drained two straight triples to give them the early lead at the 6:34 mark.Â
Stephen F immediately countered with a 9-2 run of their own off two layups in the post and two sets of free throws to take the lead 13-12 with 2:06 left. Southern Utah would find an answer to close the first quarter as Whitman muscled her way to the rim and sunk two free throws to give SUU the 14-13 advantage.Â
Each team traded layups in the paint to begin the second quarter before the Thunderbirds started to go to work down low. Jensen and Williamson connected on layups, and Whitman pickpocketed a ball away from the LadyJacks for a fast break layup to push SUU's lead back out five,24-19, with 5:21 on the clock. Â
After Samantha Johnston struck from downtown to extend the lead, SFA would respond with two straight threes to claw back with two points, 27-25, with under five minutes remaining.Â
Southern Utah kept the intensity high and bolted out on a 9-2 run off of a turnaround layup from Williamson, a pair of free throws from Daugherty, and two flashy buckets in the post from Jensen to give the Thunderbirds their largest lead of the half, 36-27, heading into halftime. Â
Second HalfÂ
Stephen F Austin came out of the half firing on all cylinders, hitting two layups down low and two sequences of free throws to cut the Thunderbird lead to three points, 40-37, midway through the third.Â
Southern Utah would halt SFA's surge as Jensen would dish a dime to Williamson for a floater in the key before slicing through the Ladyjack defense for a layup of her own to extend SUU's lead back out to 45-39.
Following a pair of free throws from Whitman and a layup from Williamson, the Ladyjacks would fight back within four points, 49-45, at the end of the third quarter.Â
In the final quarter, both teams started by trading buckets before Southern Utah took back control as Jensen canned a layup and a wide-open three-pointer, while Whitman cruised down the right side of the lane for an easy bucket putting the Thunderbirds up 56-49 with 4:29 left.Â
SFA would not go away as they answered right back with a mid-range jumper. SUU continued to find answers as Whitman connected on a layup in the paint, and Daugherty had a clutch offensive board for a putback layup to put the Thunderbirds in front 60-51 with 3:28 left.Â
The Ladyjacks cut the lead back to 61-55 with nearly 1:40 remaining and began to pressure the ball in hopes to force an errant pass, but the Thunderbirds stayed composed and forced SFA to foul, sending Ballena, Johnston, Whitman, and Williamson all to the free throw line down the stretch, to clinch the 67-59 victory for SUU.Â
OPPONENTS
ABILENE CHRISTIAN WILDCATS (12-14, 6-9 WAC)
The Wildcats own a 12-14 record with a 6-9 effort in conference play.
Abilene Christian scores 70.8 points per game while holding its opponents to only 64.3 points a game.
ACU has many weapons on offense with Maleeah Langstaff (12.8), Addison Martin (12.2), Aspen Thornton (11.9), and Madi Miller (11.7) all scoring over 10 points a game.
Langstaff leads the squad with 6.2 rebounds per game, while Thornton (2.7) and Miller (2.6) dish out the most assists per game for the Wildcats.
TARLETON STATE TEXANS (7-19, 1-14 WAC)
The Texans own a 7-19 overall record with a 1-14 mark in WAC play.
Tarleton scores 62.1 while its competition scores 67.0 points per game.
Teresa Da Silva leads the way with 13.8 points per game for the Texans.
Elise Turrubiates pulls down a team-high 4.5 rebounds per game, while Mayra Caicedo averages 4.6 assists per game.
HISTORY
Southern Utah has never faced Abilene Christian. The Thunderbirds do own a 1-0 series lead against Tarleton, however, as the 'Birds came away with a 55-48 victory against the Texans earlier this season on Jan. 28.
FOLLOW US
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