EDINBURG, Texas– The Southern Utah University women's basketball team cruised past the UTRGV Vaqueros Saturday afternoon with a dominating 84-55 victory. The Thunderbirds had an explosive scoring attack, with five different players finishing with double-digits. After a tight first half, the Thunderbirds amassed a 21-2 third-quarter run to secure the victory. Southern Utah remains unbeaten in WAC play, improving to (13-7; WAC 9-0), while UTRGV falls to (8-13; WAC 2-8).
TBird Tidbits
- Southern Utah dominated in several statistical categories, recording a season-high field goal percentage of 61.1 percent and a three-point percentage of 46.2 percent.
- The Thunderbirds controlled the paint scoring 48 points inside compared to the Vaqueros' 18 points.
- SUU remained efficient from the charity stripe shooting 80 percent compared to UTRGV's 62.5.
Megan Jensen led the charge for the Thunderbirds, scoring 21 points on 8-10 shooting with four rebounds and two blocks. Tomekia Whitman continues to be a spark, finishing with 15 points, six rebounds, and two assists.
Samantha Johnston was on fire from three the entire night, recording 14 points and two assists, shooting 4-6 from behind the arc. Lizzy Williamson had an impressive night down low, earning 12 points, five rebounds, and a game-high three blocks, while Cherita Daugherty added 10 points, three assists, and two steals.
First Half
Both teams started the game by trading buckets back and forth before Johnston hit a deep three and Williamson sunk a second-chance layup to open an 11-6 lead for the Thunderbirds heading into the first media timeout.
After the Vaqueros made a three-pointer out of the break, the Thunderbirds bolted out a 9-4 run highlighted by a jumper from Jensen and a Whitman corner three-pointer to help Southern Utah close out the first quarter with a 23-15 advantage.
UTRGV responded immediately in the early moments of the second quarter with an 8-2 spurt to bring the score to 25-23 before Johnston halted that run with a triple to extend the SUU lead back out to five.
Following Johnston's third three-pointer of the first half, UTRGV would remain close, hitting a layup and a three-pointer to pull back within one point,33-32, as the clock ticked under five minutes remaining.
The Thunderbirds would find an answer and catch fire down the stretch, rifling out on an 8-0 run, courtesy of a tough inside finish from Williamson, a Ballena jumper, and two layups from Whitman to give the Thunderbirds the 41-32 lead at the half.
Second Half
Southern Utah remained on fire to begin the second half, exploding out on a 21-2 run as Jensen and Williamson combined for 12 quick points, and Johnston hit another three to stretch SUU's lead to 62-34.
As the Vaqueros cut into Southern Utah's run with a three-pointer, the Thunderbirds continued to pick up steam as Jensen racked up three more layups and Daugherty splashed a mid-range jumper to guide SUU to a 68-45 lead at the end of the third quarter.
UTRGV fought back to begin the fourth quarter with a top-of-the-key three. However, the Thunderbirds were too dominant as Whitman dished out a dime to Ballena for a three-pointer, and Jensen kept finding lanes to the basket compiling two more crafty layups, putting the game out of reach and helping the Thunderbirds cruise to the 84-55 victory.
Up Next
The Thunderbirds will now have a short turnaround as they head to Arlington for their second Texas matchup against the UT Arlington Mavericks on Monday, Feb.6, at 12 p.m. MT.
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