ARLINGTON, Texas - The Southern Utah University women's basketball team's historic nine game winning streak came to an end, as the Thunderbirds fell to UT Arlington 60-58 on Monday, Feb. 6.
SUU dropped to 13-8 and 9-1 in the Western Athletic Conference, while the Mavs improved their record to 10-13 overall and 4-7 in conference play.
T-Bird Tidbits
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Cherita Daugherty led the squad with 20 points.
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Samantha Johnston (11) and Tomekia Whitman (10) each scored double digits.
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Lizzy Williamson grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds and tallied a career-high six blocks.
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Williamson and Ballena each dished out three assists for the Thunderbirds.
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The T-Birds shot 91.7 percent at the line, while the Mavs only hit 59.1 percent of their foul shots.
First Half
UT Arlington opened up the game with a quick 5-0 run.
The Thunderbirds responded with a burst of their own. Cherita Daugherty sliced to the rim and scored to put SUU on the board at the 6:52 mark in the first quarter. On the following play, Lizzy Williamson found Tomekia Whitman under the basket for another score. Megan Jensen would give the Thunderbird their first lead of the day, 6-5, after scoring in the post.
Samantha Johnston capped off a 9-0 SUU run after splashing a three pointer with 3:26 on the clock. After the Mavs managed to score a layup to end the drought, Johnston drilled another trey to push the T-Birds ahead 12-7.
UT Arlington connected on a jumper to cut to the 'Birds lead to three, 12-9, heading into the second period.
Daugherty stayed aggressive to begin the second quarter, earning a trip to the foul line and hitting both free throws.
Ashley Banks grabbed an offensive rebound and finished strong through a foul. Banks sank the free throw, giving the T-Birds a 17-9 advantage with 8:53 left in the quarter.
After the Mavs canned a three pointer, Daugherty drove the lane and scored the basket plus a foul for an old-fashioned three point play, giving the 'Birds a 20-12 lead with 7:52 on the clock.
The two squads traded baskets on the following possessions, with the Mavs sinking a jumper and Williamson scoring in the paint for SUU.
Johnston pushed the Thunderbirds lead to 11, 25-14, after drilling her third trifecta of the game with 5:19 left in the quarter.
UT Arlington scored four consecutive points to try and cut into the lead, but the Thunderbirds replied with a 4-0 run of their own, highlighted by an offensive rebound and score by Jensen, to push the lead back to double digits, 29-18, with 2:01 remaining in the half.
The Mavs used a 5-0 burst to cut the T-Birds lead to 29-23 heading into the second half.
Second Half
UT Arlington stayed aggressive, putting together a 4-0 run to cut the lead to only two, 29-27.
The Thunderbirds fired back with a 4-0 sprint of their own. Ballena connected with Williamson in the post for the bucket. Then, Ballena scored on a midrange jumper to make the score 33-27 in favor of Southern Utah at the 6:51 mark.
The Mavs added two points to their total from the foul line. On the following play, Williamson snatched an offensive rebound and put it back up and in to push the SUU lead to six, 35-29.
UT Arlington went on a 6-0 spurt to tie the match up at 35-35 with 2:53 remaining in the period.
Daugherty used a pull-up jumper to retake the lead, and scored a fastbreak layup on the following play to extend it, 39-35.
The Mavs hit a pair of free throws to stop the run. Daugherty scored yet again, this time a fadeaway jumper in the post, to make the score 41-37 at the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was a back and forth affair. The Mavs began with a 6-0 run, taking a 43-41 lead with 8:36 remaining in the game.
Daugherty tied the game at 43-43 on the following possession by earning a visit to the foul line and hitting two free throws.
Neither team was able to hold a lead for long. The Mavs scored on a jump shot, only for Whitman to score in the paint to keep things squared up.
After UT Arlington sank two free throws, Daugherty came down the floor and splashed a jumper to make the score 47-47 with 6:28 left on the clock.
Whitman scored the next four points for SUU, answering each Mavs bucket with one of her own, and soon the game was tied at 51 apiece with only 4:27 remaining.
The Mavs connected on a three pointer to break the stalemate. Southern Utah responded by feeding Williamson a layup in the post, cutting the UT Arlington lead to only one, 54-53.
SUU briefly took a 55-54 advantage with 2:00 minutes left after Johnston connected on a pair of free throws.
After the Mavs scored five straight points to go back in front, Daugherty earned a trip to the free throw line. Daugherty sank both shots, making the score 58-57 in favor of UT Arlington.
With 25 seconds remaining in the game, the Mavs fouled Daugherty once more, who split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 58-58.
On the final possession of the game, UT Arlington grabbed an offensive rebound with seconds remaining and scored a layup at the buzzer to claim a 60-58 victory.
Notable Plays
Up Next
The Thunderbirds will return to Cedar City on Thursday for a matchup against New Mexico State. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 3:00 p.m. MT.
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