LAS VEGAS, Nevada–  Megan Jensen tied her career-high in scoring with 22 points as the Southern Utah University women's basketball team powered past Grand Canyon, 64-51, in the WAC semifinals Friday afternoon in Orleans Arena. The Thunderbirds led for the majority of the game and were fueled by a 15 to eight second quarter that helped secure their first-ever appearance in the WAC Championship game. The win improves Southern Utah to 22-9 on the season and 16-2 in the WAC play.  

TBird Tidbits

• Southern Utah had an extremely efficient night sharing the ball, recording 18 total assists on 23 made field goals. 

• The Thunderbirds controlled the boards the entire game corralling 39 rebounds to GCU's 27, including 11 offensive rebounds. 

• SUU edged out the Lopes in field goal percentage, shooting 45.7 percent compared to 37.3 percent. 

Jensen was a difference maker for the Thunderbirds the entire night, shooting 9-17 from the field and corraling eight rebounds to add to her scoring feat. Following her viral unforgettable final shot in Wednesday's game, Cherita Daugherty had a powerful performance finishing with 16 points, eight rebounds, and four assists on 9-10 shooting from the free throw line. 

Tomekia Whitman came up clutch down the stretch, finishing with 10 points and four rebounds, shooting 4-8 from the field. Lizzy Williamson added eight rebounds and a game-high three blocks and Daylani Ballena contributed six assists.  

Southern Utah did something it hasn't done in nearly 30 years today - win a pair of conference tournament games. 

The last time Southern Utah achieved the feat occurred when the Thunderbirds won the only two titles offered by the short-lived American West Conference in the mid-90s. 

In 1996, SUU beat CS Northridge, 73-57, before beating CS Sacramento, 87-54, for the AWC title. In 1995, the 'Birds claimed the inaugural AWC title with wins against CS Northridge, 72-54, and CS Sacramento, 89-58, for the crown. 

First Half

In the third matchup between these two teams this season, Southern Utah got things rolling early as Whitman found Daugherty behind the arch for a triple, and Ballena and Jensen sunk buckets in the paint to jump out to the early 7-2 lead at the 7:32 mark in the opening quarter. 

Grand Canyon started to settle in after the early Thunderbird surge and rattled off an 8-0 run to grab their first lead of the game, 10-7, with 2:49 left in the quarter. 

SUU immediately answered the GCU'S run with a 9-2 spurt of their own as Samantha Johnston blazed down the court and pulled up for a mid-range jumper, and Jensen began to assert her presence down low, drawing a flurry of trips to the free throw line to help give the Thunderbirds a 16-12 lead at the end of the first. 

Jensen stayed locked in to start the second quarter drilling a smooth mid-range jumper from the corner and a crafty post-up layup to stretch the lead out to 20-12 at the 8:05 mark. 

GCU halted this run with three straight buckets off of turnovers to bring the score within two points, 20-18, with 6:10 remaining the in the half. The T-Birds would respond with a commanding 12-2 run highlighted by an effortless pick-and-roll layup from Ballena to Williamson, and two tough contested layups from Jensen, helping SUU take the 31-20 advantage into the half. 

Second Half 

The Thunderbirds came out in the second half firing on all cylinders as Whitman drained a wide-open three-pointer, and Jensen had a big putback layup to extend the lead to 36-20 with just two minutes into the third period. 

 Following a Lopes timeout, Grand Canyon began to find some life and connected on two free throws and a second-chance layup to bring the score to 38-26 midway through the third. 

Southern Utah snatched back the momentum and rocketed out onto a 13-5 spurt courtesy of a Whitman fast-break layup. Alexa Lord and Johnston added two three-pointers, and Daugherty bolstered the lead with two buckets in traffic, giving the Thunderbirds a 51-31 with 2:31 left in the quarter. GCU would fight back to close out the third and bring the score to 51-37, heading into the final period. 

The Lopes kept that same intensity to start the fourth as they connected on two three-pointers and a hook shot to cut the deficit to single digits, 55-46. Southern Utah would not be denied on this night as Whitman splashed a three on the following possession. Daugherty followed up with a jumper and two sets of made free throws while the Thunderbirds deployed some stifling defense to secure the 64-51 victory. 

Up Next

After top-seeded Stephen F Austin fell earlier today,  Southern Utah will prepare to face off against the fourth-seeded California Baptist Lancers at 4:30 p.m. MT for the WAC Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. 

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