CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah women's basketball squad will head to Las Vegas to compete in the 2023 Hercules Tires Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament that will take place on March 6-11.

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GAME INFO

    

Game 7

Southern Utah vs. NM State/UTRGV

Date: Wednesday, Mar. 8

Tip-off: 7 p.m. MT

Live Stream

    

Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner

Date: Friday, Mar. 10

Tip-off: 3 p.m. MT

Live Stream

    

Championship Game

Date: Saturday, Mar. 11

Tip-off: 4:30 p.m. MT

Stream: ESPN U

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WAC Standings

Southern Utah earned the second seed in the 2023 Hercules Tires Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Basketball Tournament that will take place on March 6-11 in Las Vegas.

By finishing with a top-four seed, the Thunderbirds have earned a first-round bye. Southern Utah will take on the winner of the NM State and UTRGV game on Wednesday at 7 p.m. MT. The Thunderbirds hold a combined 4-0 record this season against the Aggies and Vaqueros.

    

2022-23 WAC WBB Resume Seeding System (FINAL)

Rank	Team	W	L	CW	CL	WACPts
1.	Stephen F. Austin	25	5	15	3	7.06
2.	Southern Utah	20	9	16	2	4.31
3.	Grand Canyon	20	9	12	6	1.73
4.	California Baptist	17	12	13	5	1.08
5.	Utah Tech	18	11	10	8	0.05
6.	UT Arlington	14	16	8	10	-1.72
7.	NM State	15	15	10	8	-1.81
8.	Abilene Christian	15	14	9	9	-2.89
9.	Sam Houston	12	16	8	10	-3.40
10.	UTRGV	12	17	6	12	-4.08
11.	Tarleton	8	21	2	16	-8.93
12.	Seattle U	5	23	5	13	-10.06
13.	Utah Valley	6	23	3	15	-11.02

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WAC Tournament Schedule

2023 Hercules Tires WAC Basketball Tournament – Women's Seeds And Schedule

    

MONDAY, MARCH 6, MICHELOB ULTRA ARENA, LAS VEGAS – WOMEN'S FIRST ROUND

    

Game 1: No. 8 Abilene Christian vs. No. 9 Sam Houston - 12 p.m. PT (ESPN +)

Game 2: No. 5 Utah Tech vs No. 12 Utah Valley - 2 p.m. PT (ESPN +)

Game 3: No. 7 NM State vs. No. 10 UTRGV - 6 p.m. PT (ESPN +)

Game 4: No. 6 UT Arlington vs. No. 11 Seattle U - 8 p.m. PT (ESPN +)

    

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, ORLEANS ARENA, LAS VEGAS - WOMEN'S QUARTERFINALS

    

Game 5: No. 1 Stephen F. Austin vs. Game 1 Winner - 12 p.m. PT (ESPN +)

Game 6: No. 4 California Baptist vs. Game 2 Winner - 2 p.m. PT (ESPN +)

Game 7: No. 2 Southern Utah vs. Game 3 Winner - 6 p.m. PT (ESPN +)

Game 8: No. 3 Grand Canyon vs. Game 4 Winner - 8 p.m. PT (ESPN +)

    

FRIDAY, MARCH 10, ORLEANS ARENA, LAS VEGAS - WOMEN'S SEMIFINALS

    

Game 9: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner - 12 p.m. PT (ESPN +)

Game 10: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner - 2 p.m. PT (ESPN +)

    

SATURDAY, MARCH 11, ORLEANS ARENA, LAS VEGAS - WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP

    

Game 11: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner - 3:30 p.m. PT (ESPN U)

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PREVIEW

Southern Utah (20-9, 16-2 WAC)

    

Regular Season Champs

In its inaugural season in the Western Athletic Conference, Southern Utah finished with a 16-2 record to claim the regular season conference title.

Preseason predictions placed SUU to finish sixth overall in the WAC. However, the Thunderbirds exceeded all expectations to claim their first regular season conference championship since 2013-14.

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Double-Digit Conference Wins

2023 WAC Coach of the Year Tracy Sanders already owns the record for most 10+ wins in school history with an 11-9 record in 2019-20, a 14-6 mark in 2021-22, and a 16-2 slate this year.  In fact, only one other coach has two such seasons with JR Payne going 10-8 in 2010-11 in the Summit League and 15-5 in 2013-14 in the Big Sky. 

However, with a 16-2 effort this season in the Western Athletic Conference, Sanders accomplished another first - back-to-back double-digit conference wins.

    

Total 10+ Conference Wins

16-2, 2022-23 (Western Athletic Conference)

14-6, 2021-22 (Big Sky)

11-9, 2019-20 (Big Sky)

15-5, 2013-14 (Big Sky)

10-8, 2010-11 (Summit)

11-5, 2000-01 (Mid-Continent)

13-3, 1985-86 (Rocky Mountain)

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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.

    

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

    

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

        

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

    

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

    

Wins Through 5 Seasons

Tracy Sanders, 75 wins, 2018-Present

Joe Hillock, 69 wins, 1996-2001

Larry Shurtliff, 68 wins, 1991-96 

JR Payne, 67 wins, 2009-14

Boyd Adams, 66 wins, 1982-87

Joy Peterson, 63 wins, 1976-81    

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National Rankings!

Southern Utah ranks among the top in the country in several categories.

        

Total Rebounds/Game - TEAM

1. Troy, 50.9

16. Southern Utah, 42.34

        

Rebound Margin - TEAM

1. South Carolina, 20.5

15. Southern Utah, 8.2

        

Total Blocks/Game - TEAM

1. South Carolina, 9.0

15. Southern Utah, 5.0

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T-Bird Tidbits

• The Thunderbirds earned the regular season conference title after finishing 16-2 overall.

• Southern Utah scores 69.0 points per game while holding its competition to 66.4 points a game.

• SUU wins the rebounding war by corralling 42.3 rebounds per game while holding its opponents to 34.1 boards a game.

• Cherita Daugherty fuels the T-Birds offense with 15.0 points a game to go along with 5.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists.

• Four other T-Birds score in double digits with Tomekia Whitman (11.7), Daylani Ballena (11.3), Megan Jensen (11.1), and Lizzy Williamson (10.0) all eclipsing 10 points per game.

• Williamson leads the squad in rebounds (10.0) and blocks (2.3), while Ballena records the most assists with 3.7 dishes per game.

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LAST TIME OUT

First Half

Grand Canyon got on the board with a layup to go up 2-0 with 8:57 on the clock.

Cherita Daugherty responded by distributing the ball to Daylani Ballena behind the arc, who drained a three pointer to take a 3-2 lead at the 7:27 mark.

GCU came up with a steal and scored on the fastbreak with 6:57 remaining in the first quarter. Bryar Tronnier answered for the Thunderbirds on the following possession, racing to the rim for the score to give SUU a 5-4 advantage.

After the Antelopes retook the lead with a jumper, Daugherty earned a trip to the foul line, where she cashed in a pair of free throws to put the Thunderbirds up 7-6.

Daylani Ballena splashed a three pointer with 4:54 to go to push the Thunderbirds lead to four, 10-6.

GCU used a 4-0 sprint to tie the game at 10-10 with 3:52 left in the quarter. Southern Utah fired back, scoring four straight points over the next 1:31 of play with Williamson and Daugherty accounting for the two baskets during the run.

The 'Lopes responded by hitting back-to-back layups to tie the game at 14-14 at the 1:29 mark.

Daugherty earned two trips to the foul line, knocking down three of her four attempts, to give SUU a 17-14 advantage heading into the second period.

Grand Canyon went on a 5-2 run over the first 2:21 of the quarter, with Ballena drilling two free throws for SUU, to tie the game at 19-19.

Daugherty put Southern Utah back on top 21-19 with a pair of free throws with 7:20 on the clock.

Tomekia Whitman splashed a jumper to push the 'Birds lead to four, 23-19. On the following possession, Daugherty dished the ball down low to Williamson who scored the layup at 5:48 to make the score 25-19 in favor of Southern Utah 

The 'Lopes used a 6-1 sprint over the next 2:08 of play to trim the 'Birds lead to a single point, 26-25.

Ballena added two points from the foul line to extend SUU's lead to three, 28-25, with 3:24 remaining in the half.

Grand Canyon scored on back-to-back possessions to take a 29-28 lead at the 2:26 mark.

Williamson grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back up to put Southern Utah back in front with 54 seconds left. The Thunderbirds carried a 30-29 advantage into the break.

Second Half

Grand Canyon came out hot to start the second half, mounting a 7-2 run over the first 5:06 of play to take a 36-32 lead, with Ballena adding the two points for SUU.

The two squads traded buckets over the next 1:03, with Whitman scoring a pair of layups for SUU and the 'Lopes cashing in two triples to extend their lead to six, 42-36.

Daugherty was fouled on a three point attempt and nailed all three attempts at the charity stripe to cut the deficit to three, 42-39, with 2:23 remaining in the period.

GCU countered by hitting three pointers on consecutive possessions to take a 48-39 lead with 46 seconds on the clock. The 'Lopes added a point to their total at the foul line to take a 49-39 advantage approaching the final period of play.

Daugherty connected with Williamson for the layup on the T-Birds first play of the fourth. On the following possession, Ballena found Whitman for the fastbreak layup to make the score 49-43 with 9:07 left.

The 'Lopes went on a 5-2 run over the next 1:02 of play to take a 54-45 lead.

Megan Jensen responded for the Thunderbirds, scoring four consecutive points to cut the deficit to five, 54-49, with 7:15 on the clock.

Whitman drained a triple to bring SUU within 54-52 at 6:05. Daugherty capped off a 9-0 burst by the Thunderbirds on the following possession by earning a trip to the foul line and hitting both shots to tie the game at 54-54.

After GCU briefly retook the lead with a layup, Ballena drilled a mid-range jumper to make the score 56-56 with 4:17 left.

Daugherty came up with a steal and drove all the way to the basket for the score, to push SUU ahead 58-56 with 3:59 left.

The 'Lopes responded with a layup before Whitman dished the ball to Jensen for the layup at 2:20 to give SUU a 60-58 lead.

Following a technical foul called on Grand Canyon, Whitman split a pair of free throws to make the score 61-58. On the next play, Whitman drove to the rim and earned a trip to the foul line, connecting on both shots to extend the 'Birds lead to five, 63-58.

GCU added two points to its total at the foul line at the other end to make it a one possession game, 63-60, with 1:02 left in the game.

Ballena and Daugherty each sank a pair of free throws over the next 0:26 of play to give Southern Utah a seven point lead, 67-60.

Grand Canyon drilled a three pointer with 19 seconds on the clock to trim the lead to four, 67-63. It wasn't enough, as the Thunderbirds would close out the game at the free throw line to claim a 71-63 victory.

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