CEDAR CITY, Utah - Ava Uhrich scored a career-high 25 points to propel the Southern Utah University women's basketball team past Abilene Christian 82-80 on Saturday afternoon at the America First Event Center. The Thunderbirds improve to 5-13 overall and 3-6 in Western Athletic Conference play, while the Wildcats drop to 8-10 and 4-5 in WAC play.
HEAD COACH TRACY MASON SAYS
"I'm really proud of our performance today. Things got a little crazy there at the end, but we worked hard, were confident, and I think we deserved to win."
Link to Full Post-Game Interview
T-BIRD TIDBITS
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Ava Uhrich was phenomenal for SUU, pouring in a double-double with 25 points and 12 rebounds. This marks Uhrich's sixth double-double of the season and her fifth in WAC play.
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Samantha Johnston set a new season-high with 17 points, including five makes from behind the arc.
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Daylani Ballena added 15 points to go along with a team-high five assists.
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Alexa Lord was the fourth T-Bird to reach double-figure scoring, adding 11 points on 5-9 shooting from the field.
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Shiho Isono provided a spark off the bench, adding nine points, three assists, and two rebounds in 28 minutes of action.
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Southern Utah dominated the glass, winning the rebounding war 33-26.
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SUU tallied 19 assists on the day, compared to only 11 by ACU.
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The Thunderbirds knocked down a season-best 10 three pointers on 47.6 percent shooting from downtown.
GAME RECAP
First Half
Ava Uhrich jumpstarted the offense for SUU, scoring the first five points to give the Thunderbirds a 5-4 lead early in the first quarter. Then, Samantha Johnston caught fire, connecting on three shots from behind the arc to push the 'Birds in front 14-10. Abilene Christian would fight back to get within a single point, 16-15, with 3:11 on the clock. The Thunderbirds countered with a 9-4 stretch to take a 25-19 advantage at the end of the first frame.
Southern Utah relied on a balanced attack as it used an 11-6 push to extend its lead to double-digits, 37-26, midway through the second period. However, the Wildcats posted a 14-5 rally to trim the 'Birds lead to 41-39. The Thunderbirds closed out the half on a 9-2 run to go up 50-41 at the break.
Second Half
The two squads traded buckets in a back-and-forth third quarter. The Thunderbirds shot an efficient 7-11 from the field as they outscored the Wildcats 22-20. Johnston and Ballena combined for 10 points in the period to give SUU a 72-61 lead approaching the final period of play.
Abilene Christian came out hot in the fourth quarter, using a 19-7 run to take a 80-79 lead with 1:45 remaining in the game. Southern Utah got the ball to Uhrich, who delivered a layup to retake the lead with less than a minute remaining. After Ashley Banks came up with a steal on the defensive end, Uhrich split a pair of free throws to push SUU in front 82-80 with six seconds left. Johnston came up with a big defensive play, rejecting a three point attempt from the Wildcats to secure a 82-80 victory for Southern Utah.
NOTABLE PLAYS
UP NEXT
The Thunderbirds will head to Texas to take on UT Arlington on Thursday, Feb. 1. The game is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. MT.
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