CEDAR CITY, Utah - After winning an 85-80 overtime thriller on the road, the Southern Utah women's basketball team jumped to a 5-1 record in the 2025-2026 campaign. Contributing to the crucial Nov. 21 win in San Luis Obispo, Calif., freshman Devyn Kiernan displayed the strongest performance of her young career. Cal Poly's loss drops them to 1-4 on the season.
Head Coach Tracy Mason Said:
"Road wins are tough, and I thought this was a great test for us. We went up, they made a big run, and we fought back and made some huge plays down the stretch. I'm so proud of this group. This game made us better."
Top T-Birds
- Kiernan pieced together a career night in 41 minutes on the floor. The freshman poured in 22 points while racking up three blocks and two steals on the defensive side of the ball.
- Scoring 17, sophomore Sierra Chambers exemplified perfection at the charity stripe, sinking all ten of her attempts. The outstanding night adds to a streak of 20 successful free throws for the star point guard.
- Junior Ava Uhrich logged her second double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Game Recap
First Half
Freshman Devyn Kiernan and junior Ava Uhrich kicked off a strong scoring run for Southern Utah before sophomore Denver Anderson added two free throws and a triple to make it a 14-2 run. The Mustangs went on a run of their own to stay within range, closing out the quarter down 18-14.
A triple by sophomore Sierra Chambers kept the Thunderbirds ahead, and steady scoring from the rest of the team boosted SUU to a 32-27 lead by halftime.
Second Half
Kiernan and junior Brooklyn Fely opened the second half on a tear, combining to build the first double-digit lead of the game. Continuing to add to a strong lead, Anderson and sophomore Bella Hasan made layups to close out the period, and the Thunderbirds finished the third quarter with a 57-44 lead.
Despite their deficit, Cal Poly caught fire in the fourth quarter, and a jumper from Vanessa McManus tied the game at 65 with just under two minutes to go.
A three-pointer from Kiernan with only 19 seconds left pushed Southern Utah back in front by one. After playing the free-throw game, the Mustangs secured possession down by three with eight seconds left, and again, McManus came up big and tied the game at the buzzer.
Overtime
Cal Poly scored the first bucket of the overtime period, but Uhrich answered with a second-chance layup, followed by a fast break layup from Kiernan. Two big free throws from Ashley Banks gave the Thunderbirds a two-point lead, and then Kiernan delivered a dagger from three to give Southern Utah a five-point lead with just 55 seconds remaining. Quality free-throw shooting from SUU closed out an 85-80 victory in California.
Up Next
The Thunderbirds return home for a Thanksgiving weekend matchup with the Nelson University (AZ) Warriors on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 2:00 p.m. in the America First Event Center. The game can be viewed live on ESPN+.
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