OREM, Utah - In their highest-scoring Division I game of the season on Feb. 15, the Southern Utah University Women's Basketball team defeated Western Athletic Conference rival Utah Valley University 72-63. The Thunderbirds picked up their second-straight conference win to make them 4-8 in the WAC with a 6-19 record overall, while the Wolverines dropped to a losing conference record at 5-6 and 13-10 overall.
Head Coach Tracy Mason Said:
"I'm super happy with the way we played today. We stayed the course the entire game. We knew UVU was going to be extremely aggressive on defense but I thought we countered it with our own aggressive play. This was one of our best team performances of the season."
Top T-Birds
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Ava Uhrich logged eight rebounds and rained down 27 points on 53.8% shooting from the field and 90.9% accuracy from the charity stripe.
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Daylani Ballena added a season-high 21 points along with three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
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Lexi Bull led the team with 10 rebounds, contributing eight points and two steals.
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Jaeden Brown racked up a season-high five blocks, while Samantha Johnston chipped in a season-high four of her own.
Game Recap
First Half
The Wolverines jumped to an early six-point lead in the first quarter, but three triples from Uhrich quickly tied the game up. Ballena snatched the ball from Utah Valley on a fast break layup to take the lead and Johnston added another Southern Utah three-pointer. The Thunderbird offense's impressive quarter continued rolling with an outstanding 73% shooting from the field to take a 20-13 lead.
Opening the second quarter, Ballena and Brown scored from the perimeter to make SUU six-for-six from three to open the game. An eight-point run helped UVU to draw within range, but six late points from Bull retained the Southern Utah lead in the 35-25 matchup.
Second Half
A chippy start to the second half sent both teams to the free-throw line early and often, with Uhrich and Ballena adding even more to the Thunderbird score throughout the period. Brown's fifth block ended the third quarter with SUU leading 52-40.
Johnston added a second triple and Uhrich contributed seven more points in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. With the end of the game nearing, UVU and Southern Utah continued exchanging free throws and the Thunderbirds took a clear 72-63 win.
Highlights
Up Next
The Thunderbirds will return to their home court in Cedar City for a Wednesday, Feb. 19 rematch with Abilene Christian University at 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
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