CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah women's basketball team picked up a critical 64-60 road win over in-state rival Utah Valley University on Jan. 22. The victory snaps a three-game losing streak for the Thunderbirds, bumping them to a 12-7 overall record and a 4-3 record in the Western Athletic Conference. The Wolverines fell to an even 9-9 overall record and a rocky 2-5 start in the conference.
Head Coach Tracy Mason Said:
"I'm super proud of our resiliency tonight. We kept fighting for 40 minutes. Multiple people made some huge plays in that last quarter to get us the win."
Top T-Birds
- Playing a full 40 minutes in Orem, sophomore Sierra Chambers tallied a team-high 16 points and four assists.
- Juniors Ava Uhrich and Brooklyn Fely dominated the paint. Uhrich vacuumed 12 rebounds while scoring nine points, and Fely logged nine rebounds in addition to her 12 points.
- With an exceptional performance off the bench, senior Ashley Banks drained both of her field goals and all four of her free throws for an eight-point night. She added five rebounds and two blocks, despite playing only 13 minutes.
Game Recap
First Half
Southern Utah tipped off to a slow but defensively sound start, not putting a score on the board until nearly four minutes into the first quarter. However, once junior Brooklyn Fely sparked the offense with a pair of baskets, the Thunderbirds burst to a 9-0 run. The matchup leveled out through the rest of the period, with the Wolverines taking an 18-14 lead.
Although another stale start in the second quarter allowed UVU to take an eight-point lead, junior Morgan Trigueiro and freshman Devyn Kiernan sank impressive triples to get Southern Utah moving. Senior Ashley Banks wrapped up the quarter with a four-point spree, but Utah Valley retained their four-point advantage at 30-26.
Second Half
A brief 6-0 SUU run capped by a layup from sophomore Sierra Chambers knotted the game at 32s at the start of the third quarter. With the quarter winding down, Chambers added a three-pointer to her totals. Southern Utah entered the fourth quarter with the lead and the momentum in a 41-40 game.
Both teams came out firing in a neck-and-neck fourth quarter. An and-one basket from junior Ava Uhrich boosted the Thunderbirds to a four-point lead, but the Wolverines refused to back down and quickly cut it back to a one-score game.
Exchanging blow for blow with UVU as the clock ticked towards one minute left, Southern Utah called on sophomore Kortney Doman to score a layup and gain a five-point advantage. Utah Valley scored a layup of their own and forced a stop to give themselves a chance, but turned the ball over with 16 seconds left. Chambers dropped the final nail in the coffin with three made free throws, giving SUU an insurmountable four-point advantage over their in-state rivals and closing the game 64-60.
Highlights
Up Next
Southern Utah will play its second rivalry showdown of the week on Saturday, Jan. 24. The home matchup will pit the Thunderbirds against the Utah Tech University Trailblazers at 2:00 p.m. in the America First Event Center. The game can be viewed live on ESPN+.
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