CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah women's basketball team fended off UT Arlington in a defensive 58-55 win where they never allowed their opponents to take the lead. The Jan. 3 victory boosts the Thunderbirds to 2-0 in the Western Athletic Conference and 10-4 overall, while the Mavericks fall to 6-9 overall and 0-3 in the conference.
Head Coach Tracy Mason Said:
"Road wins in this conference are tough to come by. UTA is a great team, and I know their conference record doesn't speak to that so far, but I think they're a really good group. We knew we were going to have to play well, and I thought we executed our gameplan well."
Top T-Birds
- Junior Ava Uhrich tallied a team-high 19 points on 47.1% shooting from the field, chipping in seven rebounds.
- Stringing together another strong performance, sophomore Sierra Chambers contributed 18 points and three rebounds.
- Although they didn't have particularly high-scoring games, junior Brooklyn Fely and sophomore Kortney Doman performed very well this afternoon. Fely racked up a team-high 10 rebounds and a season-high five assists, and Doman logged six rebounds, four assists, and two blocks.
Game Recap
First Half
The Thunderbirds barreled out to a hefty advantage thanks to a sound gameplan on both sides of the ball. Uhrich led the way to a 20-9 lead, draining two triples in her eight-point first quarter.
UT Arlington settled into more of a groove offensively after their tough start, but Uhrich continued her dominant performance with seven of Southern Utah's nine second-quarter points. SUU headed into halftime up 29-22 after outrebounding the Mavericks by a margin of 10.
Second Half
Although UTA continued to cut into the Thunderbirds' lead, freshman Devyn Kiernan put down two early triples to keep her team in front. Sophomore Kortney Doman added a three-pointer of her own, but the Mavericks managed to cut it to a tight 44-43 game with a quarter to go.
Offensively, Southern Utah got back on track to start the fourth, extending back to a five-point lead three separate times on different baskets from sophomore Sierra Chambers. However, the Thunderbirds were held scoreless for nearly four minutes, creating a tight one-score battle with just under a minute.
Chambers added yet another bucket to a nine-point fourth quarter, but UT Arlington's Jeanne Rodriguez quickly returned the favor. A defensive rebound and a made free throw from junior Brooklyn Fely forced the Mavericks to shoot a long three with only a second left, and Doman blocked this final attempt to seal the game.
Highlights
Up Next
Southern Utah will start a two-game home stretch against the Utah Valley University Wolverines on Thursday, Jan. 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the America First Event Center. The game can be viewed live on ESPN+.
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