CEDAR CITY, Utah - Junior Kortney Doman recorded eight steals, tied for the fourth-most in a game in program history, as Southern Utah forced 25 turnovers in a 98-56 win over Park-Gilbert on Nov. 9 at the America First Event Center. The Thunderbirds move to 2-1.
Doman's eight steals doubled her previous career high and tied Angie Alvey (1991), Stacey French (1989), Luann Weston (1988) and Rebecca Cardenas (2017) on SUU's single-game list. Senior Ava Uhrich scored 19 points and climbed from ninth to seventh on the program's career scoring list, passing Caitlyn Sears in the second quarter and Hailey Mandelko in the third. She now has 1,230 career points.
Top T-Birds
- Junior Kortney Doman filled the box score with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting, eight rebounds, four assists, eight steals and two blocks without a turnover. Five of her steals came in the first quarter.
- Senior Ava Uhrich led all scorers with 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting and added seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.
- Senior Brooklyn Fely posted a double-double in 22 minutes with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting and 11 rebounds.
- Freshman Amiah Lewis scored a career-high nine points on 3-of-3 shooting off the bench, and sophomore Vallory Kuelker had a career-high four steals with two assists.
Head Coach Tracy Mason and Kortney Doman answered questions following the 98-56 win over the Buccaneers.
Game Recap
First Half
An administrative technical foul on Southern Utah before the opening tip gave Park-Gilbert a 1-0 lead, and Brooklyn Fely answered five seconds in with a layup off a Melicia Nelson assist. The Buccaneers led 6-4 on a Cassie Coolidge three at 7:30 and went back in front 11-10 on a Hannah Mask three at 4:51. Bella Hasan answered with a three off a Kortney Doman assist 18 seconds later, starting a 16-2 run to close the quarter. Nine of those points came off turnovers: fast-break layups by Ava Uhrich, Fely and Hasan, then a Doman steal and fast-break layup at 1:00 that she finished with the free throw. Denver Anderson made two free throws with 20 seconds left, and SUU led 26-13 after one.
Doman had five of the Thunderbirds' seven first-quarter steals, and Park-Gilbert turned it over eight times.
Park-Gilbert opened the second quarter with three free throws to get within 26-16, and Vallory Kuelker answered with two at the line on the fast break at 8:16. Ava Uhrich then scored on consecutive trips, a layup off a Doman assist and a jumper in the paint at 7:23 that made it 32-16 and moved her past Caitlyn Sears into eighth on SUU's career scoring list. Allie Cummings' three-point play at 7:08 was the Buccaneers' last field goal for six minutes. Southern Utah scored the next 10 points, with Brooklyn Fely adding three layups in the stretch, two of them on Uhrich assists, and Doman's layup at 1:42 built the lead to 46-21, the largest of the half. Alana West and Madeline Jenkins hit second-chance threes in the final 66 seconds for Park-Gilbert, but Diana Sorrondo's buzzer-beating putback sent SUU to the locker room up 48-27.
The Thunderbirds shot 54.1 percent (20-of-37) in the half and held a 29-14 edge on the boards. Fely had 12 points and nine rebounds at the break, and Uhrich had eight points, four rebounds, and four assists. Park-Gilbert shot 24.2 percent (8-of-33) and turned it over 11 times.
Second Half
Doman picked up a steal on Park-Gilbert's first possession of the second half, and Fely turned it into a fast-break layup on an Uhrich assist. Another Doman steal at 7:58, her seventh of the night, set up an Uhrich fast-break layup for a 54-30 lead and tied Andrea Jones and Rebecca Cardenas on SUU's single-game steals list. Fely clinched a double-double with an offensive rebound at 7:24 and, after a held ball, added a steal and a paint jumper at 7:20. Uhrich's three-point play at 6:13 made it 59-32 and moved her past Hailey Mandelko for seventh on the career scoring list. Bella Hasan added two steals in the final four minutes, the second setting up a Charli Kay three at 1:39 that made it 70-40, and a Denver Anderson free throw at 1:13 pushed the lead to 31. Southern Utah outscored the Buccaneers 24-15 in the quarter and led 72-42 entering the fourth.
Doman's eighth steal came on Park-Gilbert's first possession of the fourth quarter and led to a Charli Kay three that made it 75-42. Doman added two more layups, and Uhrich's steal at 6:26 set up a fast-break layup by Lewis to make it 84-45. Lewis returned the favor with a steal that Uhrich finished at 4:57, then hit a three at 4:08 and two free throws after a Kuelker steal to push the margin to 93-48, the largest of the night. Kuelker added two more steals in the final two minutes, each leading to a layup, and Lewis' layup with 17 seconds left set the 98-56 final.
Southern Utah shot 51.4 percent (37-of-72), won the rebounding battle 53-33 and finished with 21 steals. The bench scored 37 points. Park-Gilbert shot 25.0 percent (16-of-64) and committed 25 turnovers.
Highlights
Tickets
Single-game and season tickets for the upcoming Southern Utah Women's Basketball season are now available. Get yours today by visiting tbirdtickets.com.
Follow Us
Stay up to date on the Thunderbirds Women's Basketball program by following @SUUWBasketball on Twitter and Instagram and liking the Southern Utah Women's Basketball page on Facebook.
Donate
To help support Thunderbirds athletics, consider donating today! To learn more about how you can support, click here.
