CEDAR CITY, Utah - In an outstanding double-double performance at home, junior Brooklyn Fely drove the Southern Utah women's basketball team to a narrow 71-68 victory over Abilene Christian University on Jan. 31. The Thunderbirds now boast a 7-3 Western Athletic Conference record with a 15-7 record overall, while the 15-6 Wildcats take their second loss of a 6-2 conference season.

Fely's incredible afternoon included a career-high 26 points and 17 rebounds, while junior Ava Uhrich recorded the 1,000th point of her Southern Utah career.

Top T-Birds

• Not only did Fely record a career-high double-double, she did it on 62.5% shooting from the field, adding a block and a steal to her defensive totals.
• Sophomore Sierra Chambers chipped in 16 points and seven assists, with a 90% rate at the charity stripe. Her free-throw accuracy down the stretch gave Southern Utah the lead it needed to win the game.
• Uhrich reached her 1,000th point in an afternoon where she shot 60% from the field. She also earned six rebounds and four assists.

Head Coach Tracy Mason Said:

Game Recap

First Half

The Wildcats and Thunderbirds traded momentum back and forth in a tight first quarter. With her first basket of the game, five minutes in, Uhrich reached the 1,000-point mark of what's been an incredible career for Southern Utah. A triple from Sierra Chambers gave SUU a late edge, but ACU mounted an 8-0 run that put them up 18-16 by the quarter's close.

Fely erupted in the second, scoring the Thunderbirds' first eight points and then sinking a three-pointer that pushed her team ahead by five. Sophomore Kortney Doman then went on a spree of her own, cashing in on two layups and a triple to push to a ten-point margin, which Southern Utah retained at the end of a 40-30 first half.

Second Half

The Wildcats came barreling back in the third quarter, cutting the lead to three in just over five minutes of play. However, SUU remained unshaken, with Fely, Uhrich, and Chambers each downing a pair of free throws to keep a 55-51 advantage with a quarter to go.

Towards the start of the fourth, freshman Devyn Kiernan drained a three-pointer to extend Southern Utah's lead, but Abilene Christian marched back to knot up the game at 64-64. With the clock ticking under a minute, Chambers made four straight free throws to give the Thunderbirds a cushion.

ACU's Natalia Chavez scored on a second-chance layup in the paint with 13 seconds left, making it a one-score game, before Chambers took one final trip to the line. The standout sophomore split her shots, setting up SUU to defend in a three-point game. The Thunderbirds stood tall on the final Wildcats possession, sealing the game at 71-68.

Up Next

Southern Utah won't play again until a Saturday, Feb. 7, road matchup against Tarleton State at 1:00 p.m. The game will be held in the EECU Center and can be viewed live on ESPN+.

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