The Hive Sports

Featured Image Courtesy of Southern Utah Athletics

CEDAR CITY, Utah — The Thunderbirds would certainly like to have more students in town on Thursday night. Utah Tech finished the nonconference schedule with an 8-3 record, second-best among teams in the WAC. With most students still out of town for Christmas Break, the Trailblazers will avoid having to go into an otherwise hostile environment. Southern Utah will need to find a way to win without the help of the sixth woman. Two of Utah Tech’s three losses came to power six opponents; Washington and Kansas State.

Last Time Out

The Thunderbirds had a forgettable trip to Salt Lake City last Thursday. SUU players had more fun in the city than they did on the court. The 11th-ranked undefeated Running Utes cruised to a 90-56 victory over the Thunderbirds. Utah Tech faced a much less threatening opponent in Lindenwood. The Lions were bested 82-68 by the Trailblazers last Wednesday in a neutral-site game in Las Vegas. That game was a nice bounceback for Utah Tech after their worst game of the year; a 50-68 loss to Jacksonville State.

Opposites Collide

After a huge win in the opener against New Mexico, it looked like it would be a magical year for the Thunderbirds. However, they ended up going 4-7 in the nonconference and have lost three straight against Division I opponents. Utah Tech is only in its third year as a Division I program and comes into the WAC opener for both teams riding high. The Trailblazers have two wins against Mountain West opponents in Utah State and Air Force. SUU on the other hand only has two Division I wins in the year. Aside from the win over the Lobos, the Thunderbirds also beat Texas A&M-Commerce in the Lions’ first year as a Division I program.

Scoring Leaders

The Thunderbirds have four players that have averaged double figures in scoring so far this season. Cherita Daugherty, Lizzy Williamson, Daylani Ballena, and Megan Jensen make up this group. However, Utah Tech has four players of their own with a high scoring average. SUU will need to find a way to stop the dynamic scoring duo of Breaunna Gillen and Macie Warren. Both have averaged over 19.9 and 18.9 points per game respectively for the Trailblazers. These players will need to be heavily defended if the Thunderbirds are to start out conference play on a high note.