The Hive Sports

Featured Image Courtesy of Southern Utah Athletics

CEDAR CITY, Utah — Southern Utah did not play just a great 1st quarter, they played maybe their best quarter of the season. Outscoring Utah Tech 26-4 and using an 18-0 run at one point to go up 23-1, SUU never looked back. The Trailblazers made things interesting getting back within 15 at the break and pulling within 9 midway through the 3rd. However, the Thunderbirds had a response when they needed it most, cruising to a 76-61 win.

Elite Play

One of the major keys to SUU’s win was stopping Breaunna Gillen. The Thunderbirds held Gillen to a season-low 10 points. She missed both of her three-point attempts and was held to 20% shooting. Amber Kartchner was the leading scorer for the Trailblazers with 15 points. SUU had a great day all-around on offense. Five players were in double figures for the Thunderbirds led by Cherita Daugherty and Megan Jensen with 19 apiece. Samantha Johnston had 12 and Daylani Ballena scored 10. Alexa Lord shined off the bench playing 24 minutes and having 11 points, nailing two of her three three-point attempts.

Underdogs, But Not Really

Utah Tech headed into WAC play with an 8-3 record, second-best in the WAC. This was behind only preseason favorite Stephen F Austin. SUU’s 4-7 record was among the worst nonconference records in the conference. However, SUU’s 0-3 record against the Power 6 and 0-2 record against their old conference, the Big Sky factored in the poor start. The Thunderbirds seemed to turn a page in their first game of WAC play dominating their rival and clearly looking like the better team in the conference. Some see the start of conference play as a new season and a win of this nature over a rival will provide some much-needed spark for SUU moving forward.

Next Up

The Thunderbirds travel to Las Cruces for a New Year’s Eve bout with New Mexico State. The men’s basketball team for SUU won at the Pan-American Center Wednesday night. The Aggies are coming off a 67-59 win at Texas-Rio Grande Valley.