Southern Utah University men’s and women’s basketball teams will travel to Riverside, California, to take on the Lancers of California Baptist University. The women will begin the doubleheader at 2 p.m., and the men will finish the night off with a game at 6 p.m. Both Western Athletic Conference games will be available on ESPN+.
Southern Utah women’s basketball
The Thunderbirds have been struggling this year, and losing star center Megan Smith for the season does not help. But, midway through the season, Southern Utah has a 4-11 record that positions them seventh in the WAC standings.
One thing that is always positive regarding injuries is that the coaching staff can see what their younger recruits are capable of. Charlie Kay and Ava Uhrich are the players benefitting from this. Both freshmen are playing over 27 minutes per game for head coach Tracy Mason.
Daylani Ballena has stepped up her play as of late. She scored 23 points, forced three turnovers and had three assists in Southern Utah’s recent loss against Utah Tech University. Ballena now averages 15.1 points, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game for the Thunderbirds.
Southern Utah will need good performances from Uhrich and Kay to get past the Lancers. More importantly, Ballena and Samantha Johnston must step up in Smith’s absence.
California Baptist women’s basketball
The Lancers have a great scoring offense that scores nearly 78 points per game, and four of their starters are eclipsing the double-digit mark in points per game. Leading the way is Chloe Webb, the senior out of San Diego, averaging 20.4 points per game and almost three steals per game. Webb also leads the WAC in 20-point games with nine.
California Baptist plays an aggressive defense that creates 17.3 turnovers per game, which leads to 16.5 points per game for the Lancers. Barros Filipa forces two steals per game and scores 13.7 points per game, placing her second in scoring for the Lancers. Filipa is not the only one getting steals for California Baptist; Nae Nae Calhoun, Anaitah Tu’ua and Kinsley Barrington all contribute over a steal per game.
The high-power offense and stingy defense that California Baptist plays will not be an easy task for the Thunderbirds, especially since the Lancers boast the second seed in the WAC standings with a 13-2 record.
Southern Utah men’s basketball
It has been close game after close game for the Thunderbirds this year. On the season, five of their 11 losses have been decided by three points or less. Southern Utah is fresh off a win against their in-state rivals Utah Tech and will need to carry that momentum with them as they prepare for their road game against the Lancers. The win against Utah Tech moved the Thunderbirds to a record of 6-11 and gave them their first conference win of the season.
Early in the season, the Thunderbird offense revolved around Parsa Fallah and his low-post skills. Fallah thrived and quickly became Southern Utah’s primary scorer on offense, but Dominique Ford has picked it up as of late. In their victory over Utah Tech, Ford scored 23 points and went 10-12 from the free-throw line. He now averages 15.8 points, 1.2 steals and 3.8 rebounds on the season.
Southern Utah needs Fallah and Ford to continue to score efficiently. Prophet Johnson, Braden Housley and Zion Young are guards that are capable of scoring outbreaks for head coach Rob Jeter.
California Baptist men’s basketball
The Lancers are coming off back-to-back wins at home and will look to continue that trend against the Thunderbirds. California Baptist has won 10 out of their 17 matchups, and eight of those wins came at home, which means Southern Utah will have to be on their A-game. With a 10-7 record, the Lancers are currently ranked sixth in the WAC standings.
Dominique Danies Jr. is the player Southern Utah has to keep their eye on. He leads the Lancers in scoring with 17.7 points per game; the closest to him is Yvan Quedraogo with 10.8 points per game. Clearly, the Thunderbirds have to slow down Daniels Jr., but it’ll be hard when Quedraogo sets great screens for the pick-and-roll action.
If Southern Utah protects the ball, they will have a good shot at winning the game. California Baptist averages 12.1 turnovers, which is almost one more than they force their opponent to commit. The Thunderbirds have been in many close matchups, and this game looks like it will be the same.
Author: Chevy Blackburn
Photographer: Anden Garfield
Editor: Anden Garfield
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