The Southern Utah University women’s basketball team lost in a conference matchup against California Baptist University on Saturday, Jan. 20, by 26 points. Their 93-67 loss takes SUU to 4-12 overall and 2-5 in Western Athletic Conference play, while the Lancers move to 14-2 overall and 6-1 in the WAC.
First quarter
Both teams took no time to get their offenses rolling. Scoring got started with CBU guard Chloe Webb hitting a three-point shot. Each team continued to consistently hit the three throughout the quarter. Webb and fellow guard Khloe Lemon took off in the quarter, combining for 17 of CBU’s 27 points. On the other end, SUU guard Daylani Ballena had a great quarter, shooting 3/3.
Although it was an offensive battle on both sides, the Lancers were able to create more turnovers and defend the paint more effectively than the Thunderbirds, ending the quarter at a score of 27-17 in favor of CBU.
Second quarter
CBU continued carrying offensive momentum by going on a quick 5-0 run to take a 32-17 lead. The Thunderbirds struggled to score and could not get any stops on defense, allowing the Lancers to take a large lead. Lemon, Webb and guard Anaiyah Tu’ua were strong offensively, as they all scored in double digits in the half.
SUU guard Alexa Lord had a great quarter, scoring eight points. Despite Lord’s performance, no other SUU players were able to help offensively, leaving SUU to score only 12 points in the quarter.
The great offense and defense by California Baptist left the score at 52-29 in their favor going into the break.
Third quarter
The Lancers started the second half right where they left off, dominating both sides of the ball. SUU had another 12-point quarter compared to CBU’s 25, and Lemon continued to score with ease.
Lord kept scoring and was the first to reach double-digit scoring for the Thunderbirds. However, SUU still struggled to find any offensive rhythm and could not stop the Lancers from increasing their lead, leaving the score at 77-41 going into the final quarter.
Fourth quarter
CBU continued to maintain a lead between 25 and 30 points for the rest of the game, not allowing SUU to make any dent into the deficit. This great Lancer performance was enabled by incredible three-point shooting, forcing a lot of turnovers and not letting up on defense in the paint. The final score was a strong 93-67 win for CBU.
Explosive players
— Lemon scored 28 points, five rebounds and two steals.
— Webb scored 19 and eight rebounds.
— Tu’ua had 17 points.
— Lord had 15 points and eight rebounds.
Key stats
— CBU shot 13/29 from three; SUU shot 8/24.
— CBU only had eight turnovers; SUU had 17.
Next for SUU
The next matchup will be a home game for the Thunderbirds. They will face off against the Tarleton State University Texans on Thursday, Jan. 25, at 6:30 p.m. The game can be attended at the America First Event Center or streamed on ESPN+.
Author: Jacob McQueary
Photographer: Anden Garfield
Editor: Anden Garfield
sports@suunews.net
