The Southern Utah University women’s basketball team will continue Western Athletic Conference play with a two-game homestand against Tarleton State University and Abilene Christian University. The Thunderbirds will take on the Texans on Thursday, Jan. 25, at 6:30 p.m. before welcoming the Wildcats on Saturday, Jan. 27, at 2 p.m. Both games can be streamed through ESPN+.
Tarleton State
The Texans enter the week at 4-12 overall and 2-5 in the WAC. They are amid a rough five-game losing streak, during which they’ve been outscored by an average of 22.4 points. Tarleton currently has a scoring margin of -4, ranking 247th out of all Division l teams.
Tarleton State has just one player averaging double-digit points in junior guard Jakoriah Long. Along with her 10.8 points per game, she has drilled 50% of her shots and is 37.5% from the three-point line. Freshman Faith Acker has been a force to be reckoned with down low. Per game, she totals 9.3 points and a team-leading 6.3 rebounds, and she has tallied two or more blocks in five games.
The Texans thrive on the defensive end of the floor. They’ve allowed just 65 points per game in conference matchups and are also first in the WAC in three-point field goal percentage defense, allowing teams to convert just 28.6% of their attempts. Another aspect of Tarleton’s ferocious defense in WAC play is their rim protection. The Texans average 4.3 blocked shots in a matchup, good for first in the WAC.
Abilene Christian
The Wildcats sit with an even overall record of 8-8 and are fifth in the WAC at 4-3. ACU is looking to get back on track after a tough overtime loss to the University of Texas at Arlington on Saturday, Jan. 20. The Wildcats are No. 98 in Dl scoring offense with 71.1 points per game.
ACU’s explosive offense is led by a four-headed beast. Freshman guard Payton Hull leads the way in scoring with 15 points per game. She’s shooting 44% from the floor and 37% from three as well as grabbing an average of 3.9 rebounds. Alongside Hull, junior guard Aspen Thornton has tallied 12 points per game. From the forward spot, redshirt sophomore Addison Martin has found success inside the arc, totaling 10 points and five rebounds per matchup.
The engine of Abilene Christian’s offense is junior Bella Earle. She has earned a WAC-leading two triple-doubles. That also puts her tied for third out of all Dl players. The Wildcat star is averaging 12 points, 8.5 rebounds, four assists and one steal.
Abilene Christian is first in the WAC with 14.75 offensive rebounds per game. Their rebounding, combined with the ability to score in various ways, makes a tough matchup for any foe.
Southern Utah
It has been all downhill since the Thunderbirds lost leading scorer Megan Smith to a season-ending injury. In her absence, SUU has gone 1-4, with the lone win being over Utah Valley University. The Thunderbirds are currently 4-12 overall and eighth in the WAC with a 2-5 record.
Freshman Ava Uhrich has boosted Southern Utah’s offense all season long. She is averaging 13.1 points on 49.7% from the floor. Uhrich leads the team and is fifth in the WAC with 7.5 rebounds per game. Her 2.25 offensive rebound average puts her at seventh in the conference.
Outside of Uhrich, offensive consistency and scoring output has been tough to come by. This includes three-point shooting, where SUU ranks 317th out of 348 Dl teams at 25.9%. The Thunderbirds’ scoring margin of -7.5 puts them at No. 285 in Dl.
In order for Southern Utah to string together a few wins in the back half of WAC play, they will need to be more efficient outside of the arc.
Author: Brig Pyfer
Photographer: Anden Garfield
Editor: Anden Garfield
sports@suunews.net
