Over Thanksgiving weekend, the Southern Utah University women’s basketball team traveled to Reno, Nevada to participate in the Nugget Classic starting on Friday, Nov. 29. Southern Utah went 0-3 in the tournament and fell to 1-8 on the season.
Game against Portland
The University of Portland dominated the first and set the tone from three-point range. The Thunderbirds struggled to even put up a fight as Portland quickly earned a 18-1 lead. After seven minutes of play, Ava Uhrich scored the first basket and got the ball rolling for the offense. Portland led 23-7 at the end of the quarter.
Southern Utah began picking up the pace and held a strong presence in the paint. Uhrich and Olivia Malafu combined for 12 points in the quarter. The Pilots continued to stay aggressive and extend their lead with help from Maisie Burnham and Emme Shearer, giving them a 15-point lead at halftime.
Coming out of the break, Portland maintained their double-digit lead by forcing turnovers and capitalizing on good inside shots and free throws. In the last three minutes, the Thunderbirds were able to find great rhythm on offense boosted by a pair of jumpers from Daylani Ballena. They had cut into the deficit, but were still down 47-57 going into the fourth.
The rest of the game played out similar to the third quarter, with both teams exchanging shots. Southern Utah’s struggle to get stops continued, giving the Pilots a 77-63 win.
Game against Nevada
Both teams came out firing in the first quarter, shooting the ball well. The University of Nevada shot 8/13 from the field and 3/3 from three to start the game. Sydney Gandy kept Southern Utah close though in the first, scoring 12 of SUU’s 15 points, including going 3/4 from three.
The Wolfpack separated themselves from the Thunderbirds in the second quarter, scoring 25 points. Lexie Givens scored five points, leading the team through the quarter. Southern Utah struggled to find ways to score and was down 45-25 heading into the half.
Southern Utah saw one of their worst shooting quarters of the season, shooting just 1/10 from the field and scoring a game-low nine points in the quarter. Defensively, they held Nevada to just 12 points in the period on 29.41% shooting from the field, but still was down big entering the fourth.
By the time the fourth quarter came around, Southern Utah was down big. SUU had their best quarter shooting-wise, but even a 20-point quarter wasn’t enough, as the Thunderbirds fell 72-54.
Game against Central Michigan
Southern Utah came out firing in the first quarter, shooting 40% from the field and scoring 17 first quarter points. SUU got out to a 17-11 lead at the end of the first.
Central Michigan came alive in the second quarter on both sides of the ball. CMU put up 22 points on 7/12 shooting from the field while holding SUU to 11 points on just 25% shooting, taking the 33-28 lead at half.
The second half was back and forth the whole time, with neither team getting much of an advantage. Central Michigan increased their lead to nine entering the fourth quarter, and that was the difference in the game. Southern Utah held Central Michigan scoreless in the last two minutes but it wasn’t enough as CMU won 70-61.
What’s next?
Southern Utah will travel to take on the University of Colorado on Saturday, Dec. 7, at 1 p.m. This game can be streamed on ESPN+.
Author: Jacob McQueary, Jack Paul
Photographer: Gannon Lovisa
Editor: Kayd Johanson