Riding a two-game win streak, the Southern Utah University women’s basketball team hosts Abilene Christian University on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 6:30 p.m. in the America First Event Center.
“Abilene Christian is a strong team on both sides of the ball,” said head coach Tracy Mason. “There are quite a few things from our first matchup that I believe we can improve on.”
Abilene Christian defeated Southern Utah 74-52 on Feb. 8.
Southern Utah
Coming off back-to-back wins, SUU is 6-19 on the year and 4-8 in the Western Athletic Conference. During their two-game win streak, SUU is averaging 70.5 points per game on 42.3% shooting from the field.
Southern Utah struggled in their last meeting against Abilene Christian. SUU struggled on defense, allowing four different girls to score 10 or more points.
Despite the offensive struggle against ACU, sophomore forward Ava Uhrich played one of her best games of the season against the Wildcats. Uhrich dropped 24 points on 9/14 shooting from the field. In her last five games, Uhrich is averaging 18 points a game.
Abilene Christian
Although ACU is 5-5 in WAC play, the Wildcats are 16-9 overall and surging just in time for the WAC Tournament. ACU ranks No. 5 in the conference but is on a three-game win streak.
During this win streak, the Wildcats are outsourcing their opponents by an average of 20.6 points per game. The offense has also been putting on a clinic, averaging 80.6 points a game on 50.9% shooting from the field.
Even though ACU has dominated recently, they are still without guard Payton Hull. The sophomore from Peaster, Texas, has been out since Jan. 16. Bella Earle has stepped up in the absence of Hull. Earle is averaging 19.3 points per game in her last three games.
Keys to the game
— Southern Utah needs to find their shot early. SUU scored just 19 points in the first half against ACU on Feb. 8
— ACU needs to find a way to slow down Uhrich. The T-Bird forward scored 24 points against the Wildcats
Southern Utah 1-3 all-time against Abilene Christian.
Author: Jack Paul
Photographer: Gannon Lovisa
Editor: Chevy Blackburn
