Hitting the road for the first time in conference play, the Southern Utah University women’s basketball team faced the University of Texas at Arlington on Saturday, Jan. 3. Southern Utah battled hard and overcame UTA 58-55 in a battle of attrition.
With the win, Southern Utah improves to 10-4 on the year and is 2-0 in the Western Athletic Conference. Southern Utah is one of two teams left in the WAC that is undefeated in conference play.
The Mavericks fell to 6-9 on the year and a conference-worst 0-3 in the WAC.
First quarter
Kortney Doman opened the scoring for SUU with a layup but UTA’s Erin Sellers responded with her own layup. Over the next four minutes, Southern Utah went on a 12-3 run.
SUU’s big three of Sierra Chambers, Brooklyn Fely and Ava Uhrich dominated for SUU. They combined for 18 of their team’s 20 points in the first quarter, giving the T-Birds a 20-9 lead.
Second quarter
Kira Reynolds made two free-throws and a layup to cut the lead to seven. As for SUU, the offense stalled out in the second quarter. They shot 4/16 from the field and 0/5 from three.
With two minutes remaining in the half, UT Arlington scored five points to cut the lead to six. Uhrich would go on to hit a free throw before the half ended to give SUU a seven-point lead at halftime, ahead 29-22.
Third quarter
With SUU looking for someone else to step up and add to the scoring, freshman guard Devyn Keirnan hit a three. Over the next four minutes it was all Mavericks though. UTA went on a 13-4 run to cut SUU’s lead to one.
Chambers then hit a free throw and Doman followed it up with a three-pointer to stop the bleeding but UTA would continue to respond. Kendal Robinson made two free throws with one second remaining in the quarter to keep SUU’s lead at one.
Fourth quarter
Despite the unfortunate third quarter, Southern Utah held strong onto their lead. Every time UTA would score, SUU found a way to respond.
With the game close, Southern Utah once again relied on the trio of Uhrich, Fely and Chambers. The three players scored all 14 of the T-Birds’ fourth quarter points and helped SUU win 58-55.
Top T-Birds
— Chambers scored 18 points, her third straight game scoring 15 or more points.
— Doman finished with five points, six rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal.
— Fely had seven points, 10 rebounds, five assists, a block and a steal.
— Uhrich led all players with 19 points on 8/17 shooting from the field. She also had seven rebounds, two steals and an assist.
— This game marks the first time that the SUU women’s basketball team has ever defeated UT Arlington.
What’s next?
Southern Utah returns home to face Utah Valley University on Thursday, Jan. 8 at 6:30 p.m. This game will be played in the America First Event Center and can be streamed live on ESPN+.
Author: Jack Paul
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Payson Davis
