Beginning their first three-game losing streak of the season, the Southern Utah University women’s basketball team took on Abilene Christian University on Saturday, Jan. 17. For the second game in a row, the T-Birds lost by over 25 points as the Wildcats took an 82-54 victory.
With the loss, SUU sits at 11-7 on the year. They’re tied for third in the Western Athletic Conference with a 3-3 record and have the second-best overall record in the WAC.
ACU improved to a conference-best 14-5 record and are tied for first with a 5-1 WAC standing. They’ve won four games in a row and 10 of their last 12.
First quarter
The first period was competitive throughout, with the teams trading a one-point lead for several minutes and neither team getting ahead by more than four points. Brooklyn Fely scored nine of SUU’s points as they went into the second quarter up 18-17.
More than half of the points in this quarter were scored in the paint, with neither team scoring on the fast break. The T-Birds and Wildcats combined to shoot 2-8 from three in this period.
Second quarter
After trading advantage for a little while, ACU went on a huge 16-4 run to take a double-digit lead. During that seven-minute stretch, SUU committed eight turnovers and made just two shots on four attempts.
Fely went to work again at the end of the quarter with a layup, rebound and point at the free-throw line, but Southern Utah trailed 41-29 at the half. They made all five two-pointer attempts this quarter, but ACU’s 14 points off turnovers were a huge blow.
Third quarter
The Wildcats scored 14 of 17 points in the first five minutes, forcing SUU to take a timeout down 23 points. The teams mostly played the free-throw game through the remaining five minutes, with Abilene Christian leading 64-39 at the break.
This was SUU’s lowest-scoring quarter of the game, notching just 10 points with eight coming at the free-throw line. The Thunderbirds shot 1-7 from the field and 0-1 from three in this quarter.
Fourth quarter
Even with the game essentially iced, ACU kept pouring on the points with a 9-2 run to open the final period. SUU only made one field goal — a three from Morgan Trigueiro — in the first six and a half minutes.
The only things stopping the T-Birds from losing by more than 30 were another three from Trigueiro and free throws from Kortney Doman. The Wildcats took the blowout 82-54 win in the end.
Key stats
— SUU was abysmal from three, shooting 3-17 or 17.6%. They shot 1-10 until the fourth quarter.
— Besides Fely, the rest of the Thunderbirds shot 29.4% from the field.
— ACU scored 29 points off turnovers, including more than half of their second-quarter points. SUU only had five.
— The Wildcats dominated down low, grabbing 11 second-chance points to SUU’s three and 52 paint points to SUU’s 26.
— Four ACU players scored 11 or more points, with Payton Hull notching 21.
Top T-Birds
— Ashley Banks had four points, four rebounds and a block in 11 bench minutes. Three of her boards were offensive.
— Doman stuffed the stat sheet as always, grabbing eight rebounds, five points, four assists and three steals.
— Fely was SUU’s star of the game, recording team leads of 18 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. She also had a steal and shot 63.6% from the field.
— Ava Uhrich had six points, four rebounds and two assists.
What’s next?
SUU will end this road trip with a game in Orem, Utah against Utah Valley University. The teams will play Thursday, Jan. 22 at 6 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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Author: Payson Davis
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Heather Turner
