Through a hard-fought battle and a shoot-out between star players Ava Uhrich and Nya Threatt, the Southern Utah University women’s basketball team faced off against the University of Texas at Arlington at home on Thursday, Jan. 29, with the final score being 77-68.
This win places the Thunderbirds at an overall record of 14-7 with a 6-3 conference standing. They rank No. 3 in the Western Athletic Conference and have won three straight.
With UT Arlington’s second straight loss, they fell to 8-12 overall. They rank No. 6 in the WAC with a 2-6 conference record.
First quarter
SUU started the game off scorching. They jumped to an 8-2 lead in the first three minutes. Thanks to smart defense and forced stops, the Thunderbirds were able to convert on the fast breaks thanks to buckets from sophomore guard Sierra Chambers.
Freshman guard Devyn Kiernan hit a big triple to give the T-Birds an 18-7 lead with three minutes to go. UT Arlington, deciding that they weren’t out of the fight yet, clawed their way back into the game. They finished the quarter trailing 21-13.
Second quarter
Both teams started to play more aggressively on the defensive end this period. They combined for just 10 points after five minutes.
The T-Birds and Mavericks were held to just four made field goals each in the second. Arlington visited the stripe to shoot 6 free throws, making just 50%.
This was one of the lowest-scoring quarters of the year for the T-Birds. UTA scored 11 points to SUU’s nine as the half expired.
Third quarter
This is where things really started to ramp up offensively, as head coach Tracy Mason made some adjustments at half to start an offensive engine powered by Uhrich.
UT Arlington started to get a full-court press going in hopes of slowing down the scorching Thunderbirds, but with a little too much physicality. The Mavericks sent the T-Birds to the line for a total of five made free throws on five attempts.
The T-Birds fired back with rough play of their own, letting UTA go 10-11 from the line. Many of those were shot by Threatt, who started to play more aggressively in the paint and gain foul calls.
To end the quarter, Kortney Doman hit a buzzer beating three pointer to keep SUU’s lead comfortable at 53-47.
Fourth quarter
The T-Birds held on in the fourth, breaking past the full-court press of the Mavericks. SUU ended up going 6-15 from the field and made 10 of their 15 free throw attempts.
In the last two minutes of the match, due to the aggression and physicality, there was a double technical foul called on both opponents. One player on each team was given free throws.
With 1:48 left in the game, the T-birds were up 74-60 and feeling pretty comfortable with the lead. The Mavericks tried coming back with an 8-3 run in the last two minutes, cutting the lead from 14 to nine, but it wasn’t enough. SUU took home the 77-68 victory.
Top T-Birds
— Uhrich hit a career-high 30 points while racking up nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.
— Chambers struggled with shooting and turnovers, but still impacted the offense with a team-leading six assists. She also had 11 points, three rebounds and a steal.
— Doman hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the third quarter, drawing much attention and energy from the crowd. She led the team with 11 rebounds while tacking on seven points, two assists, a block and a steal.
— Kiernan and Brooklyn Fely both reached double digits in points, with 10 and 12 respectively. Kiernan added three rebounds and an assist while Fely recorded five rebounds, four assists and zero turnovers in 17 minutes.
What’s next?
The team will be having a home game this Saturday, Jan. 31, at 2:00 p.m. The T-Birds will host Abilene Christian University, a top team in the conference. That game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Author: Mitch Wilson
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Payson Davis
