In a sweep of the season series, the Southern Utah University women’s basketball team closed off the week with a big win against University of Texas Arlington on Saturday, February 14. SUU won 78-67 in a wire-to-wire matchup with the Mavericks.
The T-Birds extended their record to 17-8 and now hold a 9-4 conference record. They sit at No. 3 in the Western Athletic Conference and hold the WAC’s best overall record.
The Mavericks fell to 10-15 on the year and sit at 4-9 in the WAC. Despite being 7-0 all-time against SUU prior to this season, they’ve lost all three games to SUU this year.
First quarter
The Thunderbirds got going right off the bat, scoring seven straight points before allowing the Mavericks to score.
Devyn Kiernan poured on three deep shots to get the SUU offense rolling. She scored nearly half of Southern Utah’s points in the quarter.
SUU controlled the first quarter offensively, but allowed UT Arlington to go to the free-throw line five times. The Mavericks sank all of their attempts and were able to make a small comeback.
The Thunderbirds finished the quarter up 20-17.
Second quarter
Things started to slow down offensively for both teams as the intensity increased. After hitting three three-pointers in the first quarter, SUU was held to just one. The Mavericks went zero for two.
Sierra Chambers led the T-Birds in scoring with seven points this quarter, while Morgan Trigueiro and Brooklyn Fely kept the backboard hot with four rebounds apiece.
The Thunderbirds held onto the lead over UT Arlington by a mere six points, 36-30.
Third quarter
Within the first two minutes of the quarter, the T-Birds extended the lead to nine thanks to Fely’s quick five points.
UT Arlington tried catching up to SUU in the third, out-scoring them 17-15. The Thunderbirds’ lead was cut to just two points by the end of the quarter.
SUU went 4-12 from the field in the third, but managed to go 6-8 from the free-throw line to keep the lead.
Fourth quarter
The T-Birds heated up in the last quarter, putting up a monstrous 27 points. They held the Mavericks to 20 points.
UTA put up a good fight with their full-court trap. The offensive antics of Kira Reynolds, who put up a total of six points in the fourth, kept it tight for the Mavs.
Kiernan came back into the fourth with just seven minutes left, hitting a deep three pointer. She soon fouled out along with Kortney Doman.
To keep the T-Birds afloat, Chambers managed to score 12 points to cap off the game and seal the 78-67 SUU win.
Top T-Birds
— Chambers took over, laying down 23 points to lead the team. She also had five assists and shot 6-10 from two-point range.
— Fely had another double-double, racking up 17 points and 11 rebounds along with three assists. She went 6-7 from two-point range.
— Doman and Kiernan racked up 12 points each. Kiernan played for just 19 minutes.
What’s next?
The Thunderbirds will play on Wednesday, Feb. 18 against Tarleton State University at 6:30 p.m. The following game will be on Sunday, Feb. 22 against Abilene Christian University at 2 p.m. Both will be played in the America First Events Center.
The games will also be streamed on ESPN+.
Previous women’s basketball article ——– Next women’s basketball article
Author: Mitch Wilson
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Payson Davis
