The Southern Utah University women’s basketball team faced Utah Valley University in Orem on Thursday, March 5. In an uncharacteristic game, the Thunderbirds struggled with a season-high 34 turnovers. Too many mistakes ultimately led to the team falling short 74-53.
All three of their highest turnover games have been against the Wolverines, marking 27 and 25 respectively in January and February.
The Thunderbirds fell to 19-10 overall and are 11-6 in conference play. With the loss, Southern Utah is officially eliminated from a Western Athletic Conference regular-season title.
UVU now rises 15-13 overall and has an 8-9 conference record. They sit at No. 4 in the WAC.
First quarter
Thunderbirds came out with high energy, with Sierra Chambers immediately knocking down a three. Brooklyn Fely then went on a three-bucket spree, showing her effectiveness. With just over a minute left in the quarter, Kortney Doman sank a deep shot to put the Thunderbirds up 16-9 at the end of the first.
Second quarter
The Wolverine defense came out strong in this quarter, forcing 12 turnovers. Before half, Chambers was able to cash in a triple, but UVU battled back and gained a 30-23 advantage going into the half.
Third quarter
After almost a four-minute standoff between the two teams, the Wolverines gained their first substantial lead of the game. Chambers knocked down two more threes and Morgan Trigueiro added one more, but they failed to close the gap.
The Thunderbirds could not slow the Utah Valley offense and, as the quarter came to a close, they were down 46-36.
Fourth quarter
The fourth quarter saw a desperate comeback attempt for the Thunderbirds. Trigueiro drained two threes and Doman added another, but the defense for the Thunderbirds couldn’t hold up.
The Wolverines continued to score and put themselves out of reach, and sailed to a 74-53 victory.
Key stats
— The Wolverines managed to put up 40 points in the paint compared to the Thunderbirds’ 16.
— UVU scored 34 points off turnovers, where SUU only had seven off 10 turnovers.
— The Thunderbirds shot better from three at 46%, where the Wolverines shot 39% from deep.
Top T-Birds
– Doman played a total of 39 minutes and was effective on the floor. She snagged 13 rebounds, dished four assists and went 2/2 from deep, putting up six points. On defense, she had three blocks and two steals.
–Both Chambers and Trigueiro led the team in points with 13. They also recorded a combined seven triples and assists.
– Fely put up 11 points, sinking all four of her shots from the field.
What’s next?
The Thunderbirds will stay on the road for the last game of the regular season and will face current WAC leader California Baptist University in Riverside, California, on Saturday, March 7, at 2:00 p.m. The game will be available to stream live on ESPN+.
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Author: Andrew Streeter
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Payson Davis
