ST. GEORGE — Both SUU basketball teams split their games this weekend with the women going 1-1 and the men doing the same. The women’s team got a big win on Saturday and then dropped a tough game against Idaho. The men traveled to Eastern Washington where they lost in overtime but rebounded on Monday to beat Idaho handily.
Women’s basketball
After a tight first quarter against Eastern Washington, the lady Thunderbirds exploded offensively in the final three frames to get a 21-point home win over Eastern Washington University on Saturday night.
“It was a huge team effort tonight. Everyone got to play tonight, which is always fun. They have worked so hard in practice and today they were able to get a great opportunity and they made the most of it,” head coach Tracy Sanders said in a release. “We had a small cushion heading into halftime, and I thought we did a phenomenal job of expanding on that in the third quarter. We love playing at home and to be undefeated this far into the season is pretty special.”
The big news for the game was Rebecca Cardenas’s 245 steal of her career, making her the all-time program leader in steals. Harley Hansen led the way for the Thunderbirds with 21 points while Cardenas had seven assists on the night.
The win also moved SUU’s home winning streak up to eight.
On Monday night, the lady Thunderbirds welcomed in the Idaho Vandals, who were in second place in the Big Sky standings. The game was tight at halftime but the Vandals were able to push the lead in the second half, winning 71-56. The loss broke the eight-game home winning streak for SUU.
“Idaho is a great team and they were great defensively,” head coach Tracy Sanders said in a release. “We could have used some more second-chance opportunities and we had to work hard for everything and we didn’t execute great.”
This week the lady Thunderbirds head to Weber State and Idaho State on Thursday and Saturday for more Big Sky action.
Men’s basketball
The Thunderbirds started off the weekend at Eastern Washington on Saturday and suffered a tough overtime loss, 81-78. The Thunderbirds were up by two at halftime and it was a back and forth game throughout. The Thunderbirds only went 2-11 in overtime and lost by three.
Dwayne Morgan had 22 points on the night while John Knight III added 14 points.
On Monday night the Thunderbirds traveled to Idaho where they would get a very lopsided victory, 73-45.
“We wanted to get back to defending,” SUU head coach Todd Simon said in a release. “We had a bad taste in our mouth after Saturday’s result, and I thought we came out with a lot of purpose, so that was good.”
The Thunderbirds has four-player in double-digit scoring including a double double from Andre Adams.
After splitting the road trip, the Thunderbirds return home to take on Weber State and Idaho State on Thursday and Saturday, with both games scheduled to tip-off at 7 p.m.
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