CEDAR CITY — The Southern Utah University women’s basketball team defeated University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on Saturday with a dominating victory. The Thunderbirds used an explosive scoring attack with five players finishing the game scoring double-digits to keep them at the top in the Western Athletic Conference standings.
Southern Utah remains unbeaten in conference play, improving to 9-0 , while 13-7 on the season overall. Megan Jensen led the Thunderbirds by scoring 21 points on 8-10 shooting, adding four rebounds and two blocks. Tomekia Whitman played another great game finishing with 15 points, six rebounds and two assists.
Samantha Johnston recorded 14 points for the T-Birds, and two assists while shooting 4-6 from three-point range. Lizzy Williamson played well on both sides of the court, earning 12 points, five rebounds and rejecting three shot attempts for most blocks in the game. Cherita Daugherty added 10 points, three assists and two steals for the Thunderbirds.
Southern Utah closed out the first quarter with an early 23-15 advantage. The Vaqueros responded in the early moments of the second quarter. An 8-2 run brought the score to 25-23, leaving the Texas team trailing by two points.
The Vaqueros came close to gaining the lead, 33-32, but their offense wore out as the Thunderbirds shifted into overdrive. The T-Bird women had a 41-32 lead at halftime before cruising to the 84-55 victory.
The Thunderbirds will play Arlington for their second Texas matchup of their road trip against the University of Texas Arlington Mavericks on Monday, Feb. 6. at 12 p.m.
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