BOISE — After a tightly-contested opening half, the Southern Utah University women’s basketball could not keep up with Idaho’s scoring in the final 20 minutes as the Thunderbirds saw their season come to an end via a 77-64 setback to the Vandals on Tuesday night at Idaho Central Arena.
Southern Utah wraps up the 2021-22 campaign with a record of 18-12. The 18 wins match SUU’s best season since head coach Tracy Sanders arrived in 2018.
“There’s not many teams that end their season on a win, but obviously we would have liked to play a little longer,” Sanders said. “Idaho did a great job. I thought they defended us well and made some things tough on us. I’m proud of my team and how we persevered this year. We put a lot of work in and did some really great things. The last game is always really tough.”
Darri Dotson fittingly led the way for SUU in her last game wearing a Thunderbird uniform. The senior finished the game with a double-double in the form of 15 points and 11 rebounds. Cherita Daugherty led the T-Birds in scoring with 16 points while also pulling down eight rebounds of her own. Southern Utah also got eight points from Daylani Ballena.
Despite the loss, the Thunderbirds were able to hold their own in various statistical categories. SUU outrebounded Idaho 45-32 which led to a 14-2 advantage in second-chance points. Southern Utah’s bench also outscored Idaho’s by a 15-12 margin.
The first half was tightly contested with SUU trailing by one after each quarter. Neither team led by more than four points through the opening 20 minutes, and both sides traded leads in both quarters. It was the opening minutes of the second half that gave the Vandals the edge, though, when they opened the third quarter on a 10-0 run. That stretch gave Idaho an 11-point lead and the T-Birds never got closer than seven the remainder of the game.
Southern Utah’s loss not only marks the end of the season, but also the Big Sky Conference era for SUU women’s basketball. The Thunderbirds will begin competing in the Western Athletic Conference as of July 1.
Written by TYLER ROPER, SUU Athletics
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