ST. GEORGE — The luck of the Irish did not shine upon the Thunderbirds Friday afternoon in South Bend, Indiana.
The Southern Utah University women’s basketball team saw its dream season come to an end after Notre Dame beat SUU 82-56 in the opening round of the NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament.
The contest against Notre Dame was never close as the Irish sank nine of its first 10 field goal attempts en route to an 18-2 advantage to begin the game.
“We knew they were going to be big,” SUU head coach Tracy Sanders told St. George News after the game. “We were outsized at every position, I think. We struggled to score and then our transition defense wasn’t great. They made their big run by getting down the floor and we were just not matching up.”
Notre Dame kept the pedal down in the second quarter, at one point outscoring SUU 22-6 in the paint and jumping out to an insurmountable 43-24 lead at halftime.
“We’ve been down in that situation before, down 15, 17 points at halftime and we’ve come back to win,” Sanders said. “But we were not playing Notre Dame, we were playing somebody else.”
Maddy Westbeld threw in a game-high 20 points for Notre Dame, one of four double-digit scorers for the Irish.
The home team shot 48.6% from the field and outrebounded the visitors from Utah 53-25.
Notre Dame players combined for 24 assists in the win compared to just 10 helpers for SUU.
“We gave up 21 offensive rebounds,” Sanders said. “Against a good team like Notre Dame, you just can’t be giving away second chances like that.”
Senior Megan Jensen led SUU with 11 points. She was the only T-Bird to register double-digit scoring. Senior Tomekia Whitman scored nine for the T-Birds, as did junior Samantha Johnston.
Senior Cherita Daugherty, MVP in the WAC tournament, netted eight points against Notre Dame.
“Cherita was obviously a huge player for us,” Sanders said. “She put us on her shoulders and won games for us. So much credit goes to her for our winning seasons, for the legacy she left.”
Senior Bryar Tronnier scored four points and grabbed five rebounds against Notre Dame in her final game for the T-Birds.
“She’s just a tough, tough player,” Sanders said. “Bryar has such a huge role in practice with everything we do and she accepted every role we gave her. She made us better every single day.”
While the No. 3 seed Fighting Irish dismantled the No. 14 T-Birds on their home court, SUU can look back on a record-setting season.
As reported in St. George News, SUU won the Western Athletic Conference tournament in dramatic fashion, earning the program’s first berth in the Big Dance.
Sanders earned WAC coach of the year recognition and three players were recognized with all-conference honors.
“The hardest part right now is just knowing that the season is over,” Sanders said. “Notre Dame has such a legacy in women’s basketball. It’s a tough place to play, but what an experience. Hopefully, this makes us hungry to get back to the tournament every single year.”
Photo Gallery
Notre Dame's Olivia Miles (left) and Dara Mabrey cheer on the starters before a first-round college basketball game against Southern Utah in the NCAA Tournament, Friday, March 17, 2023, in South Bend, Ind. | Photo by Michael Caterina, The Associated Press, St. George News Notre Dame's Sonia Citron (left) celebrates with Maddy Westbeld (21) during the second half of a first-round college basketball game against Southern Utah in the NCAA Tournament, Friday, March 17, 2023, in South Bend, Ind. | Photo by Michael Caterina, The Associated Press, St. George News Notre Dame's Lauren Ebo (33) drives as Southern Utah's Megan Jensen (3) defends during the second half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Friday, March 17, 2023, in South Bend, Ind. | Photo by Michael Caterina, The Associated Press, St. George News Southern Utah head coach Tracy Sanders watches the first half of a first-round college basketball game against Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament, Friday, March 17, 2023, in South Bend, Ind. | Photo by Michael Caterina, The Associated Press, St. George News Notre Dame's Lauren Ebo (left) and Southern Utah's Lizzy Williamson fight for possession during the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Friday, March 17, 2023, in South Bend, Ind. | Photo by Michael Caterina, The Associated Press, St. George News Notre Dame's Sonia Citron (11) works against Southern Utah's Cherita Daugherty (32) during the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Friday, March 17, 2023, in South Bend, Ind. | Photo by Michael Caterina, The Associated Press, St. George News Southern Utah's Megan Jensen (3) drives as Notre Dame's KK Bransford (14) defends during the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Friday, March 17, 2023, in South Bend, Ind. | Photo by Michael Caterina, The Associated Press, St. George News
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