Wrapping a three-game season-opening road trip, the SUU women’s basketball team fell to Fresno State on Wednesday night, 67-58.
The first quarter was close to start, but an 8-0 run by Fresno State put the home team ahead 19-6 with 3:28 remaining in the period.
Southern Utah responded with a 9-2 spurt, cutting the deficit down to six to end the quarter (21-15).
The Bulldogs pushed the lead back up to 13 (30-17) with just under four minutes to play until halftime, but SUU chipped away to make it a four-point game with 1:40 remaining (31-27).
Fresno State would get the lead back to seven to finish the first half, 36-29.
The Bulldogs scored the first bucket of the second half, but four straight three-pointers by the T-birds gave the visitors their first lead of the game, 41-38.
SUU extended its advantage to seven with 1:05 left in the third quarter (49-42), but a quick 5-0 run to end the period by the Bulldogs cut the lead to two, 49-47.
Fresno State’s run continued into the final frame as they retook the lead with a three-pointer with just under nine minutes to play (50-49).
The Thunderbirds briefly got back in front by one with 7:12 on the clock (53-52), but the Bulldogs ended the game on a 14-7 run to secure the 67-59 win and send SUU to 0-3.
Sydney Gandy and Jaeden Brown led the T-birds in scoring, each totaling 13 points. Southern Utah struggled from the field in defeat, shooting just 37.9 percent from the field (22-of-58).
Up next
Southern Utah (0-3) returns to Cedar City for its first home game of the season.
The T-birds will face Big Sky Conference foe Idaho on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. MT. The game can be seen on ESPN+.
