Hosting undefeated Saint Joseph’s at home Wednesday night, the Southern Utah women’s basketball team fell 82-53, dropping to 0-5 this season.

The visiting Hawks were hot out of the gate, taking a 12-0 lead in the first 3:25.

It was all Saint Joseph’s for the entirety of the game, as they took a 27-14 lead after the opening quarter.

SUU got within nine in the second period (32-23), but a 9-0 answer by the Hawks put the game further out of reach by increasing the lead to 18 (41-23). By the end of the half, Saint Joseph’s lead was up to 22 (51-29).

SJU started the second half on a 10-0 run, pushing its advantage to over 30 for the first time in the game (61-29). An 8-0 spurt from the T-birds cut the deficit to 24 (61-37) to end the third quarter.

The Hawks finished the game by outscoring SUU 21-16 in the final frame, wrapping up an 82-53 win as the Thunderbirds remain winless on the season.

Daylani Ballena led Southern Utah in scoring, tallying 12 points.

The T-birds struggled mightily in all facets of the game. They shot a mere 38.7 percent from the field (24-of-62) while making just one three-pointer (7.1 percent). SUU was also outrebounded (36-29) and lost the battles in assists (23-11), turnovers (13-10), and fastbreak points (14-2).

Coach Mason postgame

Up next

The T-birds (0-5) will look for their first win of the season when they face Bethesda University (CA), a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association.

SUU and the Lion Angels will battle on Friday, Nov. 22, with tip-off set for 6:30 p.m. MT. The game can be seen on ESPN+.

Photo courtesy of SUU Athletics.

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Spencer has always been passionate about sports, growing up playing and following various sports. He ran cross country in high school and began his journey in sports media in 2017 as a journalism intern at The Spectrum & Daily News. Since then, his work has been published in numerous outlets including Deseret News, Standard-Examiner, St. George News, Southern Utah Now, SUU's Thunderground, SB Nation's RSL Soapbox, FanSided's Venom Strikes, fan-insider.com, The Spurs Web, and Iron County Today. Spencer is the founder of Stadium Sportzz and both the Sportzz with Spencer and Mountain States Sports Report podcasts. His experience extends to public address announcing, having first served as the PA announcer for Southern Utah University soccer in 2017 and as a high school sports PA announcer. He is now entering his fourth year as a PA announcer at Utah Tech University, where he also occasionally takes on the role of in-game emcee. Spencer's versatility also extends to radio, where at The Fan Sports Network he produced high school and Utah Tech athletics broadcasts, hosted the weekly Region 9 Football Tailgate Show, and appeared daily on The Drive. Now working towards completing his Bachelor's degree in Media Studies, Spencer was recently named the Sports Director at Utah Tech University's 91.3 The Blaze for the 2024-25 year. He will host a weekly show and serve as a play-by-play broadcaster, continuing his dedication to sports journalism and broadcasting. When he isn’t talking, writing about, or watching sports, Spencer enjoys traveling and spending time with his amazing wife.

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