The Southern Utah basketball teams closed out the regular season on Thursday night. The women’s team secured a 66-51 road win over Seattle U, while the men’s team fell to the Redhawks at home, 62-39.

Here are recaps of both games, beginning with the women’s basketball victory with the WAC Tournament up next.

Women’s basketball

Facing Seattle U on the road in the regular season finale, the SUU women’s basketball team secured a 66-51 win.

The T-birds began the game on a 6-0 run, but the Redhawks quickly battled back to tie the score. A 7-2 spurt from SUU followed to make it a five-point game (13-8) before Seattle used a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to one (13-12) at the end of the first quarter.

Quarter number two was back and forth in the opening minutes, as the two teams were tied at 20 with 6:15 on the clock. The Thunderbirds would take control for the remainder of the half, outscoring Seattle 13-5 to take an eight-point lead (33-25) to the halftime break.

Southern Utah would push its lead to 11 in the opening minute of the second half, but the Redhawks answered to make it a six-point game (38-32). The T-birds had an answer, however, using a 14-2 run to increase their advantage to 18, 52-34 with just over a minute left in the third. Heading to the fourth quarter, SUU held a 53-39 lead.

The Redhawks began the final period on a 10-0 run to cut the SUU lead to just four (53-49) with under seven minutes to play. Southern Utah wouldn’t let the game get any closer, as they used a 13-2 spurt to close out a 66-51 win.

Daylani Ballena led the T-birds on offense in the win, totaling a game-high 19 points. Jaeden Brown contributed a solid game off the bench, scoring 13 points and grabbing 5 rebounds.

With the win, Southern Utah ends the regular season with a 9-20 overall record, including a seventh-place WAC finish (7-9).

Up next

Having secured the seventh seed for the WAC Tournament, the T-birds (9-20, 7-9 WAC) will square off with the No. 2 seed – which will be decided on Saturday – in the quarterfinal round at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Wednesday, March 12.

The game will begin at 2:30 p.m. MT and can be seen on ESPN+.

Men’s basketball

Hosting the Redhawks on Senior Night, cold shooting from the Southern Utah men’s basketball team led to a 62-39 defeat.

The T-birds struggled out of the gate, setting the tone for the remainder of the game. SUU made just one field goal in the opening 13 minutes of play, trailing 22-11 before they made their second basket.

The Thunderbirds shot just 3-for-25 in the opening half, putting themselves in a 17-point hole at halftime (35-18).

Southern Utah was unable to get the offense going at any point in the second half as the Redhawks pushed their lead to 20 (48-28) with just over 11 minutes to play. The visitors led by as many as 26 before closing out the 62-39 win.

Despite the blowout loss, the defense played well for the T-birds. SUU allowed Seattle U to make just 32 percent of its shots, including a mere 9 percent from three.

With the loss, the Thunderbirds close the regular season with a 12-18 overall record, including 4-12 in conference play. SUU finished eighth in the conference, ahead of only Utah Tech in the standings.

Coach Jeter postgame

Up next

As the No. 8 seed in the WAC Tournament, Southern Utah (12-18, 4-12 WAC) travels to St. George on Tuesday, March 11, to face ninth-seeded Utah Tech in the opening round.

The T-birds vs. Trailblazers rivalry matchup will tip-off at 2:30 p.m. MT and 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.