SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS
Southern Utah Women’s Basketball Advances To WAC Semifinals On Buzzer-Beater
LAS VEGAS – The Southern Utah women’s basketball team faced off against the New Mexico State Aggies in the WAC Tournament quarterfinals.
The Thunderbirds were down by two with 3 seconds left when Cherita Daugherty made a three-point shot at the buzzer to secure the win.
View this post on Instagram
The shot gave Daugherty her 14th point of the game. It was also her only attempt from behind the arc the whole night.
Daugherty scored her 1000th career point as a Thunderbird on the shot before her game-winner.
GREATNESS 🔥💪
Congrats to @CheritaNicole for scoring her 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣th point as a Thunderbird 🦅⚡️#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/hhkEF2dTen
— SUU Women’s Basketball (@SUUWBasketball) March 9, 2023
Daylani Ballena, Tomekia Whitman, and Daugherty combined to score 46 of Southern Utah’s 62 points.
Ballena was the game’s MVP for the first three quarters. She shot 6/8 from the field and led the Thunderbirds in assists.
Q3 | Dayla 💨 the 🏀 and takes it all the way to the hoop 😤
SUU within 5️⃣#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/DLFFIVOq7D
— SUU Women’s Basketball (@SUUWBasketball) March 9, 2023
Daugherty’s shot wouldn’t have ever happened if it weren’t for an impressive second-half comeback by Southern Utah. They trailed by 16 at halftime.
Halftime from Las Vegas 🌆#TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/bIvUNo58rT
— SUU Women’s Basketball (@SUUWBasketball) March 9, 2023
SUU knew what they had to do coming out of the break. They didn’t allow a New Mexico State basket for the first 5 minutes of the third quarter.
The Thunderbirds will play the Grand Canyon University Lopes in the WAC semifinals on Friday, March 10.
Chandler Holt is a Digital Sports Producer for KSLSports.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter at @ChandlerHoltKSL.
