Southern Utah Women’s Basketball Advances To WAC Semifinals On Buzzer-Beater
Mar 9, 2023, 10:00 AM | Updated: 10:08 am
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.
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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.
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Chandler Holt is a Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter at @ChandlerHoltKSL.
