Ladyjacks Complete 26-Point Comeback Against Thunderbirds

Thursday, March 7

Cedar City, UT

7:30 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

20-10,14-5WAC

Southern Utah University

7-21,5-14WAC

SFA

Southern Utah

Ladyjacks Complete 26-Point Comeback Against Thunderbirds

3/7/2024 10:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Peter Trainor, Student Assistant for Strategic Communications

CEDAR CITY, Utah. - The Stephen F. Austin women's basketball team (10-10, 14-5) bounced back from a slow first quarter to rally and defeat the Southern Utah Thunderbirds (7-21, 5-14) 81-74 to claim their 20th win of the season and complete a 26-point comeback against the Thunderbirds on the road for their eighth road win this season.

Tyler McCliment-Call got the scoring started for both sides tonight as she would knock down a jumper 2-0 to give SFA an early lead. The first five minutes of the game offered a tightly contested affair as baskets from Mele Finau, Destini Lombard, and Kurstyn Harden were quickly offset by the Thunderbirds as they held an 11-8 lead halfway through the first. However, the Thunderbirds would catch fire looking to upset SFA and defend their home court as they would end the last five minutes of the first on an astounding 19-2 scoring run that saw them hold a commanding 30-10 lead heading into the second quarter.

Southern Utah would open up the second doing much of the same scoring they did in the first as they rattled off the first four points and stretched their lead to 34-10. A pair of free-throws by Kurstyn Harden were offset by an Ava Uhrich jumper for Southern Utah, with the schools furiously exchanging three-pointers shortly after as Avery VanSickle and Lydia Cooke-Wiggins would hit consecutive triples for SFA only to see the Thunderbirds respond with triples of their own to maintain a steady 42-18 lead halfway through the second. With the 'Jacks digging themselves a large hole in the second, they would make sure to go into halftime with something to build off for the second half. With the Thunderbirds leading 44-18 with four minutes left, SFA would flip the script on the first quarter as they would end the second on an 11-2 scoring run thanks to points six straight points from Kurstyn Harden, as well as points from Avery VanSickle, Destini Lombard, and Kyla Deck banking home a layup with less than five seconds to send SFA into the locker room on a high note but still trailed 46-29 at the half.

Southern Utah would get the scoring started for the second half as they would rattle off four straight points to once again move their lead over 20 points at 50-39 early in the third. However, the Ladyjacks adjustments from halftime started to show early in the third as they would spark another 11-2 scoring run thanks to points from Destini Lombard, Mele Finau, Kyla Deck, and Kurstyn Harden to trim the Thunderbirds lead down to 52-41 with four minutes left in the third. Following a Shiho Isono jumper for Southern Utah, the Ladyjacks would once again ensure to take complete control for the remainder of the quarter as they ended the third on a 13-4 scoring run to cut the Thunderbirds lead to a mere four points at 58-54 heading into the final quarter. The scoring run was sparked by four straight points from Avery Vansickle, as well as points from Kyla Deck, Destini Lombard, Zoe Nelson, and a three-point play from Kurstyn Harden to close out scoring for the third and give the Ladyjacks all the confidence heading to the fourth.

The two schools would exchange a pair of jumpers each to begin the fourth as Trinity Moore and Zoe Nelson had their baskets canceled out by the Thunderbirds who still maintained a 62-58 two minutes into the fourth. The Ladyjacks would take their first lead since the beginning of the first quarter thanks to an 8-2 scoring run that saw six of the eight points scored on that run come on free-throws and SFA held a slim 66-64 lead halfway through the fourth. Following a pair of free-throws for Southern Utah to knot the game at 66 apiece, Destini Lombard would knock down a three-pointer which was followed by a Kurstyn Harden layup to give SFA a 71-68 lead with four minutes left. The next two minutes saw both schools exchange baskets once again as SFA still maintained their slight 74-71 lead over the Thunderbirds with just under two minutes left. Avery VanSickle would look to put the Thunderbirds away as she would knock down a triple with a minute left to give SFA a 77-71 lead, only to then see Samantha Johnston make a triple in response for Southern Utah to keep it a three-point game at 77-74. However, the final minute would see SFA do all the scoring as Kurstyn Harden and Destini Lombard scored four straight points for SFA to put the game out of reach for Southern Utah as SFA used a huge second half rally to put the Thunderbirds to bed with an 81-74 win.

Kurstyn Harden's case for WAC Player of the Year grows stronger with every game she plays as Harden has now scored over 20 points in four straight games leading the Ladyjacks in points in all four games. Harden posted 23 points to lead all 'Jacks, while also crashing the boards all night long by pulling down a team-high seven rebounds, and recording three assists, and team-high three blocks. Destini Lombard continues to form a nice complimentary scoring threat to Harden as Lombard scored 17 points to finish second on the team in points, tied with Harden for the team lead in rebounds with seven, while continuing her superb defensive play with another three steals tonight. Avery VanSickle rounded out the top three scorers for SFA as she recorded 12 points, draining a pair of three-pointers, while also pulling down seven rebounds of her own and dished out a team-leading five assists, while recording one block and two steals defensively.

The Ladyjacks shot over 40% from the field for the sixth straight contest as they finished 43.3% from the floor tonight, making 29 field goals while draining five shots from beyond the arc. Another strong day from the foul line played a key role in helping SFA close out the win tonight as they made 18 free-throws and shot just under 82% from the charity stripe, marking the fourth time in their last six games they've gone over 80% from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, another strong day of rebounding for SFA saw them pull down 37 rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds, marking the fourth time in their last five games they've pulled down double-digit offensive boards. Despite the fact the Thunderbirds held the lead for over 81% of the game, the Ladyjacks ended up holding the lead when it mattered most as they held the lead over the final five minutes of the game. Kurstyn Harden helped propel another dominating game in the paint for SFA as they scored 42 points in the paint, while turning seven blocks and six steals into 15 points off turnovers.

The Ladyjacks will stay in Utah to close out their regular season schedule as they will make a short trip over to St. George, Utah for a match with the Utah Tech Trailblazers with tip-off scheduled for 3:00 p.m. CST on Saturday, March 9th.