CEDAR CITY, UTAH – Tarleton State got special performances out of Andjela Bigovic and Jakoriah Long on Thursday night in Cedar City as the Texans snapped a season-long skid to win on the road at Southern Utah.
The Texans (5-12, 2-6 WAC) snapped a five-game slide and improved to 4-6 on the road with their 71-60 win at America First Event Center over the Thunderbirds (4-13, 2-6 WAC). This marked Southern Utah’s fourth straight loss, and eighth in their last nine games.
Bigovic returned to early season form, having nearly a perfect game from the field, totaling 22 points off the bench on 9-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-4 from distance, to go with six rebounds and three blocks in 23 minutes. Long did her usual thing, tallying 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Faith Acker added 14 points in 19 minutes, and Lexi Bull recorded seven points, eight rebounds and two steals.
This was Tarleton State’s best offensive performance since they rolled McNeese on the road on Dec. 16. They outshot the Thunderbirds 27-of-57 (.474) to 23-of-58 (.397), plus Tarleton’s bench outscored SUU’s 31-4. The Texans forced five more turnovers (15-10) than they had giveaways, posting 12 steals, their most since the season opener.
The Texans had big quarters in the middle, winning the second frame 20-10 and the third 23-12.
Southern Utah opened Thursday with an early 6-2 lead. Tarleton then subbed in Bigovic, and like the Texans’ last game, she made her presence known immediately, posting a steal on the first defensive stand, then back-to-back offensive rebounds and a putback on the first offensive possession. In a tight first quarter with neither team leading by more than four, Bigovic had eight points (3-3 FG, 2-2 3PT), two rebounds, two blocks and a steal in four minutes to keep Tarleton close. The Thunderbirds led after one, 21-17.
Southern Utah took their largest lead of the game at seven at the 8:17 mark in the second quarter, 26-19, before the Texans took over. A 6-0 Texan spurt turned into a 16-3 run to boost Tarleton up six with a couple minutes left. They led by six at the break 37-31, largely thanks to Bigovic, who had 18 points (7-7 FG, 4-4 3PT), four rebounds and three blocks in 12 minutes played in the first half.
Some back-and-forth action through the first four minutes kept the Texan lead at six before Tarleton closed the third on a 15-4 run to take a commanding 17-point lead entering the fourth, 60-43. Long was perfect in the quarter, shooting 4-of-4 for eight points, playing all 10 minutes.
The Thunderbirds opened the fourth with a 7-0 run to make things interesting, but the Texans held firm and built back a 16-point lead, winning by 11.
Southern Utah was led by Ava Uhrich’s double-double at 16 points and 12 rebounds. Daylani Ballena had a team-high 17 points and three assists, but committed six turnovers. Ashley Banks totaled 13 points (5-10 FG) and four rebounds.
The Texans will finish out their first of two trips to Utah with a Saturday afternoon game in St. George. They’ll take on Utah Tech at Burns Arena at 3 p.m. CT.
Be the first to comment