SUU 82, CBU 73

LAS VEGAS – In its first campaign as a member of the Western Athletic Conference, Southern Utah emerged with the league championship double. The second-seeded and regular-season champion Thunderbirds downed No. 4 seed California Baptist 82-73 on Saturday in the 2023 Hercules Tires WAC Women’s Basketball Tournament Championship Game at The Orleans Arena.

Southern Utah secured the first automatic NCAA Tournament bid in program history with the victory, capping an undefeated run through the WAC bracket. The Thunderbirds captured the regular-season crown with a 16-2 mark in league play.

The Thunderbirds held a 21-17 edge at the first quarter break after shooting 61.5 percent from the field out of the gate. Southern Utah forced CBU to miss its first 13 3-point shots of the evening to take a 31-23 lead into halftime. Southern Utah’s Cherita Daugherty led all scorers with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting after the opening 20 minutes.

CBU found its rhythm in the second half with eight made 3-pointers to just four turnovers, but the Lancers were unable to make a dent in the Southern Utah lead. The Thunderbirds hit their last four shots on the night to post the final score line.

Daugherty was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after leading all players in scoring for the week (56 points), pouring in a game-high 26 to go along with eight rebounds and three assists in the championship game. Joining Daugherty on the WAC All-Tournament Team were Megan Jensen and Tomekia Whitman from Southern Utah and CBU’s Sila Finau and Chloe Webb.

2023 Hercules Tires WAC Women’s Basketball Tournament

Tournament Most Outstanding Player
Cherita Daugherty, Southern Utah

All-Tournament Team
Cherita Daugherty, Southern Utah
Megan Jensen, Southern Utah
Tomekia Whitman, Southern Utah
Sila Finau, California Baptist
Chloe Webb, California Baptist

 

--WAC--