CEDAR CITY, Utah - Nov. 1 - Southern Utah surrendered 21 offensive rebounds and tallied 22 turnovers with both stats leading to a 59-53 loss to Dixie State in the teams' exhibition opener on Saturday night.
"We learned a great deal tonight," assistant coach Kit Janes said after the game. "We knew going into this season with eight new players in the this system that they would need some time to develop. We are going to work harder on rebounding, turnovers and floor positioning this week and get better."
Both teams came out of the gates slowly as SUU built an 8-3 lead seven minutes into the game. Southern Utah's largest lead of the half came with 7:27 on the clock as freshman Cassi Jones sunk two free throws to give the T-Birds a 16-9 advantage. Jones finished the game with seven points, seven rebounds and five blocks.
Dixie State then began to counter, chipping into the lead and finishing the finals three minutes of the half on a 14-0 run to take a 27-19 lead going into the intermission.
Southern Utah opened the second half with a greater intensity and tied the game at 37-37 after an 18-10 run over the first seven minutes. The T-Birds then took a 40-37 lead, following a Challis Pascucci layup and successful free throw by Lyndie NeVille.
The two teams then volleyed the lead back and forth until DSC's Courtney Boyd hit the seventh 3-point field goal of the evening for the Rebels to give Dixie a 52-49 lead with 4:25 on the clock.
Dixie State held onto the advantage and built it to as much as eight (58-50) with 2:04 remaining and then held onto the lead down the stretch to preserve the 59-53 victory.
Southern Utah ultimately out shot the Rebels, connecting of 44 percent from the field compared to 29 percent by Dixie. In the end, the story of the game came down to 14 extra possessions recorded by DSC on 21 offensive rebounds and 22 Thunderbird turnovers. The Rebels also had their woes on the offensive end with 20 turnovers.
Dixie's Boyd and Shanae Vaifanua led all scorers with 11 with Anne Higbee pacing the T-Birds with ten.
Southern Utah will be back on the court next weekend when the Thunderbirds host Mesa State in the final exhibition game before opening the season. Tip-off against the Mavericks is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 7.
