Probable Starting Five
F - #24 Challis Pascucci, 6-2, Sr., Goodyear, Ariz.
(16.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.4 bpg)
F - #31 Tayler Anderson, 6-0, So., Lyman, Wyo.
(4.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.4 apg)
G - #32 Caitlyn Sears, 5-10, Sr., Cedar Hills, Utah
(16.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.8 apg)
G - #3 Desiree Jackson, 5-10, Fr., Moreno Valley, Calif.
(7.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.6 apg)
PG - #13 Kaila Goff, 5-8, Sr., Las Vegas, Nev.
(6.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.6 apg)

HEAD COACH - JR Payne, 2nd Season, Saint Mary's College
SUU RECORD - 16-28, CAREER RECORD - Same

THUNDERBIRDS CLOSE OUT NON-CONFERENCE SLATE AT GONZAGA
Southern Utah University takes to the road for the first time in nearly a month, heading to Spokane, Wash. to face Gonzaga University in its final non-conference slate of the year on Monday. Game time is set for 7 p.m. (MST).

FOLLOW THE THUNDERBIRDS
Southern Utah University women's basketball fans can follow all home and select away games via LiveStats at www.SUUTBIRDS.com. All home games will be video streamed on www.SUUTBIRDS.com, broadcast on the radio at 91.1 FM and online at www.suu.edu/hss/comm/ksuu/webcast.html.

COMING UP
Southern Utah University resumes Summit League play this weekend, heading to Kansas City to face UMKC at 3 p.m. (MST) on Saturday.

THUNDERBIRD NOTES
- SUU's current seven-game winning streak is the longest since the 1995-96 won 12 straight
- The Thunderbirds own nine wins this season after posting seven wins last season
- Challis Pascucci has led SUU in scoring in 8 of the last 11 games, scored 25+ in 4 of last 6 games
- Caitlyn Sears has led SUU in scoring five times and in rebounding six times
- Sears has scored 20+ points five times this season, nine times in her career
- Andrea Jones has come of the bench to score in double figures three times
- Three seniors account for 60% of SUU's scoring, seven freshmen account for 32%
- Kaila Goff has hit a three in 10 of the last 11 games
- Pascucci has registered double-doubles in four of the last five games
- In SUU's seven-game winning streak, Pascucci has averaged 22.5 ppg and 10.8 rpg
- Pascucci's 19 reb. vs. SDSU were the most since Caroline Heaton's 20 boards vs. IUPUI (2002)
- SUU's seven-game winning streak is the longest by a Summit League team this season
- The Thunderbirds hit their opened Friday's game by hitting their first 16 free throws

LAST TIME OUT
Southern Utah University recorded its seventh-straight win with a 82-71 Summit League victory over North Dakota State University Friday night. The Thunderbirds used a season-high in points and a game-high 23 points from senior guard Caitlyn Sears to win its seventh straight at home and third consecutive conference game. The seven straight wins are the most by an SUU team since the 1995-96 team closed the season with 12 consecutive wins. Southern Utah received a balanced scoring effort as eight players scored at least seven points. Sears added a game-high eight boards as she now sits just 17 points away from reaching the 1,000 career point plateau. Senior forward Challis Pascucci had eight points while battling foul trouble and senior point guard Kaila Goff also had 11 points in addition to her six assists. Sophomore forward Tayler Anderson and freshman Desiree Jackson each added eight points while fellow freshmen Andrea Jones, DJ Norman and Carli Moreland each chipped in with seven.

ABOUT THE GONZAGA BULLDOGS
Gonzaga University comes into the game against Southern Utah University with an 11-4 overall record and winners in nine of their last 10, dropping a 70-61 decision to No. 14 University of Notre Dame in Seattle last week. GU owns 10 letterwinners off of last year's team that reached the NCAA Sweet 16. SUU has won the only previous meeting with the Zags, posting a 66-57 win in a game played at a Boise State Tournament on Nov. 30, 1988. Gonzaga has four players averaging double-digits in scoring led by Katelan Redmon's 17.8 ppg. The Zags senior point guard Courtney Vandersloot is second on the team in scoring at 16.7 ppg while also leading the nation with 141 assists, averaging 9.4 apg. Head coach Kelly Graves is in his 11th season at Gonzaga and owns a 208-118 career record at the school.

THUNDERBIRDS STREAKING
Southern Utah University is currently riding a seven-game winning streak, the longest streak by a Thunderbird club since the 1995-96 team closed the season with 12 straight victories. The Thunderbirds have also won their past sevem home contests, matching the most since the 2003-04 team.

THUNDERBIRDS CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOKS
All three of Southern Utah University's seniors find themselves among the school's career record books. Challis Pascucci currently sits tied for sixth in points (1,047), tied for second in blocks (125), second in rebounds (780), sixth in free-throw percentage (77.1%) an in field goal percentage (44.7%). Caitlyn Sears is closing in on 1,000 career points and comes into the week in ninth place with 983 career points while Kaila Goff enters the game in third place on the all-time assists top-10 chart with 332. All three players are on the verge of entering the top-10 in games played.

PAYNE, TOWNS SET TO MATCH UP AGAINST FAMILIAR FACES
Southern Utah University head coach JR Payne and associate head coach Toriano Towns will lead the Thunderbirds against a couple familiar foes this season. Both Payne and Towns served as assistant coaches for Boise State University from 2005-08, whom SUU lost a 91-80 decision Nov. 16. Payne and Towns came out on the winning end against another familiar face in Santa Clara University head coach Jennifer Mountain, beating SCU 80-69. Payne was an assistant coach at SCU for Mountain during the 2008-09 season before coming to SUU. On Jan. 3, the Thunderbirds will travel to face Gonzaga University, a place where Payne, Towns and Mountain all served as assistant coaches for current Zags head coach Kelly Graves. Graves also coached Payne during her playing days at Saint Mary's College.

PASCUCCI IS IN, SEARS CLOSING IN ON 1,000-POINT CLUB
Seniors Challis Pascucci and Caitlyn Sears will look to become the first pair of Thunderbirds to reach the 1,000-point plateau in the same season since Denise Muir and Darla Hunt both reached the mark during the 1986-87 season. Pascucci just surpassed the mark in her 26-point effort against Weber State University Dec. 21 and with 15 games remaining, Sears needs just 17 points to become the ninth member of SUU's 1,000 point club.

FRESHMEN MAKING THEIR PRESENCE KNOWN
Southern Utah University owns seven freshmen and just six upperclassmen on its roster this season and although the three seniors account 60% of the team's scoring a couple newcomers have made impacts. Desiree Jackson has started every game and enters Monday's game averaging 7.9 ppg and has produced a 20-point effort at Boise State and a 19-point performance in the win at IPFW. Andrea Jones comes into the week among the Summit League leaders in 3-point shooting at 39% and has come off the bench and scored in double-figures three times. Carli Moreland has also provided some depth in the front court, notching three eight-point efforts, a 10-rebound effort and eight-rebound performance with all marks coming in SUU wins.

PAIR OF WINS IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Southern Utah University's wins at IPFW on Dec. 4 and against South Dakota State University on Dec. 29 are the first wins against both schools in program-history. SUU beat IPFW 69-66 to notch the first win against the Mastodons was the first after dropping the previous six meetings. The win was also the Thunderbirds first Summit League road victory against a team other than Centenary for the first time since the 2004-05 season. SUU's two road wins this season are the most since the 2005-06 team won three away contests. The Thunderbirds later posted a 73-72 victory over the reigning two-time Summit League champion SDSU after dropping the previous six meetings with the Jackrabbits.

PASCUCCI EARNS ANOTHER SUMMIT LEAGUE ACCOLADE
For the second time in the past three weeks, Southern Utah University senior forward Challis Pascucci has been named The Summit League Player of the Week, the conference office announced Tuesday. Pascucci earns her second weekly award of the season and third of her career after scoring 26 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, blocking a season-high three shots and knocking down a career-best 14-of-15 free throws in SUU's 66-53 win over Weber State University. The Goodyear, Ariz. also surpassed the 1,000 career point mark in the game, becoming the eighth Thunderbird to achieve the feat.

PASCUCCI'S BIG WEEK EARNS HER SUMMIT LEAGUE ACCOLADE
Senior forward Challis Pascucci was named Summit League Player of the Week on Dec. 14. Pascucci earned her first weekly accolade this season and the second of her career after averaging 28.0 ppg and 10.0 rpg in the Thunderbirds two wins over Utah Valley University and Santa Clara University. She shot 54% (20-37) from the floor, went 16-for-17 (94%) at the free throw line and blocked two shots to help SUU post its first three-game winning streak since the middle of the 2006-07 season. Pascucci scored a career-high 28 points and grabbed six rebounds in SUU's win against Utah Valley and then matched her career-best with 28 points, 22 coming in the first half, in the win over Santa Clara University. The 6-2 Pascucci also grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds against SCU to record her third double-double of the season and 20th of her career.

THUNDERBIRDS SIGN THREE PLAYERS TO NLI'S
Southern Utah University has announced the signing of three players to National Letters of Intent. Point guard Hailey Mandelko out of Lexington, Neb., center Brenna Gates our of Olivehurst, Calif., and forward Torey Hill out of Viking, Alberta, Canada have each signed NLI's to play for the Thunderbirds next season.

THUNDERBIRDS PICKED TO FINISH SEVENTH IN PRESEASON POLL
The Southern Utah University women's basketball team is picked to finish in a tie for seventh place with Western Illinois University in the 2010-11 Summit League preseason poll. SUU returns four starters off of last year's team, led by its top two scorers in Challis Pascucci and Caitlyn Sears and senior point guard Kaila Goff. The Thunderbirds add eight freshmen to the group of six returners off of last season's team that made a trip the Summit League Tournament after posting a 7-23 overall record and a 5-13 mark in conference during head coach JR Payne's first season at SUU.

PASCUCCI EARNS PRESEASON SUMMIT LEAGUE HONOR
The Thunderbirds also had senior forward Challis Pascucci placed on the preseason All-Summit League second team. Pascucci earned second team All-Summit League honors a season ago after leading the conference in double-doubles (13), rebounding (9.7 rpg) and tied for the lead with 46 blocks.