Women's Basketball 1/22/2012 4:10:00 AM SUU Strategic Communication

T-Birds Snap Skid with Win Over IPFW

CEDAR CITY, Utah – Jan. 21 – Southern Utah snapped an eight-game losing-streak and earned its first Summit League victory of the year with an 80-68 win over visiting IPFW on Saturday night. The Thunderbirds leading scorer Hailey Mandelko left the game in the first half after a colliding with a defender, but her fellow starting guard DJ Norman picked up the slack with a career high 22 points to help SUU come away with the win.

The T-Birds started the night 3-for-3 from the floor to record the first six points of the ball game. Norman, Mandelko and Carli Moreland each collected early baskets to help SUU claim the 6-0 lead.

IPFW answered with nine unanswered, including back-to-back threes by Haley Seibert, to go up 9-6 at the 16-minute mark. Tayler Anderson then scored two straight baskets as part of 6-0 run that saw SUU go back up by three. After a pair of Mastodon free throws Mandelko knocked down a shot from the outside to give the Thunderbirds a 15-11 advantage.

IPFW came back with four straight to tie the score at 15 but a three by Norman would then put SUU back out in front. The Mastodons were able to level the score once again as Anne Boese connected from the outside to knot the score at 18-18.

Andrea Jones then added a third consecutive three-pointer to spark a 10-0 run for SUU. The Thunderbirds outscored the 'Dons by a count of 15-3 over the final eight minutes of the half, eight of which came at the free throw line, to take a 33-21 lead at the break.

Southern Utah went 3-5 from the outside in the opening period and outrebounded IPFW 22-12. Norman led the Thunderbirds with nine first half points while Hailey Seibert had seven for the Mastodons.

IPFW trimmed the SUU lead to six in the second half as Stefanie Mauk hit a three-pointer to make the score 37-31 just after the 17-minute mark. Four straight points for the Thunderbirds then pushed their advantage back to 10 but after a pair of free throws by Stefanie Mauk the 'Dons pulled back within seven at 43-36.

Southern Utah then got a score inside from Moreland to lead off a 6-0 run that saw the SUU go up by a count of 49-36. The T-Birds continued to score the ball well throughout the remainder of the game, only allowing the margin to drop into the single digits once in the final 13-minutes of the game before eventually claiming the 80-68 victory.

In addition to Norman's career high 22, SUU also got 14 from Moreland while Kimie Hawkins and Jones each chipped in 10. Freshman guard Haley Siebert led IPFW with 21 after going 4-5 from behind the arc.

Southern Utah dominated the boards throughout the contest, recording 40 rebounds to the Mastodons 25. The T-Birds also had a big night at the foul line, making a season high 28 free throws on 36 attempts. SUU also had its best shooting performance of the year, going 24-44 from the floor for a mark of 54.5%.

“It feels great”, said head coach JR Payne after the game. “So many people contributed with points and rebounds.”

The Thunderbirds pick up their first win the Summit League this season to improve to 1-7 in conference play and are now 5-14 overall. IPFW drops to 4-4 in league play and 7-12 on the year.

“The last couple have been close and our team has been through a lot,” explained Payne. “Tonight we showed that we will continue to fight and persevere.”

SUU will continue its conference homestand this Monday when it hosts Oakland. The T-Birds and Golden Grizzlies will tip things off in the Centrum Arena at 7 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#31 Tayler Anderson: G/F; 6' 0"; Junior

#34 Kimie Hawkins: F; 5' 11"; Junior

#5 Andrea Jones: G; 5' 5"; Sophomore

#23 Hailey Mandelko: G; 5' 8"; Freshman

#15 Carli Moreland: F; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#10 DJ Norman: G; 5' 9"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#31 Tayler Anderson
: 6' 0"; Junior
: G/F

#34 Kimie Hawkins
: 5' 11"; Junior
: F

#5 Andrea Jones
: 5' 5"; Sophomore
: G

#23 Hailey Mandelko
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: G

#15 Carli Moreland
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: F

#10 DJ Norman
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: G