By Spencer Rodak, Southern Utah Gameday
LAS VEGAS – Participating in the final edition of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament, both of the Thunderbird basketball teams took to the court on Wednesday.
Earning the No. 3 seed, the women’s team was upset by sixth-seeded UT Arlington, 70-65.
On the men’s side, the fifth-seeded T-birds came up short in a 69-63 loss to the No. 4 Mavericks to end the season.
Below are recaps of each game, beginning with the SUU women’s basketball result.
Women’s basketball
Battling the No. 6 seed Lady Mavs in Wednesday’s second game at the Orleans Arena, the Thunderbirds were eliminated in a 70-65 defeat.
UT Arlington scored the first four points of the afternoon, but a 16-0 run by SUU just moments later put them in front by 12, 18-6. UTA would battle back, however, closing out the first quarter on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to five, 20-15, at the break.
Both teams slogged through the second period, as several missed shots and fouls saw the Mavericks edge the T-birds in the quarter, 14-12, to make it just a three-point lead for SUU at the half, 32-29.
UT Arlington opened the third quarter on a 7-1 spurt, taking a 36-33 lead. Both teams traded buckets for the remainder of the period, as UTA took a slim one-point lead to the fourth quarter, 45-44.
SUU pushed ahead in the opening minutes of the fourth, taking a 52-48 lead with under seven minutes to play.
The T-birds would hold onto the advantage, leading 56-54, before a 7-0 run by UTA put them in front, 59-56.
Southern Utah battled back to make it 66-65 on a Morgan Triguero 3-pointer with 38 seconds to go, but a late turnover, missed 3-pointer, and four made Mavericks free throws sealed the 70-65 result.
Ava Uhrich and Brooklyn Fely led Southern Utah in scoring, each totaling 13 points.
The loss was the fourth in a row for SUU.
With the loss in Vegas, the T-birds drop to 19-12 overall, finishing with an 11-7 WAC regular season record in their final season in the league.
SUU will now wait to see if they are extended an offer to play in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
Men’s basketball
Facing UT Arlington in the 4 vs. 5 matchup in the first men’s WAC Tournament game of the day, the Thunderbirds fell 69-63 to end their season.
SUU jumped out to a 12-7 advantage after eight-plus minutes, but UTA battled back to take a 19-15 lead with 7:32 left in the opening half.
The T-birds would keep it close the remainder of the period, but the Mavericks would take a 29-24 lead to the break.
UTA would push its advantage to 12, 42-30, seven minutes into the second half.
The Mavericks would keep their distance for much of the frame, but SUU battled back to pull within three with just over four minutes to play, 57-54.
That, however, would be as close as the Thunderbirds would get. UT Arlington would hold off any comeback attempt en route to a 69-63 win to move on in the WAC Tournament.
The offense struggled throughout the loss for the T-birds, having two periods of over five minutes in the game without registering a point.
SUU shot 39% from the field, including a dismal 19% (6-31) from three.
Southern Utah finished the 2025-26 campaign with a 10-22 overall record, including 6-12 in WAC play.
After having an NCAA Division I era-best streak of five straight .500 seasons or better from 2018-23, the T-birds have now compiled three losing seasons in a row.
Photo courtesy of SUU Athletics.