March’s best buzzer-beater of this year came in the quarterfinals of the WAC Women’s Basketball Tournament, and it helped Southern Utah avoid a very disappointing end to the season.
The 21-9 Thunderbirds entered the conference tournament ranked second, but with the best record in the conference (in short, they were dropped in the standings because of the computers). They opened the tournament with a quarterfinal matchup against the No. 7 seed from New Mexico State and quickly found themselves on the ropes.
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At halftime, Southern Utah was down 30-14. He was 5 of 25 from the field with six turnovers and was passed 22-15. He spent the entire third quarter erasing that deficit with a 16-2 run but still needed a hero in the dying seconds of the game, down 61-59 with 3.4 seconds left.
Main guard Cherita Daugherty agreed, but not as expected.
The Thunderbirds’ inbound pass to Daugherty was knocked into a crowd of three NMSU defenders, but Daugherty stayed with the ball and managed to come out of a lopsided one-handed heave that improbably earned the win.
The call:
“He’s knocked down, still loose, Daugherty the uprising… OHHHHH! IT’S GOOD! Southern Utah wins!”
Another angle:
Daugherty finished the game with 14 points on 4 of 13 shooting with two rebounds, two assists and a block. Southern Utah senior Tomekia Whitman led all scorers with 18 points and six rebounds, while Daylani Ballena had 14 points and six assists.
Southern Utah will face the winner of Grand Canyon and Seattle in the semifinals.
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