Drive

SUU desire leads to win

By DAVID DeMILLE
UNIVERSITY JOURNAL

SUU guard Casey Cooke hit a leaner in the lane with 33 seconds left to help the Thunderbirds hold off Northern Arizona’s second half charge in a 68-67 win.
Cooke came out of the pick-and-roll with Sarah Hutton, drove into the middle of the lane and lofted the shot over the Lumberjack defenders.
“That’s just how we drew it up,” coach Joe Hillock said. “Casey took off and got into the middle. It was our Stockton-and-Malone play.”
The ’Birds had built a 13-point lead just minutes into the second half when the Lumberjacks made a furious comeback try, taking a 62-61 lead with under five minutes left in the game.
The teams then battled back and forth before Cooke hit the game-winner and the SUU defense held NAU guard Lacey Tolbert to an awkward missed jumper on the game’s final possession.
Cooke finished only 6-16 from the field with 14 points, but she hit the most important one.
“I hadn’t hit one all night,” Cooke said. “I wasn’t worried though. I knew I had my teammates to help out and get us there. This team doesn’t give up, we have a lot of heart. This might be a small school, but we’re big-time.”
For the second straight game the ’Birds were dominant on the boards, holding a 51-28 advantage despite being the smaller team.
“It’s a will this team has,” Hillock said. “We talk about Dennis Rodman and how nobody liked him, but we want to have that mentality out there; we have to think that we have to get to the ball.”
Led by Lacey Yates’ 12-rebound night, including seven on the offensive end, SUU gave itself enough second chances to have a chance at the end.
“The coaches have been drilling us about rebounding,” Yates said. “Everyone boxes out and wants to get to the ball. It’s my favorite thing to do, but right now the whole team is concentrating on it.”
SUU shot only 21 percent in the second half, but the rebounding played a big role in keeping the game tight. Forward Shauntel Garrett grabbed 11 boards to go with nine points and four assists, while Cooke had seven rebounds.
Yates added 12 points to join Cooke and guard Cyrita Warner in double figures for the T-Birds, as SUU controlled the paint throughout the game.
Hutton had seven points and five boards, while Nina Brunt and Shalee Fackrell combined for nine points off the bench.
Warner started the game on fire, helping SUU grab a nine-point lead after the first half and finished with a season-high 14 points.
Warner saw her improvement as emblematic of the team’s growth.
“We’re starting to cut hard on offense and our intensity is getting there,” Warner said. “We’re a young team but we really boost each other up through down times, and our communication is improving on the court.”
“We talk a lot off the court,” Warner added. “If we can incorporate that into how we play on the court we’ll be fine.”
Forward Jen Snitker led four Lumberjacks in double figures with 14 points and eight rebounds, and Tolbert finished with 12 to go with eight assists. Guard Lindsey Foster had two treys and finished with 10.
The young T-Birds squad now has two impressive home wins in its belt, and will need another strong effort to compete with BYU Tuesday.
The Cougars are currently not ranked, but have been as high as #22 this year and should be a difficult matchup, but Hillock is sure his team will continue to get better, and he likes what he has seen already.
“We have a sign on the wall in the locker room,” Hillock said. “I think I stole it from (Michigan State coach) Tom Izzo. It says ‘Tough teams win tough games,’ and that’s what we talked about in the huddle tonight.“If we play hard good things happen,” he added. “Right now all of