CEDAR CITY, Utah (Interstat) — Ava Uhrich scored 24 points and Southern Utah withstood a furious fourth-quarter rally by Tarleton State to secure a 76-69 victory in a women’s NCAA Division I basketball game Wednesday night at Centrum Arena.

The Thunderbirds, who improved to 18-8 overall, led by as many as 19 points in the third quarter before the Texans mounted a desperate comeback attempt that fell short in the final minute. Southern Utah avenged a pair of regular-season losses to Tarleton State, including a 59-57 defeat just 11 days prior.

Uhrich, a 6-foot guard from Burlingame, California, was the catalyst for the Thunderbirds, adding six assists to her game-high point total while playing 34 minutes. Her backcourt partner, Sierra Chambers, contributed 15 points and five assists, and forward Devyn Kiernan added 17 points, including a critical three-pointer early in the fourth quarter that stemmed a Tarleton State run.

The game’s decisive stretch came in the final two minutes of the first half and the opening minutes of the third quarter, allowing Southern Utah to build an insurmountable cushion. Leading 30-21 with under two minutes to play in the second quarter, the Thunderbirds closed the half on a 10-0 run. Uhrich scored six points during the surge, including a layup with just over a minute remaining, sending Southern Utah into halftime with a 40-21 advantage.

The Thunderbirds then opened the third quarter with a 9-4 spurt, capped by a Brooklyn Fely layup off a Uhrich assist, to extend their lead to 49-25 with 7:52 left in the period. Tarleton State struggled offensively for the first three quarters, shooting just 38% from the floor and committing 11 turnovers, which Southern Utah converted into 14 points.

Jakoriah Long led the Texans with 20 points and five assists. Gia Adams scored 14 points and Kyriana Jones added 11 for Tarleton State, which fell to 12-13. The Texans’ offense, which managed only 21 points in the first half, exploded for 31 in the final period but could never close the gap to fewer than five points.

The most important sequence of the game occurred in the final 30 seconds with Southern Utah clinging to a 74-69 lead. After a Long three-pointer cut the deficit to five with 17 seconds left, the Thunderbirds inbounded the ball to Kiernan, who was immediately fouled. The sophomore from Orange, California, calmly sank both free throws with 13 seconds remaining to push the lead back to seven and effectively seal the victory. Those free throws were part of a 15-for-26 night at the line for Southern Utah, while Tarleton State went 9-for-13.

Southern Utah’s efficiency proved decisive. The Thunderbirds shot 50% from the field (28 of 56) and 41.7% from three-point range (5 of 12), posting an offensive rating of 108.0 points per 100 possessions. Tarleton State, despite a more frantic pace with 72 possessions, managed only a 95.6 offensive rating, shooting 43.5% overall and 27.3% from beyond the arc.

Defensively, the Thunderbirds dominated the interior, outscoring the Texans 38-28 in the paint. Tarleton State’s 6-foot-6 center Elodie Lutbert from Martinique provided a rim-protecting presence with three blocks and nine points, but Southern Utah’s balanced attack and ability to break the Texans’ pressure in the fourth quarter were enough to secure the win.

The victory solidifies Southern Utah’s position in the conference standings as the regular season enters its final weeks. The Thunderbirds will host Abilene Christian on Sunday. Tarleton State, which has lost three of its last four, looks to rebound on the road at Utah Tech on Saturday.