Box Score LAS VEGAS – NM State's season came to an end on Wednesday night in heartbreaking fashion after a miracle three point shot by Southern Utah's Cherita Daugherty found the net at the buzzer, sending the Thunderbirds to the semifinal round on Friday.
 
"This season is not defined by that last shot or this loss," Head Coach Jody Adams said after the game. "It's been defined by these hearts that have been changed on this team. A group of gals chose to believe in me and my staff and each other. These young women are champions."
 
The Aggies led the Thunderbirds for 32 minutes and carried a 16-point lead at the half. Third-quarter offensive struggles by the Aggies allowed the Thunderbirds to climb back and make it a game heading into the final 10 minutes of action. The Aggies were able to regather themselves in the final quarter, hitting on 50% of their shots in the final ten minutes of play. The Aggies played perfect defense on the last possession of the game, doing all they could to make sure the T-Birds didn't get a good look from three. Sometimes, the other team throws up a shot and prays it goes in, and in this case, it did.
 
First Half
Southern Utah won the opening tip and scored on the ensuing possession with a layup by Lizzy Williamson. Ashlee Strawbridge scored the first points of the night for the Aggies with a pullup jumper just inside the three-point arc. Tied at five a piece with 6:14 left in the quarter, Tayelin Grays drove the lane and drew a foul, making the layup in the process for an and-one opportunity.
 
Grays later extended the Aggies' lead to seven with a triple from the right wing for her second bucket of the game. NM State's defense was locking down the thunderbird scorers holding them to just three makes in the first quarter for a 23% clip. Tayelin Grays was owning the T-Birds in the first quarter – she scored the last six points of the quarter for the Aggies bringing her total to 12. After one, the Aggies led 20-10.
 
An Ashlee Strawbridge layup and Molly Kaiser jumper gave the Aggies a 24-12 lead to open the second quarter of play. NM State's defense continued to give Southern Utah's offense problems in the second period. The Thunderbirds went 2-12 in the second quarter and were only shooting 20% as a team for the game. The Aggies didn't have as productive of a second quarter offensively as they did in the first period. The team shot just 3-14 in the period but still had a 40% shooting clip at the half. After 20 minutes of play, NM State led Southern Utah, 30-14.
 
Tayelin Grays was leading all scorers in points with 13 on 5-8 shooting, including a made three. Molly Kaiser had seven points in the first half while adding two assists to her first-half stat line. Lizzy Williamson was the Thunderbirds leading scorer for the half with four points on 2-5 shooting.
 
Second Half
Southern Utah kicked off the second half by making their first two shot attempts, cutting the Aggies' lead down to 12. After seven straight misses to start the half, NM State finally got on the board with 5:03 on the clock after a Sylena Peterson reverse layup ending a 6-0 Thunderbird run.
 
Tomekia Wittman put Southern Utah back to within single digits of the Aggies with a three-pointer from the top of the key making it a 32-24 ball game. She later hit another three with just over two minutes on the clock, cutting the Aggies' lead down to two, forcing Jody Adams to burn her second timeout.
 
Sylena Peterson ended a 10-0 Thunderbird scoring run with a baseline jumper giving NM State a 34-30 lead. The Thunderbirds were able to take its first lead since the opening frame after a foul was called on a three-point attempt with just over 12 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Soufia Inoussa gave the Aggies their lead back after knocking down a pair of shots from the charity stripe sending the Aggies into the final quarter with a 36-35 advantage. 
 
Heading into the final quarter of play, Southern Utah was carrying all the momentum having outscored the Aggies 21-6 in the previous quarter. Back-to-back and-one opportunities gave the Thunderbirds a five-point lead in the opening minute of the fourth. Soufia Inoussa hit a running floater inside the nine-minute mark to bring the Aggies back within three.
 
With 7:14 left in the game, Molly Kaiser hit her signature pull-up jumper from the top of the key bringing the Aggies back to within one. On the next possession, Kaiser pulled up again from the mid-range and drilled a shot, drawing a foul in the process to send her to the line for an and-one opportunity. Kaiser would hit the free throw and retake the lead for the Aggies, giving them a 45-43 advantage. Back-to-back triples by Soufia Inoussa tied the game at 52 a piece after Southern Utah was able to take the lead on the previous two possessions.
 
Trying to hang on to their two-point lead, Ashlee Strawbridge took a feed from Tayelin Grays and decided to drive to the basket. With a defender draped all over her, she put up a shot that took a long roll around the rim but found the bottom of the net and drew a foul in the process sending her to the line for a three-point play.
 
Heading down the final stretch, the Aggies were hoping to hold onto their three-point lead. With a minute remaining, Cherita Daugherty drove to the cup and made a tough layup to bring the T-Birds back to within one. The Aggies were able to take a two-point lead after Southern Utah was forced to foul, hoping for some misses from the line. 61-59 was the score with three seconds remaining and possession sitting with Southern Utah. The Thunderbirds were going to need a miracle if they were going to win this game, and a miracle they got as Cherita Daugherty threw up a one-handed heave from five feet behind the arc and somehow got the shot to fall as the buzzer sounded. Southern Utah takes this one, 62-61.