The Southern Utah University women’s basketball team completed its final year in the Western Athletic Conference with a strong performance, finishing the 2025-2026 season with a 19-13 overall record and securing one of the top three spots in the conference, according to an April 6 announcement.
This season marked a significant achievement for the Thunderbirds as they exceeded expectations set by preseason rankings. The team was unanimously picked last in the conference’s coaches’ poll but quickly overturned predictions with notable wins over Washington State and Eastern Washington. Head Coach Tracy Mason said: “Overall, I’m just really proud of this group. They came in ready to work in the summer and wanted to change some things around since they weren’t content with the last couple years. They were fighters, and they were a really fun, competitive group to coach.”
Throughout the season, Southern Utah showcased resilience after early setbacks and built momentum through key victories against Cal Poly, New Mexico State, and Nelson University—where they set a program record for three-point shots made in a game. Despite some losses during road trips and late-season challenges against rivals Utah Tech and Utah Valley, SUU maintained an undefeated home streak until midseason.
Individual players also earned recognition for their contributions. Junior Ava Uhrich led both her team and conference in rebounds per game (9.9) while earning First-Team All-WAC honors; she also averaged 14.6 points per game with eleven double-doubles. Sophomore Sierra Chambers topped team scoring at 14.8 points per game along with leading assists (3.8 per game), while junior Brooklyn Fely added strength inside averaging 13.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per contest.
Despite exiting from postseason play after losing to UT Arlington in the WAC Tournament quarterfinals and then falling to Pepperdine University during their second appearance at the Women’s National Invitation Tournament, several players received individual accolades including multiple All-WAC selections.
Looking ahead, Southern Utah will return most of its roster next year as it re-enters Big Sky Conference competition following graduation of only one senior player from this year’s squad. “Next year, we want to stay hungry,” Mason said.”We have to understand that it’s a new conference, and we’re going to be playing new teams.This program is motivated for that.The team wants to build upon what we’ve done and put the work in this summer.”
