2024–25 Southern Utah Thunderbirds women's basketball team

The 2024–25 Southern Utah Thunderbirds women's basketball team represented Southern Utah University during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Thunderbirds, who were led by seventh-year head coach Tracy Mason, played their home games at America First Event Center in Cedar City, Utah as members of the Western Athletic Conference.

2024–25 Southern Utah Thunderbirds women's basketball
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Record	9–21 (7–9 WAC)
Head coach	Tracy Mason (7th season)
Associate head coach	Allyson Fasnacht
Assistant coaches	Jay Johnson Hailey Ferry
Home arena	America First Event Center
Seasons ← 2023–24 2025–26 →

2024–25 WAC women's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Grand Canyon †	16	–	0		1.000			32	–	3		.914
Tarleton	10	–	6		.625			20	–	14		.588
UT Arlington	10	–	6		.625			18	–	14		.563
Abilene Christian	9	–	7		.563			22	–	13		.629
Utah Valley	9	–	7		.563			19	–	13		.594
California Baptist	9	–	7		.563			12	–	19		.387
Southern Utah	7	–	9		.438			9	–	21		.300
Utah Tech	1	–	15		.063			6	–	25		.194
Seattle	1	–	15		.063			4	–	26		.133
† 2025 WAC tournament winner

Previous season

The Thunderbirds finished the 2023–24 season 8–22, 6–14 in WAC play, to finish in a tie for eighth place.^[1] They were defeated by UT Arlington in the first round of the WAC tournament.^[2]

Preseason

On October 16, 2024, the WAC released their preseason coaches poll. Southern Utah was picked to finish fifth in the WAC regular season.^[3]

Preseason rankings

WAC preseason poll

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Grand Canyon	59 (4)
2	California Baptist	58 (4)
3	UT Arlington	53 (1)
4	Abilene Christian	37
5	Southern Utah	33
6	Tarleton State	28
7	Utah Tech	24
8	Utah Valley	17
9	Seattle	15

Source:^[3]

Preseason All-WAC Team

Preseason All-WAC Team

Player	Position	Year
Daylani Ballena	Guard	Graduate student

Source:^[3]

Roster

2024–25 Southern Utah Thunderbirds women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown G 1 Kortney Doman 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Fr Crane Union High School Crane, Oregon G 2 Bella Hasan 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Fr Kamiak High School Mukilteo, Washington G 3 Sierra Chambers 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Fr San Ramon Valley High School Danville, California G 4 Aishah Anis 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Sr Launceston Church Grammar School Launceston, Australia G 5 Charli Kay 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) So Marist Regional College Smithton, Australia G 10 Maria Garcia 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) So FC Barcelona Bàsquet Barcelona, Spain C 13 Ashley Banks 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Jr Boise High School Boise, Idaho G 14 Sydney Gandy 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) GS Loyola Marymount Long Beach, California G 22 Daylani Ballena 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) GS Kentridge High School Kent, Washington F 23 Lexi Bull 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) GS Tarleton State Pocatello, Idaho F 24 Jaeden Brown 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Sr Utah Valley Draper, Utah F 30 Zoey Davis 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr Bay High School Panama City, Florida F 32 Denver Anderson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Fr Mount Zion High School Mount Zion, Illinois G 34 Samantha Johnston 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) GS Cedar High School Cedar City, Utah F 35 Olivia Malafu 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Fr Kapaa High School Kapaʻa, Hawaii F 44 Ava Uhrich 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) So Pinewood School Burlingame, California	Head coach Tracy Mason (Saint Mary's) Assistant coach(es) Allyson Fasnacht (Liberty) Jay Johnson (Saint Mary's) Hailey Ferry (Southern Utah) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: March 13, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 30, 2024* 6:30 pm		Ottawa (AZ)	W 66–47	–	13 – Gandy	7 – Ballena	6 – Uhrich	America First Event Center (556) Cedar City, UT
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2024* 11:00 am, ESPN+		at Utah	L 52–105	0–1	15 – Chambers	5 – Uhrich	4 – Johnston	Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, UT
November 9, 2024* 1:30 pm, ESPN+		at Jacksonville State WAC/C-USA Challenge	L 58–77	0–2	16 – Ballena	8 – Uhrich	6 – Ballena	Pete Mathews Coliseum (519) Jacksonville, AL
November 13, 2024* 7:00 pm		at Fresno State	L 59–67	0–3	13 – Gandy	7 – Brown	5 – Tied	Save Mart Center (887) Fresno, CA
November 16, 2024* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Idaho	L 53–66	0–4	12 – Gandy	8 – Bull	2 – Tied	America First Event Center (355) Cedar City, UT
November 20, 2024* 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Saint Joseph's	L 53–82	0–5	12 – Ballena	3 – Tied	4 – Gandy	America First Event Center (369) Cedar City, UT
November 22, 2024* 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Bethesda	W 86–45	1–5	15 – Gandy	6 – Tied	6 – Tied	America First Event Center (349) Cedar City, UT
November 29, 2024* 4:00 pm		vs. Portland Nugget Classic	L 63–77	1–6	22 – Uhrich	8 – Uhrich	4 – Tied	Lawlor Events Center (1,303) Reno, NV
November 30, 2024* 2:00 pm, MWN		at Nevada Nugget Classic	L 54–72	1–7	21 – Gandy	6 – Brown	2 – Anderson	Lawlor Events Center  Reno, NV
December 1, 2024* 12:00 pm		vs. Central Michigan Nugget Classic	L 61–70	1–8	16 – Gandy	13 – Brown	5 – Gandy	Lawlor Events Center  Reno, NV
December 7, 2024* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Colorado	L 59–76	1–9	11 – Tied	5 – Brown	3 – Tied	CU Events Center (2,280) Boulder, CO
December 16, 2024* 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Sam Houston WAC/C-USA Challenge	L 61–72	1–10	11 – Ballena	11 – Brown	2 – Tied	America First Event Center (266) Cedar City, UT
December 20, 2024* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Park–Gilbert	W 92–42	2–10	28 – Uhrich	12 – Bull	7 – Gandy	America First Event Center (201) Cedar City, UT
December 28, 2024* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Cal Poly	L 58–66	2–11	17 – Uhrich	5 – Brown	7 – Gandy	America First Event Center (309) Cedar City, UT
WAC regular season
January 4, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Grand Canyon	L 57–75	2–12 (0–1)	12 – Bull	9 – Bull	4 – Ballena	America First Event Center (346) Cedar City, UT
January 9, 2025 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Tarleton State	L 53–64	2–13 (0–2)	13 – Ballena	5 – Tied	6 – Ballena	America First Event Center (282) Cedar City, UT
January 11, 2025 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at UT Arlington	L 54–78	2–14 (0–3)	11 – Ballena	9 – Bull	4 – Gandy	College Park Center (867) Arlington, TX
January 18, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Seattle	W 61–57	3–14 (1–3)	15 – Uhrich	9 – Bull	6 – Tied	America First Event Center (414) Cedar City, UT
January 23, 2025 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Grand Canyon	L 51–79	3–15 (1–4)	13 – Ballena	6 – Bull	4 – Gandy	Global Credit Union Arena (698) Phoenix, AZ
January 25, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at California Baptist	W 64–63	4–15 (2–4)	20 – Ballena	16 – Bull	5 – Tied	Fowler Events Center (426) Riverside, CA
January 30, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN+		UT Arlington	L 58–62	4–16 (2–5)	16 – Johnston	12 – Bull	4 – Tied	America First Event Center  Cedar City, UT
February 1, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Tarleton State	L 53–74	4–17 (2–6)	15 – Uhrich	4 – Banks	3 – Tied	America First Event Center (376) Cedar City, UT
February 6, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN+		California Baptist	L 66–69	4–18 (2–7)	18 – Johnston	9 – Bull	4 – Bull	America First Event Center (455) Cedar City, UT
February 8, 2025 12:00 pm, ESPN+		at Abilene Christian	L 52–74	4–19 (2–8)	24 – Uhrich	5 – Ballena	4 – Johnston	Moody Coliseum (960) Abilene, TX
February 13, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Utah Tech	W 69–66	5–19 (3–8)	18 – Ballena	8 – Tied	4 – Johnston	Burns Arena (990) St. George, UT
February 15, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Utah Valley	W 72–63	6–19 (4–8)	27 – Uhrich	10 – Bull	4 – Tied	Lockhart Arena (682) Orem, UT
February 19, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Abilene Christian	W 49–46	7–19 (5–8)	19 – Ballena	14 – Bull	3 – Ballena	America First Event Center (480) Cedar City, UT
February 27, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Utah Tech	W 78–51	8–19 (6–8)	16 – Chambers	8 – Uhrich	7 – Ballena	America First Event Center (536) Cedar City, UT
March 1, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Utah Valley	L 48–53	8–20 (6–9)	13 – Gandy	10 – Brown	3 – Gandy	America First Event Center (570) Cedar City, UT
March 6, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Seattle	W 66–51	9–20 (7–9)	19 – Ballena	7 – Uhrich	5 – Gandy	Redhawk Center (212) Seattle, WA
WAC tournament
March 12, 2025 3:30 pm, ESPN+	(7)	vs. (2) Tarleton State Quarterfinals	L 40–59	9–21	9 – Tied	6 – Tied	3 – Johnston	Orleans Arena (995) Paradise, NV
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain.

Sources:^[4][5]