CEDAR CITY, Utah – In a game with eight ties and 10 lead changes Sacramento State held Southern Utah scoreless over the last three minutes and 39 seconds of the game and made five free throws over that stretch to pull out a 69-67 win on Saturday night.

Sacramento State (3-10, 1-1 Big Sky) picked up its first road win of the season and earned some revenge against Southern Utah (7-4, 1-1 Big Sky), who beat the Hornets three times last season, including eliminating them from the Big Sky Tournament.

Neither team led by more than seven points in the game, and with 3:39 remaining in the second half Marquelle Funk made 1-of-2 free throws to put Southern Utah up 67-64. The Hornets then held Southern Utah to 0-of-5 shooting from the field for the remainder of the game, and though Sacramento State was also 0-of-3 from the field, the team was able to get to the free throw line six times, making five shots.

Offensive rebounds were key in the Hornet rally as, on one possession, the team missed a pair of shots but grabbed two offensive rebounds and eventually got two free throw makes from sophomore Brianna Burgos to tie and take a one point lead with 33 seconds left. The visitors forced a missed shot on the ensuing T-Bird possession and senior Fantasia Hilliard grabbed the rebound and was quickly fouled.

She made 1-of-2 shots to put the Hornets up two with five seconds left. A desperate 3-point attempt by SUU's Desiree Jackson missed at the buzzer to give the Hornets the win.

Sacramento State put together another strong defensive performance to hold a second consecutive opponent below 70 points. Much of the Hornet defensive success came from 31 forced turnovers and on the offensive end of the floor with 21 offensive rebounds. The overall rebounds were also even at 36-36 despite the Southern Utah height advantage.

The Thunderbirds led by a point, 40-39, at halftime as the Hornets rallied to win a game in which they trailed at halftime for the first time this season. Sacramento State scored the first five points of the second half before SUU caught back up and took a game-high six point advantage at 56-50 with 11:28 to play. A 6-0 Hornet run tied the game and neither team by led by more than three points for the remainder of the contest.

Southern Utah outshot Sacramento State 59% to 31% but attempted 24 fewer shots and shot 11 fewer free throws. The Thunderbirds shot 71% in the first half but just 45% in the second half as the Hornets contested more shots in the paint. The T-Birds also had just six offensive rebounds as the Hornets had a 17-4 edge in second chance points.

Sophomore Hallie Gennett made 4-of-5 free throws and hit three 3-pointers to lead the Hornets with 13 points while Burgos also hit a trio of threes and had 11 points. Hilliard had nine points and six assists and sophomore Gretchen Harrigan had eight points and a team-high six rebounds and five steals.

Southern Utah started the game 0-7 from the field and had seven turnovers in the first three minutes. Furthermore, Sacramento State had attempted 10 shots before the Thunderbirds took their first shot more than three minutes into the game.

The Hornets led for most of the first half, taking a seven point lead at 30-23 with 5:26 remaining in the opening period. The Thunderbirds ended the half on a 17-9 run, making seven of their last eight shot attempts and hitting two free throws.

Southern Utah's leading scorer and rebounder, senior Hailey Mandelko, left the game with an apparent knee injury just two minutes into the contest and did not return. The Thunderbirds were led by 6-4 center Brenna Gates, who scored 22 points on 11-of-14 shooting and had seven rebounds.

Sacramento State finished 14-of-22 from the free-throw line and was 11-of-42 from 3-point range while Southern Utah was 7-of-11 at the line and 6-of-11 behind the arc. In all the Thunderbirds did not make a field goal over the last 5:06 of the game.

The Hornets return home for the first time since Dec. 19 next week, hosting defending Big Sky champion North Dakota at 7 p.m. Thursday and Northern Colorado at 2 p.m. next Saturday in The Nest.