The EWU women’s basketball team (3-14, 16-10) lost to the Southern Utah Thunderbirds (10-7, 16-10) 70-67 in a nail-biter Thursday after losing to the Thunderbirds by 21 earlier this year.

EWU was active on both ends of the floor. The Eagles were able to force 16 turnovers and five blocks while running a full court press.

EWU’s offense was very efficient late in the game while hitting a flurry of three-pointers.

EWU sophomore center Bella Cravens had her second straight double-double with 20 points and 16 rebounds. Cravens said that she feeds off of her team’s energy, and that contributed to her hard work on the court.

“When we have those slumps and need someone to pick us up, I try to be that person for the team,” Cravens said. “If we get this fire in us in the end when we are down by so much, if we just play with that the whole time it’s really scary what we are capable of.”

EWU closed the game on a very effective run at the end, nearly closing a 12-point deficit, but were not able to get that same type of effort for the entirety of the game.

EWU sophomore guard Grace Kirscher’s three-point attempt to tie the game at the buzzer rimmed out.

EWU head coach Wendy Schuller was disappointed with the loss, but said she proud of the effort that her team had over the course of the game.

“We made some plays, and then all of a sudden your juices start flowing,” Schuller said. “I am proud of them for putting us in a position to go to overtime, and the shot was just short.”

EWU hopes to correct some of the errors it had over the course of the game, and come ready to play against Northern Colorado for senior night at EWU.

EWU will take on the Bears on Feb. 29 at Reese Court at approximately 12:05 p.m.