Broncos Upset No. 16 Thunderbirds

Wednesday, February 22

Cedar City, Utah

7 p.m. MT

Boise State

Southern Utah

2/22/2023 10:00:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics

CEDAR CITY, Utah – Boise State gymnastics handed Southern Utah its first loss at home in more than two years, downing the 16th-ranked Thunderbirds 196.525-195.525 Wednesday night at America First Event Center. The score marked a season best for the Broncos.

Fresh off her 10.000 performance on bars against BYU (Feb. 17), junior Emily Lopez executed another near-flawless routine on the apparatus during the first rotation, earning a 9.950. Junior Courtney Blackson tied her career-high score with a 9.925, and the team tied its season-best mark with an event total of 49.175.

Entering the third rotation on floor, Boise State trailed Southern Utah 98.350-98.275. Each of the five scoring Broncos achieved marks of 9.800-or-better, as the team tallied a total of 49.225.

Meanwhile, the Thunderbirds were forced to count two falls on beam in their rotation total (47.925), and the Broncos reclaimed the lead.

Quotables

"The SUU Meet for a Cause was such a special night for my family and my team. I'm so proud of what we accomplished." -head coach Tina Bird
"We achieved our two goals for the evening – we set our season-high score and we came away with the W." -Bird
"Emily Lopez had another great night, winning two events!" -Bird
"The floor squad is steadily improving each meet. It was a fun rotation with the momentum building each routine." -Bird

Top Broncos

Junior Courtney Blackson registered a 9.925 on bars, tying her career-high performance.
Senior Erin Elkabchi tied her season-high beam score of 9.800.
Freshman Kylee Hamby's 9.850 on bars tied her career best.
Freshman Sydney Kho matched her top mark this season on vault with a 9.725 performance.
Junior Talia Little tied her season-high bars score with a 9.800.
Sophomore Elaina McGovern's 9.875 tied her season best on floor.
Sophomore Alyssa Vulaj secured a season-best 9.875 on vault.

Notables

Wednesday's Meet for a Cause was dedicated to Boise State head coach Tina Bird's grandson, Baker, who was born with congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV).
The Broncos are the first team to defeat the Thunderbirds at home since Feb. 12, 2021 (No. 11 BYU).
Boise State notched a season-best score of 196.525. The Broncos have surpassed the 196.000 threshold in four-consecutive meets.
Boise State tied its season-high score on bars (49.175).
Junior Emily Lopez was the event champion on both bars (9.950) and beam (9.900).

What's Next – Boise State faces Minnesota in Minneapolis, Saturday, March 4 at 3 p.m. MT.