OREM, Utah – Mariah Seals scored a career-high 33 points as Utah Valley University erased a 19-point deficit to defeat San Francisco, 94-88, in overtime on Monday at the UCCU Center. The comeback marks the largest come-from-behind win in program history.

Seals scored 24 points in the fourth quarter and overtime combined, to help the Wolverines earn their fifth straight win. The 5-1 start is the team's best since the 2007-08 season when UVU started 9-0.

"We played really distracted in the first half, and in the second half we changed our focus and it worked for us. We increased our pressure and put them back on their heels in the fourth quarter, and then we started to take over," head coach Cathy Nixon said. "When Mariah was able to get to the rim, she changed the tone of the game, and that we weren't going to settle. Mariah is so passionate, she has a relentless commitment to winning, and she was going to do everything she could to see this game through, and the shots fell for her. In the last few years, we have experienced close losses, and it has been very painful. We have not forgotten about those games. For us to come from behind and take a game from a very good San Francisco team, is huge for us and this program."

The Wolverines (5-1) trailed by 18 with 7:02 left in the game when Seals started the comeback with back-to-back 3-pointers. The Dons (2-2) led by 11, 71-60, with 3:35 to go before Seals ran off seven straight points to get UVU within four with 1:44 remaining.
 
Down eight with 36 seconds left, Deijah Blanks hit a three and was fouled, converting on a 4-point play to make it 75-71. After USF's Zhane Dikes went 1-of-2 from the line, Seals knocked down her third trey of the quarter to cut the USF lead to two, 76-74.
 
Following a timeout, Taylor Gordon stole the inbounds pass and with time winding down found Karlee Norris for a game-tying layup to force overtime.
 
The teams traded 3-pointers to open overtime before Seals took over again, knocking down a go-ahead three to give Utah Valley its first lead since the first quarter.  Dikes hit a three to tie the game again, at 82-82, before Seals scored on a layup and was fouled and after hitting the free throw, UVU again led by three, 85-82.

Gordon hit a backbreaking jumper to beat the shot clock with 36 seconds left, pushing a two-point lead to four, 87-83. The Wolverines made 7-of-8 from the line over the final 27 seconds to hold on and complete the improbable comeback.
 
"I was just trying to be the leader, I knew we were all low in emotion, and we needed to pick it up. I put a lot of pressure on myself, and I wanted to be aggressive and build confidence in us, and our team had faith in me to make those big shots for them," Mariah Seals said.  "We know from experience what close losses feel like, and we have been working on closing these tight games, and feel like we played as hard as we possibly can, and that has resulted in wins for us."
 
In addition to Seal's 33 (five coming from beyond the arc), Blanks had a career-high 20 points and MaWhinney had 22 points. Sam Loggins and Taylor Gordon each had five points, Rhaiah Spooner-Knight had four, Patrice Toston chipped in three points and Karlee Norris had the solo game-tying layup to round out the Wolverine scoring. Blanks, MaWhinney and Gordon shared a team-high four rebounds apiece. Seals also tallied five assists on the night.

San Francisco's Taylor Proctor had a career high 39 points on the night, while Dikes had 13 and Rachel Howard had 17. Proctor also led the Dons in rebounds with nine on the night. 
 
Utah Valley shot a season-high 50.9 percent from the field, and 42.9 percent from beyond the arc (12-of-28). The Wolverines got to the free-throw line 36 times (26-for-36) and had 29 points off the bench.
 
UVU will travel to Reno to participate in the Nugget Classic, where they will see Nevada on Friday, and Alabama on Saturday.