BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—Despite a late comeback effort, the Utah Valley University women's basketball team dropped a 61-54 decision to CSU Bakersfield on Saturday in the Icardo Center.
 
Sophomore Deijah Blanks paced the Wolverines with 11 points while Rebeeca MaWhinney and Mariah Seals led on the boards with eight rebounds apiece. MaWhinnet also picked up 10 points on the night while Seals and Georgia Agnew each had eight rebounds apiece.
 
Batabe Zempare led the Roadrunners (6-16, 3-4 WAC) with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Erika Williams also had 12 points on the night.
 
"I thought our girls brought good effort. We turned the ball over a lot, and they took 14 more shots than we did. That hurts us, especially combined with their fourth quarter scoring," head coach Cathy Nixon said. "I'm proud of our effort tonight, but its disappointing to not come sway with a sweep on this road trip. We will return home and prepare for a big week at home."
 
CSU Bakersfield opened the first quarter with back-to-back three-pointers from Addi Walters and Alyssa Shannon to lead 6-2 early, but layups from Toston and Blanks tied things up at 8-8 halfway through the quarter. The teams went back and forth and headed into the second quarter tied at 12-12.
 
With a UVU lead at 19-17, Walters knocked down another trey and propelled the CSUB to 19-17. Agnew laid it in CSUB took off on a 10-0 run to lead 29-19 with just over one minute remaining in the half. Deijah Blanks busted the run with a jumper from just inside the arc, followed by a last-second three-pointer to cut the deficit 29-24 at the break.
 
The Wolverines were able to limit CSU Bakersfield to just nine third quarter points. With under two minutes remaining in the period, MaWhinney hit a huge three-pointer to get within one at 38-37, when Seals knocked down a pair of free throws to take their first lead since the first quarter, and head into the fourth at 39-38.
 
Two MaWhinney free-throws and layups from Loggins and Agnew furthered the Wolverine lead to 45-42, but a Dajy Vines tip and an Erika Williams three-pointer delivered the advantage to the Runners at 47-45. The trey kicked off another 13-0 run for the Runners, capped by three-pointers from Batabe Zempare and Addi Walters, and CSUB took a 56-45 lead with 3:15 left to play.
 
A pair of Agnew free-throws broke up the run, when Erika Williams knocked down another three to lead 59-47. MaWhinney knocked down another big three to cut the deficit 59-50. The Runners responded with a Zempare layup to lead 61-50. A last effort layup from Norris and a pair of Agnew free throws with 12 seconds remaining were not enough as the Wolverines dropped a 61-54 decision to CSU Bakersfield.
 
Utah Valley will return home for three straight home games starting with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on Feb. 4 at 11 a.m. MT in the PE Building.