OREM, Utah – Utah Valley women's basketball saw four starters reach double-digit scoring against Weber State, but the Wildcats escaped with a 64-61 win over the Wolverines Wednesday afternoon at the UCCU Center.
 
Junior guard Taylor Gordon scored a team-high 14 for the Wolverines (0-2)  on 6-of-12 shooting against Weber State (2-0). Mariah Seals followed with 12 points, while Sam Lubcke scored 11 and Britta Hall tallied 10 points to round out the top scorers for UVU.
 
"I felt like for three quarters we beat them," said Utah Valley head coach Cathy Nixon. "In the fourth quarter, I thought we weren't tough. They beat us to loose balls and rebounds, and that's what as a young team we're going to focus on and learn from this game."
 
The Wildcats scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to erase UVU's six-point lead after the game's first 30 minutes. They were led by a game-high 30 points from Deeshyra Thomas, who scored nine points in the final period.
 
Utah Valley jumped out to an early 8-2 lead just three and a half minutes into the game. The Wolverines then extended the lead to eight points, 15-7, with 3:41 remaining in the quarter. Weber State ended the opening quarter with an 8-1 run to cut the UVU lead to a 16-15 advantage.
 
The two teams traded baskets, playing to a 20-20 tie with five minutes to play before the break. The Wolverines went on a 7-2 run to close out the second quarter to take a 27-22 lead into halftime.
 
Weber State tied the game 31-31 just four minutes into the third quarter. Utah Valley then went on a 12-3 run to take a 43-34 lead with 3:24 to play in the third. Leading 46-43 with 1:24 to go, UVU's Taylor Gordon and Britta Hall knocked down a couple of unanswered shots to take a 49-43 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
UVU and WSU played to a 54-54 tie with 5:34 to play in the game. The teams went back-and-forth throughout the fourth quarter until Weber State knocked down a three to take a 63-61 lead with 2:20 to play.
 
After a UVU missed shot on the other end, WSU's Zharia Hale knocked down a shot to give the Wildcats a 63-59 lead with 1:30 remaining. UVU's Sam Lubcke hit a shot to cut the WSU lead to just two points, 63-61, with under a minute to play. 
 
The Wolverines committed three fouls to send WSU to the free throw line with two seconds to pay. Weber State's Thomas hit one of the two free throws to give UVU one final possession, which resulted in a missed shot on the other end as time expired.
 
Utah Valley continues non-conference play at Utah on Saturday, Nov. 19. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.