COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Despite having four starters reach double figures in scoring, Utah Valley dropped its contest to SIUE, 71-64, in the opening game of the Air Force Classic at Clune Arena.
 
Junior guard Taylor Gordon led the Wolverine (1-7) quartet with 16 points on 4-of-9 shooting, while also adding five steals and two assists. Following Gordon were teammates Mariah Seals with 13 points, while Jordan Holland added 12 and Sam Lubcke 10.
 
"I think what our team has to learn is toughness," said Utah Valley head coach Cathy Nixon. "We are so inconsistent and we had some possessions where we were really good, and we had some where we were terrible."
 
Gordon quickly gave UVU a lead over SIUE (2-4) with back-to-back buckets at the start of the game. The squad's second leading scorer entering the game, Gordon nailed her first three of the game and hit a jumper in the lane in the first two minutes of play.
 
The Wolverines extended their lead to 19-12 with eight minutes remaining in the first half following a pair of three-pointers from Holland and Hall. Holland finished the half with two threes, while Seals added another in the second to give the Wolverines four of their eight made three-pointers on the night.
 
However, the Cougars responded with an 18-3 run over the next five minutes to take help them take a 31-25 lead into the break. SIUE guard Lauren White, who finished with a game-high 17 points, scored her first four points of the game in the period the give her squad momentum.
 
After SIUE stretched its lead to begin the third quarter, the Wolverines regrouped and went on a 7-2 run capped by a three-pointer from freshman Keana Delos Santos. Santos' lone long-range basket followed a couple of free throws and a layup by Holland to give Utah Valley its last lead, 39-38, which lasted 39 seconds.
 
Moments later, SIUE tied the game at 41 a piece and then White converted back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to spark a 15-5 run during the final four minutes of the third quarter. The triple by White gave the Cougars a lead they never relinquished for the remainder of the contest.
 
"It's just all mental toughness and I'm going to do everything I can to help them build it to try to help us win games," Nixon said.
 
Along with her double-digit scoring night, Seals tallied six assists for her fifth straight game with at least five assists. In addition Seals' assists streak, Gordon extended her own streak with two or more steals to eight games.
 
UVU will now move on to the Air Force Classic consolation game tomorrow against Air Force to finish the two-day tournament. The game is set to start at 1 p.m. at Clune Arena.