LAS VEGAS—The Utah Valley University women's basketball team couldn't overcome an early deficit as the Wolverines dropped a 58-44 decision to top-seeded New Mexico State Friday afternoon in the semifinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament at Orleans Arena.
 
The Wolverines wrap up their season with a 16-15 overall record. New Mexico State improves to 24-4 on the season and advances to Saturday's WAC Tournament championship game.
 
Utah Valley fell behind early as the Aggies built a 12-2 lead to end the first quarter of play. The Wolverines battled back to cut the NMSU lead to just six points on two different occasions in the second quarter, but NM State responded with an 11-2 run to secure a 25-10 advantage with 3:16 remaining in the half.  The Aggies then took 27-14 lead into the break.
 
After extending its lead to as many as 20 points in the third quarter, Utah Valley rallied in the fourth, using a 14-4 run to cut the NMSU lead to just 10 points, 53-43, with 1:37 to play. UVU couldn't get any closer and ran out of time as NM State secured the win.
 
Patrice Toston scored a game-high 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. The senior guard also knocked down an impressive 9-of-10 free throws on the day. She also pulled down five rebounds in 37 minutes of play.
 
Sam Loggins was also in double figures with 13 points, knocking down 5-of-9 shots from the field. She was a perfect 3-for-3 at the charity stripe and pulled down four rebounds.  Mariah Seals scored six points with five rebounds, while Georgia Agnew had three points with a game-high seven rebounds.
 
Utah Valley connected on 33 percent (14-of-43) of its shots from the floor. The Wolverines connected on 1-of-13 shots from long range. NM State hit 40 percent (24-of-60) of its shots from the floor, including a 5-of-14 mark from beyond the arc.
 
New Mexico State advances to Saturday's championship game against the winner of today's other semifinal matchup between No. 2 UT Rio Grande Valley and No. 3 CSU Bakersfield.