KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Utah Valley women's basketball team suffered a stunning 66-63 loss to Missouri-Kansas City at the buzzer on Saturday afternoon at the Swinney Recreation Center.
 
After the Wolverines (6-12, 1-2 WAC) climbed back from an eight-point first half deficit, the Kangaroos (6-11, 1-3 WAC) ended the game on India Johnson's buzzer-beater from near halfcourt that banked off the glass. Utah Valley completes its two-game road trip 1-1 in WAC play.
 
UMKC's late heroics overshadowed a stellar 20-point performance by UVU guard Taylor Gordon, who scored 16 second-half points to help Utah Valley even the score three times in the final 11:48 of the contest and take the lead once. The effort marked Gordon's fourth 20-point game in the past five outings, as she went 6-of-14 shooting on the afternoon to go along with five steals, three rebounds and two assists.
 
UVU junior guard Mariah Seals enjoyed her best game in conference play this year with 18 points, fueled by a perfect 5-of-5 from long-range, while adding two assists. Center Sam Lubcke, who leads the WAC in field-goal percentage, also put forth a perfect 3-of-3 shooting day to finish with 10 points as the third of four Wolverines in double figures.
 
Freshman Gabrielle Leos, who made her fifth consecutive start for UVU, notched her first career double-digit scoring performance with 11 points. The rookie guard drained a new career-best three three-pointers to help lift the squad to an 8-4 advantage from beyond the arc.
 
Trailing 35-27 at the half, UVU pulled together with an 8-1 run to open up the third quarter behind a layup and free throw by Gordon and a deep Leos three-point bucket. Lubcke added a layup during the run and later finished a layup off a nice pass from Gordon to even the score, 43-43 with 1:48 left in the period.
 
With under two minutes remaining, Seals nailed a pull-up jumper at the top of the three-point line to cut the Wolverine deficit to 63-62. The three-pointer sparked a 4-0 run spanning the next 37 seconds, which ended with Gordon's eighth and final free throw to bring the score to a deadlock at 63-63 in the final 1:05 of play.
 
Utah Valley will return home to host CSU-Bakersfield on Jan. 21 in the program's first-ever ESPN3 broadcast appearance on campus, while it also marks the official dedication of the PE Gym as Lockhart Arena in honor of the late Rebecca D. Lockhart. A pre-game ceremony will be held to honor Utah's first female speaker of the house prior to the game's tip-off at 7 p.m.