EDINBURG, Texas – Utah Valley received a 25-point effort from guard Mariah Seals and double-double from Sam Lubcke, but UT Rio Grande Valley overcame a fourth-quarter deficit for a 64-55 win over the Wolverines Thursday evening at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
 
Seals, who scored 18 of her 25 points in the first half, finished with her season-high in scoring and went 5-of-8 from three-point range to lead UVU (6-14, 1-4 WAC). Meanwhile, Lubcke added 14 points and 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double before the Vaqueros' (14-8, 4-2 WAC) fourth-quarter comeback.
 
After the Vaqueros pulled ahead in the first quarter, the Wolverines used an 8-1 run to regain their lead and take a 17-14 lead into the second. Lubcke's four points capped the run on a bucket inside the paint and free throw, while Taylor Gordon and Jordan Holland chipped in two points each.
 
Following their quarter-ending surge, UVU pushed the lead to 27-14 with a 10-0 run to start the second period, extending the scoring burst to 18-1 since the final minute of the first quarter. Seals hit two of her five three-pointers during that stretch and added a layup, as the Wolverines ended the first half with a 40-30 lead.
 
Utah Valley's 40 first-half points marked the squad's highest scoring half of the season and gave them a 10-point lead at the half.
 
With 5:14 remaining in the game, UTRGV used an 8-0 run to even the score on for the first time since the first half. Following a steal, Shawnte' Goff finished a fastbreak layup on the other end to bring the score to 52-52.
 
After Lubcke reeled in a steal on the next Vaquero possession, she drew a foul and sank the ensuing free throw to give the Wolverines a 53-52 lead with 4:01 left in the game.
 
UTRGV then received a 12-point spark over the next 3:28 from guard Idil Turk, who drained four straight three-pointers for her only points of the night, to pull away in the contest's four minutes.
 
The Vaqueros countered the big performances from Lubcke and Seals with all five starters reaching double figures in scoring. Outside of Turk, Bernesha Peters' had a team-high 16 points, Tristan Muprhy and Hild Kjartansdottir tallied 11 and Shawnte' Goff finished with 10.
 
Despite UTRGV's comeback, the Wolverines won the battle in three-point shooting percentage behind a 46.2 percent night from long range. On defense, UVU held the Vaqueros to 31.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
 
However, the Vaqueros grabbed 18 offensive rebounds which they turned into a 24-8 advantage in second chance points over the Wolverines to help them erase the fourth-quarter deficit.
 
Utah Valley will continue it's two-game WAC road gauntlet with a trip to Las Cruces, N.M. for Saturday's contest at back-to-back defending WAC champion New Mexico State. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. MT.