PORTLAND, Ore. – Utah Valley senior guard Mariah Seals scored a game-high 20 points against Portland, but the Pilots escaped with a 71-64 overtime victory over the Wolverines Tuesday night at the Chiles Center.
 
Seals, who finished with a new season high in scoring by a UVU (0-2) player this year, went a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point range.  Despite Seals' perfect night from the three-point line, the Pilots (3-0) overcame a 10-point lead held by the Wolverines at the end of the first half. The unblemished night from beyond the arc for Seals marked the second time in the last two seasons the UVU floor general has finished perfect from downtown with at least four made three-pointers in a game.

"I was proud of our effort tonight," said Utah Valley head coach Cathy Nixon. "I thought we were really good on some possessions, especially defensively. For our team's success we have to play defense and rebound, which I thought this one ultimately came down to. We've been saying all season long that if we're going to win we have to win the rebounding war. I really love the way the team played hard tonight, but to get a win on the road you have to be solid and we had a few breakdowns."
 
 Joining Seals in the double-digit scoring mark, senior Taylor Christensen poured in 16 points in the defeat. Christensen's second double-digit performance of the year gave her and backcourt teammate Seals a combined 36 points, giving them more than half of Utah Valley's scoring on the evening.
 
A huge 22-point second quarter for the Wolverines helped the squad take a 35-25 lead into the halftime. With their second-quarter offensive outburst, UVU tallied the highest scoring quarter by a Portland opponent in a single quarter this season.
 
UVU went on a 5-2 run at the start the second period, sparked by junior guard Britta Spencer nailing a three pointer of the game from the right corner seven seconds into the period. Seals added a driving layup inside for her fifth point of the night to stretch UVU's lead to 18-13 with 8:25 to go in the period.
 
Christensen converted an and-one play with 6:57 in the half, which pushed the Wolverine scoring surge and extended their advantage to 20-15. On UVU's next possession following a Portland basket, Christensen hit a pull-up jumper at the elbow for her fourth straight UVU point to give UVU a 23-17 lead.
 
The Wolverines continued their onslaught of scoring with another 6-2 surge in the final 2:30 minutes of the first half. Seals scored her eighth point with a three at the top of the arc, while Spencer and Leos drained a trio of free throws before the halftime break.
 
Portland took flight at the start of the second half, beginning the third quarter with a 7-2 scoring spurt during the first 4:36 of the period. Guard Josie Matz drained a two-point shot and center Sara Zaragoza got inside for a layup to open up the scoring, before Quinlan capped the run with a three-pointer.
 
Freshman forward Ally Bates, who scored the first points of her UVU career in the contest, helped Utah Valley weather the Pilot storm with a pair of three-point buckets within a one-minute, 25-second span. The two three-pointers gave the Australian native a personal 6-2 run, while it stretched the Wolverine lead to nine at 43-34 with 3:32 to go in the third.
 
The Wolverines continued to be led by their senior backcourt leaders in the final frame, as Seals tallied seven points and Christensen added five to account for the squad's only points in the quarter and two-point lead with 1:31 in regulation.
 
Portland guard Maddie Mulheim scored her team's final five points in regulation, including a pair of game-tying free throws to event the score at 59-59. Portland took its first lead of the game since the opening quarter at 62-59 with a three from the left side.
 
Seals responded with a three at the left wing as the shot clock was expiring to even things at 62-62. Sophomore guard Gabrielle Leos brought the Wolverines to within at 67-64 with a running floater on the left baseline with 1:33 remaining in overtime.
 
Forced to foul, UVU sent Portland's Rachelle Owens to the line with 15 seconds remaining, who missed on two attempts at the charity stripe before the Pilots grabbed a rebound that led to her draining her next two free throws to hold off a Wolverine comeback attempt.
 
In spite of their second straight loss,  the Wolverines  finished with an advantage in turnovers for the second straight game by forcing the Pilots into 22 turnovers converted into 21 points compared to only 15 committed turnovers of their own. The turnover margin battle victory came after they also grabbed a season-best 14.
 
Meanwhile, Spencer pushed her streak of consecutive games with a three-pointer to five regular season games, while Seals extended her streak with a 10th straight game tallying at least one assist.
 
UVU will now travel to Corvallis, Ore., for the second game of back-to-back contests at No. 18 Oregon State on Wednesday, Nov. 15. Wednesday's game is slated for a 7 p.m. MT start.