CHENEY, Wash. – Despite Utah Valley guard Taylor Christensen's team-high 19 points, Utah Valley women's basketball fell to Eastern Washington, 61-41, on Saturday at Reese Court.
 
Christensen, who scored 11 second-half points, finished a perfect 2-of-2 from beyond the arc to reach a new personal season-high in scoring for the Wolverines (0-5). The Eagles (2-3), however, countered Christensen's offensive output with a game-high 24 points from senior guard Delaney Hodgins and a late offensive surge to pull away from UVU.

"It seems to be a theme with us where we do some good things but then have some lapses," said Utah Valley head coach Cathy Nixon. "They depend on Hodgins and she stepped up. We're going to focus  on improving ourselves and being more consistent, and I think when we do that we'll start getting some wins."
 
UVU's second-leading scorer on the day, junior guard Britta Spencer rounded out the squad's pair of double-digit scorers with 11 points. Spencer and Christensen combined to score 22 points in the second half, accounting for more than half of the Wolverine scoring in the game.
 
Behind Christensen's pair of three-point buckets, the Wolverines made five three-pointers as a team to give the squad its fourth straight game with at least five makes from deep. Along with Christensen, Spencer, sophomore forward Jordan Holland and freshman forward Ally Bates each chipped in one made three-pointer apiece for UVU.
 
The Wolverines used a pair of 5-2 runs in the third and fourth quarter to claw their way back into the game before the Eagles stretched their lead again in the fourth with a 12-2 run to run away with the victory.
 
EWU's Hodgins put the Eagles ahead by seven with 6:26 remaining in the third after hitting a pair jumpers at the elbow on back-to-back possessions.  She then added a layup inside off an offensive board to spark an 10-0 run for EWU that extended the lead to 34-21.
 
A Spencer driving layup in the middle of the lane stopped the Eagle run for UVU's second basket in the period to cut the deficit to 37-23. After a Hodgins three-pointer, Christensen drained two free throws on UVU's next possession to bring Utah Valley within 12 of EWU, 37-25, with 2:35 left in the third quarter.
 
Christensen and Spencer again teamed up for another quick 5-2 UVU scoring spurt in the fourth, as Christensen sank a three-pointer from the top of the arc and Spencer made a shifty move past defenders for another driving layup to cut the score to with 7:54 on the game clock . Spencer then cut the UVU deficit to nine, 45-36, hitting her second three-pointer of the game from the left wing to extend the late run to 8-4.
 
On UVU's next possession following a layup by EWU's Alissa Sealby, Christensen pushed the UVU offensive outburst to 11-4 by matching Spencer with a three-pointer from the left wing. The three by Christensen marked the squad's third three-pointer of the fourth quarter and brought them within 50-39 of EWU heading into the final 5:30 of the contest.
 
Following the pair of UVU runs, the Eagles held off the Wolverines' comeback attempt with a 12-2 run over the span of the next four minutes, 15 seconds to pull ahead 57-41 before running away with the win.
 
With her two three-pointers, Spencer extended her streak of consecutive contests with at least one made three-pointer to eight games dating back to last season.
 
UVU now returns home for its season opener versus Dixie State on Tuesday, Nov. 28. Tip-off from Lockhart Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT.