OREM, Utah – Utah Valley senior guard Taylor Christensen scored 19-points for the third straight game to lead a fourth-quarter charge by the Wolverines, as they pulled out a 69-61 win over in-state foe Southern Utah Thursday night inside Lockhart Arena.
 
Christensen, who shot 8-of-16 from the field, poured in nine of the 17 fourth-quarter points for UVU (2-5) to give the squad its second straight victory in as many games at home.  In addition, senior guard Mariah Seals and junior guard Britta Spencer chimed in 15 points each to help the Wolverines counter four double-digit scorers for the Thunderbirds (1-6).
 
"They went on a few runs with some steals and pressed, so I just figured that it was time," said Christensen. "I thought, 'As seniors, Me and mini [Mariah Seals] have got to start taking over,' and we put the responsibility upon our shoulders to take control of the game.' So that's what was in my mind to end the game."
 
With 6:57 left on the game clock, Christensen began the Wolverine takeover with a three-pointer from the top of the arc as the shot clock expired to even the score at 55-55. She then forced a turnover with her team-high fourth steal of the night and followed up her own offensive rebound with a jumper from the left of the paint to put the squad up 57-55.
 
Following SUU's game-tying layup by Natalie Sanchez, a drive toward the left side of the basket for a layup by Christensen helped UVU grab another lead, 59-57, for her sixth straight Wolverine point with 4:28 remaining on the game clock.  Along with the go-ahead bucket that gave the squad the lead for good, Christensen made a pass from the left corner to an open Spencer for her third three-pointer of the contest from the wing that put UVU ahead 62-57.
 
Paired with another stop on defense, Harvey sank a two-point baseline jumper from the left side to extend the Utah Valley advantage to seven, 64-57, with 2:12 left in the game. Just over a minute after Harvey's baseline shot, Christensen added her eighth and ninth points of the quarter after making two free throws that gave UVU a 66-59 lead to help secure the win in the final minute.
 
Along with Christensen's free throws, Spencer converted a pair of free throws and freshman forward Ally Bates added another to close out the Wolverine scoring on the night with 5-of-6 made free throws. The trio of UVU shooters held an advantage at the charity stripe over the Thunderbirds, who went 2-of-4 from free throws in that 57 second stretch.
 
Christensen's offensive eruption sparked a 17-6 run helped erase UVU's three-point deficit during the final 7:16 of the fourth quarter. A Thunderbird three-pointer from sophomore guard Rebecca Cardenas put the opposing team ahead 55-52 before Utah Valley's big fourth-quarter push.

Southern Utah made a quick 10-0 push to steal the lead at 55-52 with 7:16 to go in the contest. SUU guard Skylee Doman grabbed three straight steals which she converted into layups within a 20 second span to guide the quick spurt.
 
During the big fourth-quarter push, UVU held the Thunderbirds scoreless and without a field goal for a two minute, 54 second stretch after the game was tied at 57-57. That string of strong defensive efforts included a second block of the day for the 5-3 Seals on a three-point attempt by SUU's Sanchez, as well as three of sophomore center Leya Harvey's team-high and career-high 11 rebounds on the evening.

"I'm really proud of our girls," said Utah Valley head coach Cathy Nixon. "The first five game being on the road, my biggest concern was that our girls would lose confidence and not believe they could win. But between Tuesday and tonight, they now understand that we can win."
 
Seals' team-high tying two blocks helped UVU finish with a season team-high six blocks. Sophomore forward Jordan Holland and Harvey also chipped in two blocks for the Wolverines.
 
Meanwhile, Harvey's dominance on the glass guided the Wolverines to a 26-17 defensive rebound advantage over the Thunderbirds and helped give them a season-best 42 rebounds as a team. Sophomore guard Gabrielle Leos followed Harvey on the boards with eight rebounds, while Holland grabbed six and Spencer was the third UVU player to finish with at least five rebounds.
 
From beyond the arc, the Wolverines nailed seven shots compared to only four made three-pointers for SUU on the evening.Spencer's sharp shooting led the way for Utah Valley with three three-point makes to give her at least one made three for the 10th straight regular season game, while Seals added two three-pointers and Leos and Christensen each made one three-point shot.
 
The Wolverines next travel to Malibu, Calif., for its lone road contest during the month of December at WCC-foe Pepperdine on Saturday, Dec. 2. The game against the Waves is set to begin at 2 p.m. MT in Firestone Fieldhouse.