PHOENIX – In spite of sophomore forward Jordan Holland's first career double-double and 21 points from senior guard Mariah Seals, Utah Valley women's basketball suffered a 81-61 loss to Grand Canyon Saturday afternoon inside GCU Arena.
 
Holland tallied 12 points and a career-high matching 12 rebounds to post the first double-double by a Wolverines player on the year, while Seals added three assists to her sixth 20-point game this year and shot 8-of-12 from the floor. However, the Antelopes overshadowed Holland's and Seals' efforts with a combined 47 points from senior guards Brie Mobley and Jessica Gajewski.
 
Mobley scored a game-high 26 points on an efficient 10-of-13 shooting clip and Gajewski mirrored Seals with 21 points. Gajewski made a game-high seven three-pointers in the contest to account for more than half of GCU's makes from distance on the day.
 
GCU opened up a 31-13 lead in the second quarter after starting the period on a 15-2 scoring run. The run included a pair of threes from Gajewski, another from sophomore forward Vanessa Murphy and three two-pointer from freshman guard Camille Hailie within a five minute span.
 
Behind six points from Seals, an 8-3 UVU run that extended from the end of the third period helped the Wolverines bring a 23-point Grand Canyon lead down to 18 with 7:58 remaining in the fourth quarter. After her run-sparking trio of free throws, Seals then by nailing a step back jumper from the right corner that brought the score to 60-42.
 
A few moments later, Spencer then started a 6-0 scoring burst for the Wolverines with a turnaround two-point jumper near the paint to help bring UVU to within 14 of GCU. After Spencer's two-pointer, Christensen hit her lone three of the day and Seals converted a fastbreak layup on a Cortez steal to cut the Lopes' lead to 63-49 with 5:56 on the clock.
 
Gajewski then added her final three three-pointers of the day over the final 4:25 of action to help hold off any last comeback attempt by the Wolverines. Along with those three-pointers, Mobley made her last pair of jumpers in the last five minutes of play to cap her scoring.
 
Capping the list of double-digit scoring for UVU, sophomore guard Gabrielle Leos matched Holland with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Leos opened the afternoon by nailing her first two jumpers to help the Wolverines grab an early 8-4 lead before GCU regained the lead for good at 9-8 halfway through the first quarter.
 
Along with their 13 makes from three-point range, the 'Lopes finished shooting 46.4 percent from beyond the arc in comparison to Utah Valley's four three-point baskets and 30.8-percent mark from downtown.
 
Despite losing the three-point battle, the Wolverines outscored Grand Canyon in the paint with a 24-18 advantage in the offensive post.
 
Utah Valley now returns home for a three-game conference homestand starting with a 3 p.m. game against Seattle U on Saturday, Feb. 3. The Wolverines will then host Chicago State on Feb. 8 and Kansas City on Feb. 10.