OREM, Utah -- Playing its sixth consecutive home game to start the season, Utah Valley University dropped a 77-51 decision to Brigham Young University in the UCCU Crosstown Clash on Thursday afternoon in Lockhart Arena. 

Alexis Cortez led the Wolverines (4-2) with 10 points while Jordan Holland added nine and Sophia Jacobsson scored eight. The Cougars (6-2) got a game-high 23 points from Shaylee Gonzales while Shalae Salmon finished eith seven points and grabbed 10 rebounds. BYU had a decisive 54-27 edge on the glass, with 22 of those rebounds coming on the offensive end and resulting in 13 second chance points. 

"We got some great experience today. Sometimes experience is what you get when you get what you don't want. And obviously this isn't what we anticipated for today but credit to BYU. Their dominance on the boards was probably the biggest factor," said UVU head coach Cathy Nixon. 
 
A Cortez 3-pointer made it a 7-6 game early on and Utah Valley again trailed by one, 9-8, after a jumper from Josie Williams. BYU scored nine straight starting with a Gonzales triple and led 18-8 before Eve Braslis knocked down a three with 24 seconds left and UVU trailed 18-11 at the end of one.
 
A bucket by Leya Harvey, followed by a jumper and layup from Jacobsson helped UVU get within three, 29-26, late the second quarter, but the Cougars went on an 11-2 run over the final 1:41 to take a 40-28 lead into the break.
 
BYU stretched the lead to 21 in the third, 55-34, with an 8-0 run midway through the quarter.
 
Gabrielle Leos, seeing her first action of the season, sparked a run for Utah Valley with a steal in the backcourt and a full-court pass to Holland for a layup. Leos then scored to straight buckets as part of six straight from the Wolverines. Leos finished with seven points in just over four minutes of limited action. The Cougars again closed the quarter in their favor though, scoring six of the last seven points to lead 61-41 after three.

BYU limited Utah Valley to 32.7 percent from the field while hitting 42.1 percent while scoring 44 points in the paint. 

The Wolverines will play their first road contest on Saturday at Utah in a 5:30 p.m. MT tip that follows Utah's men's game against Tulsa. UVU will stay on the road next week with games at Southern Utah (Dec. 4) and Idaho State (Dec. 6).