OREM, Utah – A game-winning two-point jumper by Seattle U senior wing Alexis Montgomery with 1.6 seconds left in the game sank Utah Valley women's basketball in a 77-75 loss to the Redhawks Saturday afternoon inside Lockhart Arena.
 
The Wolverines (9-13, 3-4 WAC) overcame a 15-point deficit in the second half to even the score at 75-75, before SU's (11-11, 5-2 WAC) Montgomery nailed a shot from the right elbow against tough defense by UVU junior guard Britta Spencer. Montogomery's go-ahead basket helped the Redhawks overcome UVU forward Jordan Holland's career-high 20 points and team-high nine rebounds.
 
"That was a heartbreaker," said Utah Valley head coach Cathy Nixon. "You know they're going to their best player and that's what the best players do. We probably could've made an adjustment defensively, but you have to tip your cap to them for hitting that shot when they needed it. I was still really proud of the way we fought back today."
 
Utah Valley sophomore forward Jordan Holland, who led all players in scoring on the day, brought UVU even with SU,75-75, with 17 seconds on the clock on an and-one play after a putback that followed her ninth rebound. Holland's layup and free-throw conversion helped UVU erase an 8-point Redhawk lead in the game's final 5:10, giving her six points in the last three minutes of action and eight for the period.
 
After falling behind by eight with just over five minutes to go on a three by SU point guard Leilia Orji, the Wolverines pulled to within 70-69 on Holland free throws with 2:48 left in the contest. Along with the foul shots, senior guard Mariah Seals nailed a three pointer from up top after senior Taylor Christensen made a jumper near the paint as part of  9-2 UVU run.
 
In addition, the Wolverines' offense came alive to held the squad outscore SU 9-3 to close the third and cut their deficit to 58-50 heading into the fourth. Sophomore center Leya Harvey topped the scoring surge with a turnaround finish in the paint set up by one of Seals' eight assists on the day.
 
During that stretch, UVU continued to claw back from a 15-point deficit in the third quarter by holding the Redhawks to one basket on the defensive end. The Wolverines also kept Seattle without a field goal for a four minute span to ignite their third-quarter offensive spark from the other end.
 
Christensen helped UVU overcome its double-digit deficit at the start of the second half with a pair of five-foot jumpers inside the paint over Redhawks defenders to cut the score to 50-40. Harvey drained two free throws to add to a 6-0 run that shortened the SU lead by 10 with 6:01 in the third quarter.
 
In spite of the late pair of pushes by the Wolverines, the Redhawks used an 8-0 run at the start of the second half to stretch their seven-point halftime advantage and provide a cushion against UVU's late surges. Seattle point guard Kailin Spiller finished a pair of layups and Montgomery added a basket down low to put SU ahead 48-35 with 8:29 on the third-quarter clock.
 
Led by Holland's scoring, Utah Valley received double-digit efforts from four players on the day. Following Holland, Seals and Christensen each poured in 14 points and sophomore guard Gabrielle Leos tallied 12 points.
 
At the free-throw line, the Wolverines outperformed the Redhawks with 25 makes from the charity stripe compared to seven for Seattle. Holland also paced UVU from the foul line with a team-high 10 made free throws as part of the squad's season-best 36 free throw attempts.
 
Seattle U, however, finished with four-double digit scorers of their own spearheaded by Montgomery's 15-point, 12-assist double-double. The WAC Preseason Player of the Year, Montgomery neared a triple-double with nine rebounds on her game-clinching afternoon.
 
UVU continues its string of three straight home games Thursday with an 11 a.m. MT Education Day contest against Chicago State inside Lockhart Arena. The Wolverines then play host to UMKC on Saturday at 3 p.m. MT inside Lockhart Arena to end their homestand.