OREM, Utah – Josie Williams scored a career-high 19 points and
Jordan Holland added 17 as Utah Valley University held off Antelope Valley, 77-61, on Saturday in the UCCU Center.
Williams was 8-for-10 from the field with a pair of blocked shots while Holland's line included six rebounds and four steals.
Megan Jensen added 11 points and pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds,
Eve Braslis scored 10, and
Nehaa Sohail scored eight points and blocked three shots. The Pioneers were led by 16 points from Alexia Budd. Utah Valley (1-5) scored 48 of its points in the paint and turned 21 Antelope Valley turnovers into 28 points.
"This was a frustrating, kind of odd game, especially after the way we played at Boise State. This was a good learning lesson for us though and it's definitely nice to get the win," said UVU head coach
Dan Nielson, who notched his first career win with Saturday's victory. "We need to build momentum, taking the positives from these two games and come out and compete next week against Idaho State and Montana."
UAV jumped out quickly, hitting a trio of 3-pointers in the opening minutes and used that early advantage to build a 21-16 lead after one quarter. Antelope Valley was 5-for-9 from beyond the arc in the first, but shot just 1-for-11 from three the rest of the way.
The Wolverines outscored Antelope Valley 20-6 in the second quarter, limiting the Pioneers to just 2-for-15 shooting in the quarter. Williams scored seven points in the quarter and had 13 at the half as UVU built a 36-27 lead.
Utah Valley led by 10, 52-42, after three quarters but Antelope Valley wouldn't go away. With UVU in front 56-46 just over one minute into the fourth, the Pioneers reeled off six straight points to force a Wolverine timeout. A pair of Holland free-throws and a jumper, part of 11 fourth-quarter points for the senior, pushed the lead back to double digits. Braslis helped put the game away late, hitting 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to push the lead from seven to 13, 72-59, with 2:46 remaining.
Williams 19-point effort comes after she matched her career high of 15 points in Tuesday's loss at Boise State.
The Wolverines return to action on Tuesday in the UCCU Center at 6 p.m. against Idaho State, the first of two Big Sky Conference teams they'll host next week. On Saturday UVU welcomes Montana for a 2 p.m. tip in Lockhart Arena.
