OREM, Utah – Utah Valley University made a fourth-quarter run but couldn't come all the way back, falling 72-63 to WAC-leading New Mexico State on Thursday in Lockhart Arena.
 
The Wolverines (12-11, 6-4) trailed by as much as 16 in the final quarter before twice closing to within four, the latest on a turnaround jumper by Josie Williams with 2:53 left. But an 8-0 run helped secure the Aggies' (18-6, 10-1) ninth straight win.
 
Jordan Holland finished with 18 points and five steals with Eve Braslis add 14 and Alexis Cortez 11 points and seven rebounds. NM State's Gia Pack led all scorers with 23 points while Brooke Salas finished 21 points and 10 rebounds. Salas the reigning WAC Player of the Year and Monday's WAC Player of the Week, scored 17 of her points in the second half.
 
"When we fly around and play for each other, that's when we play best. We just didn't do that for 40 minutes today. I feel like if we play with that kind of energy, we can play with anybody," said UVU head coach Cathy Nixon. "New Mexico State's a good team. You can see the numbers their seniors put up. They just put them right on their back and carried them. We had good effort for some of the game but not all of it and that's what it takes to beat a team like that."
 
The Aggies outscored the Wolverines 27-10 in the quarter, with Salas scoring 13 in the what turned out to be the decisive frame. NM State used runs of 12-0 and 10-2 to turn a two-point halftime deficit into a 56-41 lead entering the final 10 minutes.
 
The Wolverines trailed 60-44 with just over seven minutes remaining before Holland started a string of eight straight UVU points that evolved into a 14-2 run, capped with a Braslis bucket that made it 62-58 with 3:43 left.
 
NM State had a 40-33 edge on the glass and shot 44.3 percent (28-for-63) from the field while UVU hit 41.3 percent (26-for-63).
 
Early on, the teams traded first-quarter runs with UVU scoring the first six point followed by seven straight from NM State. Braslis, who had eight in the first, scored four during another 6-0 spurt to take a 12-7 lead, but the Aggies again went on a 7-0 run to lead 14-12. NM State led 16-14 after one.
 
Holland scored all 10 of her first-half points in the second quarter, hitting 4-of-6 from the floor including a pair of 3-pointers. Her second triple of the quarter gave the Wolverines a 26-25 lead before Va'e Malufau knocked down a three from the top of the arc for 29-25 advantage. Pack had a steal and layup in the final seconds of the half for two of her 12 first-half points. The Wolverines led 31-29 at the break.
 
Utah Valley led 35-31 early in the third after Madison Grange scored, but New Mexico State took control of the game with the 12-0 run.
 
The Wolverines will wrap up their three-game homestand when they host UT Rio Grande Valley on Saturday afternoon in Lockhart Arena at 3 p.m. MT.