CHICAGO, Ill. – Utah Valley University moved into a tie for second place in the WAC standings following a 70-65 win at Chicago State University on Thursday night at the Jones Convocation Center.
The Wolverines (14-11, 8-4) led by as much as 25 in the third quarter before holding off a late-charging CSU squad down the stretch.
Jordan Holland led four Utah Valley players in double figures with 18 points while
Maria Carvalho added 13 points and tied a school records with seven steals.
Eve Braslis and
Alexis Cortez both chipped in 11 for the Wolverines.
Ines Mata Boix led Chicago State (1-25, 1-12) with 20 points and 10 rebounds with Destinee Pointer adding 16 and Alexandria Cliff finishing with 12.
Up two, 23-21, in the second quarter, Utah Valley went on a 23-2 run to take a commanding 46-23 lead. The Wolverines forced eight turnovers during the run and went into the half with a 48-27 lead.
The Cougars chipped away, outscoring UVU 14-4 over a six-minute span of the third and eventually closed to within 11, 60-49, after three quarters.
Chicago State made it a 3-point game on three different occasions in the final quarter and had the ball with 19 seconds and UVU in front 68-65. But Holland intercepted a cross-court pass and Braslis knocked down two free-throws to secure the win for the Wolverines, who swept the season series from the Cougars.
The Cougars hit 50.9 percent from the floor in the game, including 69.2 percent (9-for-13) in the third quarter. Utah Valley shot 41.8 percent from the field but won the battle on the boards, 35-26. The Wolverines also had 17 offensive rebounds.
UVU will travel to Kansas City for a 2 p.m. CT/1 p.m. MT contest at UMKC in a pivotal conference game as the teams battle for seeding. Kansas City improved to 7-5 in the standings after an 83-66 win over Seattle U on Thursday.
