OREM, Utah – New Mexico State University used a fourth-quarter run en route to a 65-58 win over Utah Valley University on Saturday afternoon in Lockhart Arena.
 
The Aggies hit their last six attempts from the field and used an 11-0 spurt to steal the road win. In the fourth quarter, NM State (9-16, 6-6) was 7-for-11 while the Wolverines (9-14, 6-5) were just 2-for-16 including a stretch of seven straight misses.
 
"We let them get middle penetration in the fourth quarter… and we had open shots that felt like it just didn't go our way but that's on us. You can't shoot 32% at home and think you're going to win a game against a team that has some toughness," said UVU head coach Dan Nielson. "It was a really frustrating game. We've been trying to work into practice those types of situations but I feel like today we kind of went back to bad habits. We've got a ways to go and hopefully we can get back on track next week."
 
Utah Valley led 54-50 with 7:49 to go before the run, led by seven points from Rodrea Echols. Echols scored a career-high 19 points and 6-for-6 shooting including all four of her attempts from three.
 
Madison Grange matched her season-high with 11 points off the bench, sharing team-high honors with Jordan Holland. Maria Carvalho scored 10 points and Josie Williams added nine points and nine rebounds.
 
Utah Valley finished a 32.1% from the field while the Aggies shot 45.6% and were 5-for-10 from three. NM State had a 42-30 edge on the glass with Aaliyah Prince finishing with 10 rebounds to go along with 14 points.
 
The Wolverines took a 9-4 lead after Holland hit a mid-range jumper and a 3-pointer from the top of the arc. The Aggies got five straight points from Rodrea Echols to tie it at 9-9. It was tied 11-11 after one.
 
Sydney Wright provided a quick spark off the bench early in the second. She knocked down a pair of 3-pointers before Grange picked off a pass and took it the length of the court, scored and was fouled, giving the Wolverines a 20-14 lead.
 
NM State responded, going on a 17-4 run over the next five minutes of game time. The Aggies hit eight of their first 11 shots from the field in the second quarter and were 9-for-13 (69.2%) in the quarter. The Aggies led 31-24 after Micayla Buckner hit a turnaround jumper with 2:28 left.
 
UVU answered with six straight to get within one, 31-30. After a pair of Carvalho free-throw, the Wolverines turned two steals into transition buckets at the other end. Eve Braslis had a steal that led to a Holland layup on a Grange assist, and Nehaa Sohail got a steal and fed Grange for two. Bucker scored right again before the horn sounded to give NM State a 33-30 lead at the half.  
 
The Aggies protected the lead for most of the third and led 47-43 with 2:15 left after two Adrianna Henderson free throws. Grange keyed a 7-0 run to end the quarter, scoring five points including a 3-pointer that gave UVU its first lead of the half. Carvalho knocked down two from the line and UVU led 50-47 after three.
 
UVU led 51-50 when Williams scored and was fouled, converting the 3-point play and making it 54-50. NM State got a bucket from Soufia Inoussa and Echols' fourth three of the game to take a 55-54 lead with 5:28 to go. Echols capped the run with consecutive baskets to make it 61-54.
 
The Wolverines hit the road for two games next week, at CSU Bakersfield on Thursday, Feb. 20 and at Grand Canyon on Saturday, Feb. 22.