KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Kansas City scored the final eight points of the game to top Utah Valley University, 61-53, on Thursday in the Swinney Center in the regular season finale for the Wolverines.
 
The game was tied at 53, but the Wolverines (12-15, 9-6) went cold and the Roos (19-10, 12-3) scored the last eight points in the final 1:14 to clinch the WAC regular season title and the No. 1 seed in next week's conference tournament. Kansas City forced five turnovers down the stretch, with UVU also missing its last eight attempts from the field. Neither team scored for a nearly four-minute stretch late in the game, but the Roos got on track in the last 74 seconds and also held the Wolverines scoreless over the final 5:06.
 
"We competed every time we got down and it was great to come back and tie it but we missed some big shots and didn't execute the way we needed to down the stretch," said UVU head coach Dan Nielson. "Credit to them, this was a big game and they had some kids step up. Hopefully we can use this to improve and get ready for Las Vegas.
 
Josie Williams had a double-double to lead Utah Valley with 15 points and 10 rebounds and Alexis Cortez added 10 off the bench. Awal Ajak finished with 19 points to lead all scorers, hitting 5-of-9 from three. Ericka Mattingly finished with 12 points, five assists and five steals for KC. 
 
Kansas City led 12-11 after one with the Wolverines able to get to the line 10 times in the quarter but only able to convert on five. Williams had seven of the team's 11 points after one.
 
The Roos, who hit two 3-pointers in the opening quarter, connected on four in the first four minutes of the second and built a 24-17 lead after back-to-back triples from Emily Ivory. KC made six 3-pointers in the half. A Mattingly free throw gave Kansas City and 10-0 run and a 25-17 lead midway through the quarter.
 
Eve Braslis ended the skid at the 3:50 mark, beating the shot clock with a baseline jumper. Down 27-19 late, Maria Carvalho hit a 3-pointer and Williams a bucket as the Wolverines closed the half on a 6-0 run to make it a 27-25 game at the break. Williams had 11 at the half to lead all scorers.

Ajak hit two from long distance early in the third as Kansas City pushed the league back to eight, 35-27, after starting the half on a 8-2 run. Cortez hit two free-throw and a long jumper to cut it to four, 35-31. Down six, Keana Delos Santos hit a pair of 3-pointers to help UVU climb back to within two, 39-37, but Ajak hit her third triple of the quarter and extend it back to five. A pair of late free-throws gave the Roos a 46-41 lead after three.

Utah Valley trailed 49-43 before a quick 6-0 spurt tied the game with 6:27 left. Madison Grange scored on driving layup to tie the game at 49-49. The game was tied at 53-53 after two free-throws by Cortez with 5:06 left. Neither team scored again until Cristina Soriano's layup with 1:14 left. The Roos got a steal and layup from Mattingly to take a 57-53 lead with 47 seconds to go.

The Wolverines will be either the number two or three seed in next Wednesday's WAC Tournament opener, depending on Saturday's results. Full seeding and a tournament bracket will be released on Saturday night.