OGDEN, Utah — Utah Valley University fell cold in the middle quarters and couldn't complete a late comeback attempt, falling 55-44 on Saturday at Weber State University.
 
Jaeden Brown led the Wolverines (1-3) with 13 points and nine rebounds while Eleyana Tafisi added seven points, eight rebounds and four steals and Saige Gibb scored a career-high seven points. Jadyn Matthews had 16 for the Wildcats (1-2) to lead all scorers.
 
UVU got off to a quick start and led 8-3 after Kylee Mabry scored four early points. With the game knotted at 16-16, Shay Fano buried a 3-pointer en route to a 19-18 lead after one quarter. The Wolverines were 7-for-15 from the field in the opening quarter.
 
Both teams struggled to find the bottom of the net in the second quarter, with each team scoring just six points in the quarter. Utah Valley led 25-24 at the break.
 
Weber State took control of the game with a run in the third. UVU trailed 28-25 when Brown hit a 3-pointer to tie it, and she scored again to get the Wolverines within two, 32-30, at the 5:33 mark of the third quarter. However, the Wildcats kept Utah Valley off the scoreboard the rest of the quarter and extended the run to 12-0 when Daryn Hickock hit a three for the first points of the fourth.
 
The lead was eventually stretched to 19, 50-31, before Utah Valley made a late run to try and get back into the game. Gibb scored five points and Abby Conlee added four during a run of 11 straight points from UVU to make it 50-42, but time ran out on the comeback attempt.
 
The Wolverines were 15-for-54 (27.8%) overall while the Wildcats made 19-of-47 (40.4%). Utah Valley will next play at Portland State on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 2 p.m. PT/3 p.m. MT.