OREM, Utah — Utah Valley University's late rally came up short on Saturday in Lockhart Arena in a 69-66 loss to Sam Houston. Maria Carvalho had a team-high 20 points while Josie Williams added 19 points and 16 rebounds to record her 15th double-double of the season, and Megan Jensen finished with seven points, seven rebounds, and five assists. 

Down 10 entering the final quarter, Carvalho connected on consecutive 3-pointers to get the Wolverines (9-12, 4-6) within four points with 8:02 to go. The Bearkats (10-12, 5-6) led by five, 65-60, with 5:43 remaining before six straight gave the Wolverines their first lead since the opening quarter. Jensen scored back-to-back buckets then delivered a perfect pass to a cutting Madison Grange, who made it 66-65 with with 2:58 to go. From there though, the Wolverines would not score again. 

Courtney Cleveland hit two free throws on the next possession to put Sam Houston back in front and Madelyn Batista put back her own miss to make it a 69-66 game. On the ensuing UVU possession, an out-of-bounds call favoring the Wolverines was overturned after video review and the final two chances Utah Valley had with the ball were both quelled when offensive fouls were called. The latest with under three seconds to go and UVU searching for a possible game-tying three. 

"Obviously the way we fought late was great but we're at a point in the season where it's not about fighting back, it's about being consistent," said UVU head coach Dan Nielson. "We knew what kind of game they were going to play and they got us out of whack in the second quarter. We did some good things but until we get consistent we're going to keep having similar results." 

After ending the first quarter in a 14-14 tie, Sam Houston forced 10 Utah Valley turnovers in the second quarter and scored 12 points off of those giveaways. The Bearkats built a 36-20 lead after a 17-4 run before the Wolverines responded seven quick points. A layup from Williams, a Carvalho three and two free throws from Ally Blackham cut the lead to nine with 1:04 left before halftime. Sam Houston was able to push the lead back to 11, 40-29, at the break. 
 
Utah Valley came out in the third quarter and cut the Sam Houston lead down as little as three with 4:44 left in the third following a three-point play from Williams. UVU was able to beat the Sam Houston press during the stretch and got six straight fast-break points, including layups from Babalu Stewart and Grange, and a Blackham make from deep. 
 
Faith Cook led all scorers with 23 for the Bearkats, who won their fifth straight contest. Cleveland added 20 and Batista finished with 14 as the trio combined to score 57 of the 69 points. In addition to her double-double, Williams also had four assist and three blocks for UVU while Blackham matched Jensen's assist total with five. 

The Wolverines will hit the road for a pair of games starting Thursday, Feb. 10 with a 6 p.m. MT contest at Grand Canyon before facing New Mexico State on Saturday, February 12th at noon MT.