OREM, Utah — Jaeden Brown had another big game, going for 23 points and 17 rebounds, but Utah Valley came up short in a 63-57 overtime loss to New Mexico State on Wednesday night in the UCCU Center.
 
Shay Fano finished with 11 for the Wolverines (4-10, 1-2) while Brown also finished with five steals and four blocks and Saige Gibb added eight points. Tayelin Grays led the Aggies (7-8, 2-1) with 18 points while Taylor Donaldson finished with nine points, nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals.
 
The Wolverines trailed 40-28 at the 5:46 mark of the third quarter before going on a 17-0 run to end the third and take a 45-40 lead into the fourth.
 
Eleyana Tafisi started the spurt with a driving layup and had four points during the run while Brown scored six. Gibb capped the scoring with a 3-pointer with 1:01 left to give UVU its first lead of the game, 43-40, and then added two more on a driving layup to her left right before the horn sounded.
 
Grays finally scored for the Aggies with 8:20 left in the game to end a drought last over seven minutes of game time. Ally Criddle answered that with a corner three to give the Wolverines a 48-42 lead. 
 
Molly Kaiser scored five straight during a quick 6-0 NM State run that knotted the game at 48-48 with 4:31 left. Kaylee Byon had a steal and found Criddle, who hit Brown for a go-ahead bucket with 2:20 left, giving UVU a 52-50 lead. Grays answered that with a 3-pointer on the next possession to put the Aggies back in front.
 
The final minute of regulation saw the lead change hands four times, first with a hook shot from Brown right at the one-minute mark to give UVU a 54-53 lead. Sylena Peterson put NM State back in front with 29.6 seconds left on two free throws before Brown sank two from the line with 10.2 left and it was 56-55 in favor of the Wolverines. 
 
Grays had a chance to give New Mexico State the lead with 8.9 to go but missed two free throws. However, the rebound resulted in a called held ball and possession went to the Aggies. Grays got redemption when her hook with 4.9 banked in and NM State led 57-56. After a UVU timeout, Brown got to the line with 1.0 second left and went 1-for-2 to force UVU's second overtime contest in the last three games.
 
New Mexico State scored all six points of the overtime, with Taylor Donaldson's layup with 3:03 left giving the Aggies the lead for good. Utah Valley missed all six of its attempts and turned it over four times during the overtime period.
 
The double-double from Brown is the fourth in a row for the sophomore, who was named the WAC Player of the Week after averaging 25.5 points and 15.0 rebounds last week. Halle Nelson made her season debut for Utah Valley after missing the first 13 games due to injury. She played three minutes in the first half but didn't attempt a shot.
 
The Wolverines will wrap up their two-game conference homestand on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. MT against California Baptist in the UCCU Center.