OREM, Utah — A shorthanded Utah Valley team fell to California Baptist, 69-61, on Saturday afternoon in the UCCU Center. The Wolverines were without their leading scorer and rebounder Jaeden Brown, who is averaging 24.7 points and 15.7 rebounds per game in WAC play.
 
UVU (4-11, 1-3) got 19 points and eight rebounds from Shay Fano while Saige Gibb added 10 points and Eleyana Tafisi matched her career high with eight assists for the second straight game. For the Lancers (7-8, 3-1), Grace Schmidt led all scorers with 28 points with Dorcas Wu adding 12. Trinity San Antonio also got into double figures with 10 to go along with five steals.
 
The Wolverines kept pace with the Lancers early. After CBU scored the first six points of the game, Gibb knocked down a three and began a streak of four out of five makes for Utah Valley. She eventually gave UVU a 10-9 lead with her second bucket, on a runner late in the shot clock. Tessa Chaney also hit a pair of baskets in the opening quarter and Ally Criddle buried two 3-pointers, but Schmidt scored 11 points in the first and CBU led 19-15 after one.
 
The teams traded mini runs through the early parts of the second. UVU scored seven points in a row to turn a 21-15 deficit into a 22-21 lead with a Fano three putting the Wolverines in front.  The Lancers came back with a 13-4 run, capped by a Brittany Klaman triple with 2:57 left and CBU had a 32-25 advantage. Elina Tausinga answered that with one of her two field goals in the opening half, but the Lancers took a 37-29 at the break. Schmidt scored 17 on 7-for-11 shooting to lead all scorers while Gibb led UVU with seven at the half.
 
Utah Valley quickly trimmed the deficit to three after Mae Afoa scored and hit a free throw and Fano hit a short jumper. It was 40-37 when the Lancers went on an 11-2 run, with Schmidt's 3-pointer from the top of the arc giving CBU its biggest lead of the game to that point, 51-39. UVU trailed 56-45 after three quarters.
 
California Baptist scored the first six points of the fourth to extend it to 62-45. Utah Valley was able to get it back to 10, 62-52, after seven quick points with five coming from Fano. The Wolverines would get no closer though, until Kaylee Byon's jumper with under a second to go accounted for the final tally. Byon finished with eight points for UVU.
 
Next week the Wolverines will travel to Cedar City to face WAC newcomer Southern Utah, on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. MT before returning to the UCCU Center to host Abilene Christian on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. MT.