ST. GEORGE, Utah — Utah Valley University picked up a big road win, 55-52, at Utah Tech University on Saturday as the in-state rivals met in the Old Hammer Rivalry in WAC women's basketball.
 
Jenna Dick led the Wolverines (7-10, 2-6) with 15 points, matching her season high. Kylee Mabry finished with 12 points and six rebounds, and Tahlia White finished with nine points and hit two big free throws with 1.5 seconds remaining.
 
UVU trailed 45-44 with 6:29 left after Catelyn Deaver converted a 3-point play with a bucket and a free throw. White answered that with a huge go-ahead triple and, after the Trailblazers (9-9, 3-4) tied it at 47-47, Dick buried her fourth 3-pointer of the game to put the Wolverines in front for good.
 
The lead was extended to six, 53-47, after Liana Kaitu'u scored a layup and then went 1-for-2 from the line on the next possession. Deaver made another three and her sister, Alyson, hit two free throws to make it 53-52 with 1:24 to go. Utah Valley then got two big offensive rebounds from Eleyana Tafisi on the next trip, keeping possession for over one minute before a held ball gave UTU the ball back with 16 seconds left.
 
After a timeout, Kaitu'u forced Maddie Warren baseline and her pass went wide where White picked it off for the biggest steal of the game. White then knocked down two free throws to extend it to three, and Warren's attempt to send the game to overtime ricocheted off the glass and iron but didn't drop.
 
"Winning on the road, especially in a rivalry game, is always tough. I'm really pleased with the way we battled on both ends of the court. We had a lot of different players make big shots and make big plays on the defensive end that contributed in this win," said UVU head coach Dan Nielson.
 
Down 5-4 early on, Dick started an 11-0 run with one of two 3-point makes from her at the 6:16 mark of the first. After Mabry hit a floater with her left hand, Dick hit another three and Amanda Barcello capped the run with a corner triple to give UVU a 15-5 lead. The Wolverines lead 15-8 after one.
 
After Utah Valley scored the first four of the second to take a 21-8 advantage, Maddie Warren keyed a 9-0 run with six points to get Utah Tech back within four, 21-17. The Wolverines led 27-24 at the break.
 
Utah Valley led 32-26 early in the third before an 11-0 Utah Tech run behind a trio of 3-pointers. Alyson Deaver hit one to give the Blazers their first lead since the opening minutes of play, and Nicole Willardson finished the run with a layup to make it 37-32. The Wolverines held Utah Tech without a field goal the rest of the quarter though, closing the third on a 10-2 spurt. Dick hit her third shot from distance, scoring six points during the run that gave UVU a 42-39 lead after three.
 
It was 44-42 when Catelyn Deaver scored and was fouled and converted on the free throw to put the Trailblazers back in front, 45-44, with 6:29 to go. White answered that with a corner 3-pointer to put the Wolverines back in front with 5:16 remaining.
 
Maddie Warren led all scorers with 16 while Catelyn Deaver added 14. The Trailblazers were without leading scorer Breaunna Gillen on Saturday as Utah Valley snapped a four-game skid in the series between the teams. Tafisi led UVU with seven rebounds as the Wolverines held a 37-33 edge on the glass and didn't allow a second-chance point in the game.
 
The Wolverines will return home next weekend to host Seattle U on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 2 p.m. MT in the UCCU Center.