RIVERSIDE, California — Utah Valley University returned to action and ran into a scorching hot California Baptist team, falling 80-61 on Thursday night at the CBU Events Center in WAC play.
 
The Wolverines (5-7, 0-3) got a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double from Halle Nelson and were led in scoring by Eleyana Tafisi's season-high 13 points. Tessa Chaney scored a season-high 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Nelson's 10 points were also a season-high while her 10 boards is a new career best. 
 
The Lancers (11-1, 3-0) shot 55.6% overall after cooling considerably in the fourth quarter. During one stretch, CBU made nine consecutive attempts from three spanning the end of the first until the midway point of the third quarter. CBU was 10-for-13 at that point from beyond the arc and 23-for-32 overall.
 
Khloe Lemon led all scorers with 19 as the Lancers had four players score in double figures. Filipa Barros scored 18, Chloe Webb added 17, and Kinsley Barrington finished with 14.
 
The game also featured the first time that sisters Tahlia White and Sydney White shared a Division I floor. Tahlia scored three points for Utah Valley while Sydney also scored three points and pulled down six rebounds for California Baptist.
 
UVU hit four of its first six shots to start the game and led 9-5 three minutes in before CBU ran off nine straight to take a 14-9 lead. Chaney and Ally Criddle scored consecutive buckets late in the quarter to get the Wolverines within one but Webb's corner three just before the end of the first gave the Lancers a 19-15 lead after one.
 
California Baptist stretched the lead to 12 after a corner three from White midway through the second. The Lancers continued their torrid shooting, finishing the half with three more triples while the team went 11-for-12 in the second quarter and made all six attempts from three to take a 50-28 lead by halftime. CBU shot 70.4% (19-for-27) in the half and were 9-for-12 from three. UVU was outscored 31-13 in the second.
 
While Utah Valley was able to string together a 7-for-8 stretch from the field during the middle portion of the contest, they couldn't keep up with the Lancers and trailed 69-42 after three. CBU was at 62% overall and 63.2% from distance through three quarters.
 
The Wolverines will now head to Cedar City where they'll take on in-state rival Southern Utah on Saturday at 5 p.m. MT.