CEDAR CITY, Utah — Utah Valley University couldn't overcome a cold night from the field in a 71-58 loss at Southern Utah University on Saturday at the America First Events Center.
Jenna Dick hit five 3-pointers and led the Wolverines (5-8, 0-4) with a season-high 15 points while
Amanda Barcello added eight points and
Tahlia White chipped in seven. The Thunderbirds (4-9, 2-2) got a game-high 18 points and 13 rebounds from Ava Uhrich, who led three SUU players in double figures in scoring. Daylani Ballena finished with 16 and Samantha Johnston added 15, with nine coming in the fourth quarter on a trio of 3-pointers.
UVU found itself in a big hole after hitting just 27.5% through three quarters. The Wolverines finished the contest 21-for-59 overall (35.6%) while the T-Birds hit 49.1% (27-for-55) from the field.
Both teams got off to a slow start offensively with the Wolverines up 6-4 when Dick hit a three to make it 9-4 at the 2:21 mark of the opening quarter. It was 9-6 in the closing seconds when White got a defensive board and then hit a deep buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give UVU a 12-6 lead after 10 minutes.
The T-Birds scored the first 11 points of the second quarter as UVU missed its first nine attempts before Barcello hit a three with 2:13 left before halftime that snapped a 16-1 Southern Utah run. The Wolverines were outscored 22-9 in the second as the T-Birds got to the line nine times, making eight, to take a 28-21 lead at the break.
In the third,
Tessa Chaney scored in the post with her left hand to make it 34-27 with just over four minutes left in the quarter. SUU responded with consecutive buckets to push the lead to 11, 38-27, during an 8-0 run that became a 12-1 spurt and stretched the lead to 46-28. The T-Birds led 48-31 after three.
Utah Valley trailed 56-34 with 8:35 left after Shiho Isono scored when Dick hit her third 3-pointer of the contest to spark a quick 7-2 run that included makes from
Kylee Mabry and
Ally Criddle. That made it 58-41 and forced an SUU timeout with 6:55 left. Southern Utah responded, pushing the lead back to 21, 67-46, on the hills of starting 9-for-11 from the field in the fourth.
Dick hit her fourth triple of the game with 3:03 left but that was answered with Johnston's third 3-pointer to put any hopes of a Utah Valley comeback to rest.
The Wolverines return to Orem for a three-game homestand beginning next Thursday at 6 p.m. MT against UT Arlington in the UCCU Center.
