ABILENE, Texas — Tessa Chaney had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds but Utah Valley fell behind early and couldn't recover, dropping a 66-53 contest at Abilene Christian on Saturday in Moody Coliseum.
The double-double is the third of the season for Chaney, with all three coming in WAC contests.
Kaylee Byon also reached double figures in scoring for the Wolverines (8-14, 3-10) with 13 points as UVU got 36 of its 53 points from its bench.
The Wildcats (10-11, 6-6), who jumped out to a 12-0 lead to start the game, got 16 points from Bella Earle, 11 from Payton Hull, and Addison Martin finished with 10. Zoe Jackson pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds while also scoring nine points for ACU.
Abilene Christian led 12-0 just three minutes into the game before the Wolverines were able to get on the board on a layup from Byon at the 6:18 mark. Byon had all four UVU points in the first as ACU built a 17-4 advantage after one.
The Wolverines kept pace in the second quarter with
Ally Criddle scoring six of her eight points in the second. The Wildcats were able to tack one point on the lead in the second quarter to lead 32-18 at the break. UVU struggled to find the bottom of the basket in the half, making just 27.3% from the field while also missing all eight attempts from three.
Abilene Christian stretched the lead to as much as 21 in the third quarter before the Wolverines began to chip away. Byon scored seven points during a 16-3 Utah Valley run that trimmed the deficit to just eight, 44-36, with 4:23 left in the third. The Wolverines trailed 48-39 after three.
Saige Gibb got Utah Valley within seven with a bucket to begin the fourth, but the Wolverines weren't able to get it any closer than seven the rest of the way.
Utah Valley finished with 14 steals and forced 20 ACU turnovers but were only able to turn that into eight points. The Wildcats took advantage of 17 Wolverine turnovers, scoring 20 points off of the giveaways.
The Wolverines return home next week to host California Baptist (Feb. 15) and Southern Utah (Feb. 17). Both games will be played in Lockhart Arena.
