OREM, Utah — Utah Valley University dropped a double-overtime heartbreaker, 67-66, to Southern Utah University on Saturday in Lockhart Arena.
Tahlia White led the Wolverines (9-15, 4-11) with 15 points, nine rebounds, and five steals while
Ally Criddle finished with seven points, nine assists, seven steals, and five rebounds before fouling out in the first overtime.
Eleyana Tafisi added 13,
Jenna Dick finished with 12, and
Kylee Mabry added nine points and four steals on a night the Wolverines forced 32 turnovers and took 30 more field goals than the T-Birds (7-17, 5-10). UVU had 24 steals, three shy of matching the school record, more than it has had against any other NCAA Division I program in program history. White recorded career-highs in both rebounds and steals, while Criddle notched career-bests in both assists and steals.
The Wolverines were without
Tessa Chaney for the final 7:14 of regulation and both overtime periods after she fouled out in the fourth quarter. Chaney, who was a plus-25 while on the floor, was limited to 18 minutes due to foul trouble. SUU's Samantha Johnston led all scorers with 20 points while Ava Uhrich and Daylani Ballena finished with 15 each. Ashley Banks had a game-high 13 rebounds as SUU had a 52-38 edge on the glass.
After Southern Utah carried a 20-17 lead following a low-scoring first half, both teams traded dominant quarters in the second half. Utah Valley outscored Southern Utah 28-11 in the third to take a 45-31, but the T-Birds forced OT after outscoring the Wolverines 23-9 in the fourth. In the third, the Wolverines forced 10 turnovers and had eight steals while going 9-for-15 from the floor. UVU outscored the T-Birds 20-4 during a 7-minute stretch of the third quarter.
After SUU closed to within seven in the fourth, Dick scored and was fouled for a 3-point play, and Tafisi followed with a layup to push it back to 12, 50-38, with 3:53 to go. The T-Birds closed regulation on a 16-4 run with the final 10 coming from Johnston, including a game-tying three with seven seconds to go.
UVU scored the first six points of the first extra frame, the first four coming from Tafisi. SUU didn't convert from the field in the first overtime, getting to the line six times and making all six, including two from Alexa Lord with 14 seconds left to send it to double-OT. In the second overtime, Dick scored to put UVU up two, 64-62, with 3:37 left before a 5-0 run by Southern Utah made it 67-64 with just under one minute left. Dick scored with 36 seconds left to get back within one, but the T-Birds were able to hold on for the come-from-behind win.
Utah Valley scored 42 points in the paint and had 28 points off of SUU's 32 giveaways, but the T-Birds recorded 13 blocks, five from Johnston and four from Banks.
The Wolverines will head back to Texas next week where they'll face a crucial contest at UT Rio Grande Valley next Thursday before finishing the trip on Saturday at Stephen F. Austin.
