EDINBURG, Texas — Amanda Barcello scored a career-high 17 points and Utah Valley had a late lead, but UT Rio Grande Valley closed the contest on an 8-1 run over the final 37 seconds to steal a crucial win, 63-62, on Thursday night at UTRGV Fieldhouse.
Barcello hit her fourth 3-pointer of the game to give the Wolverines (9-16, 4-12) an 8-point lead, 57-49, with 4:20 left. She then snagged an offensive rebound and put it back for two with 2:23 left, giving UVU a 59-50 advantage. But the Vaqueros (6-18, 5-10) finished the game on a 13-3 run and moved to two games in front of the Wolverines in the loss column as both teams fight for a spot in the WAC Tournament in March.
With the Wolverines in front 61-60 with under 20 seconds left, the Vaqueros secured two offensive rebounds before Arianna Sturdivant hit a jumper that went as the game-winner with six seconds remaining. Both teams had 1-for-2 trips from the line in the closing seconds for the final tally.
Tahlia White added 13 points and seven rebounds, while
Eleyana Tafisi scored 11 points and also had a pair of blocked shots. Jayda Holiman led UTRGV with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Barcello hit a trio of 3-pointers in the first quarter for UVU. Down 13-10, she started a 12-2 run that closed the first and began the second quarter. The Wolverines led 20-15 after one and then pushed it to seven when
Saige Gibb opened the second with a driving layup.
The Vaqueros responded with an 11-2 run with eight of those points coming from Holiman, who had 13 points at the half. Holiman's third 3-pointer of the quarter tied the game at 30-30 with 20 seconds left before Tafisi scored in the closing seconds to give Utah Valley a 32-30 halftime lead.
Utah Valley took a 48-44 lead into the fourth quarter and stretched it to as much as nine before seeing the game slip away.
The Wolverines outshot the Vaqueros, hitting 46.4% from the field to 36.7% from UTRGV, but was hurt by just 5-for-12 from the line. UVU also out-rebounded UTRGV, 44-30, but the Vaqueros took care of the ball, limiting their turnovers to just 11 when the Wolverines entered the game forcing almost 21 per game.
Utah Valley will now head to Stephen F. Austin for a Saturday contest that is slated to tip off at 2 p.m. CT/1 p.m. MT.
