OREM, Utah — Tahlia White scored a career-high 25 points to keep Utah Valley's hopes of a WAC Tournament berth alive in a 73-66 win over Tarleton State on Thursday night in the UCCU Center. The Wolverines, who were 10-for-15 from the 3-point line, need a win and help from others on Saturday to earn a spot in next week's tournament. 
 
White made half of team's 3-pointers, going 5-for-8 from beyond the arc to go along with four steals and two blocks. She buried a huge three with just over two minutes left to give the Wolverines (10-18, 5-14) a 68-61 lead, and then iced the game with just seconds to go with a pair from the line.
 
"Our backs are against the wall and we needed a spark and we got one tonight. Sharing the ball the way we did allowed us to get good looks and we were able to knock them down," said UVU head coach Dan Nielson. "There were a lot of players who stepped up and made big plays when we needed it."

"Our chemistry has really been building and it all comes down to right now. It's March. We're hoping to extend our season beyond Saturday," White said. 
 
Kylee Mabry and Ally Criddle both added 11 points for Utah Valley while Eleyana Tafisi finished with nine points and a career-high 10 assists. Criddle finished with seven assists against zero turnovers as the Wolverines had with 23 assists on 24 made field goals. ­The Texans (9-19, 6-13) had four players score in double figures with Elise Turrubiates, Jakoriah Long, and Teresa Da Silva each finishing with 12.
 
Both teams shot the ball well from the field. The Wolverines had their best shooting night of the WAC season, hitting 49% (24-for-49) while Tarleton State was 20-for-43 (46.5%).
 
UVU jumped out to an 11-4 advantage after White hit one of her two first-half 3-pointers on her way to 12 in the opening 20 minutes. Tarleton State responded with a 12-2 run to take a 16-13 lead before five straight, capped by a Halle Nelson three, put the Wolverines back in front by two. Long hit a three late in the first to put the Texans in front 19-18 after one.
 
Da Silva had all 10 of her first-half points in the second quarter. She helped stretch the lead to seven on multiple occasions in the quarter, including when she capped a 7-0 spurt that answered seven straight from UVU. The Texans shot 61.9% from the field in the opening half, were also 10-for-10 from the line and carried a 39-35 lead into the break.
 
White catapulted the Wolverines on a 9-2 run to begin the third, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to give UVU a 44-41 advantage just over two minutes into the quarter. Utah Valley never relinquished the lead after that.
 
The Wolverines led 53-50 after three, and the Texans got to within a point after two Faith Acker free throws to begin the fourth, but Amanda Barcello answered with a three and Mabry scored on a layup to quickly push it back to six. Utah Valley led 65-58 after a Liana Kaitu'u layup and the Texans had an opportunity to get back within three but, after making their first 20 attempts from the line on the night, finally had a miss that kept it a two-possession game. White then hit the clutch 3-pointer and the Texans would only get as close as four the rest of the way.
 
Utah Valley will close out the WAC regular season on Saturday against Abilene Christian at 2 p.m. in the UCCU Center. The Wolverines need to win and have UT Rio Grande Valley win at Southern Utah on Saturday in order to have a shot to make next week's conference tournament. Saturday will also be Senior Day, with Jenna Dick, Kaitu'u, and Elina Tausinga all honored following the game.