OREM, Utah — Utah Valley saw its season come to an end after dropping the regular season finale, 81-50, on Saturday to Abilene Christian in the UCCU Center.
Following the game, Utah Valley's three seniors were honored:
Jenna Dick,
Liana Kaitu'u, and
Elina Tausinga all started the final game of their careers on Saturday. Dick was poised to surpass 1,000 career points until an injury sidelined her for four games over the past three weeks. She had five points on Saturday to finish with 979 career points and 243 made 3-pointers. Kaitu'u finished with four points while Tausinga pulled down one rebound as all three seniors made contributions on the court.
Tahlia White led the Wolverines (10-19, 5-15) with 14 points,
Ally Criddle and
Kylee Mabry both scored seven, and
Eleyana Tafisi finished with six points, eight assists, and three steals. The Wildcats (14-15, 10-10) got a game-high 21 from Payton Hull, who scored 19 in the opening half.
ACU finished the game 31-for-60 (51.7%) from the field and also made 11 3-pointers. The Wildcats were 12-for-15 from the field in the second quarter, including a stretch of nine straight makes during a 20-1 run that took up six minutes of the quarter. ACU outscored UVU 27-12 in the second. Hull made her first five attempts from the field, including a trio of 3-pointers, and had 14 of her 19 in the half in the opening quarter. White led the Wolverines with 11 in the half.
After Zoe Jackson hit a three to begin the third and put the Wildcats up 48-24, Mabry sparked a quick 8-0 run with a three, and Criddle capped it with five straight points to make it 48-32 and force an ACU timeout. The Wildcats pushed it quickly back to 20 and continued to pull away in the fourth. Bella Earle added 16 points and 10 rebounds for ACU, and Zoe Jackson grabbed nine boards as the Wildcats out-rebounded the Wolverines, 42-23.
Utah Valley needed a win and a Southern Utah loss on Saturday in order to qualify for the WAC Tournament. SUU defeated UT Rio Grande Valley and Tarleton State won at Seattle U, giving the final two spots to the T-Birds and Texans.
