CEDAR CITY, Utah — Utah Valley University survived a furious fourth-quarter rally to hold off Southern Utah, 53-48, on Saturday at America First Event Center. The win allowed UVU to stay within one game in the loss column of the No. 2 seed at the WAC Tournament, and also assured Utah Valley of a top six seed in Las Vegas.
The Wolverines (16-10, 8-6) carried a 40-23 lead into the fourth before the T-Birds (8-20, 6-9) got as close as one point with 16 seconds left.
Tahlia White, who had a game-high 15 points, went 4-for-4 from the line in the final 15 seconds to secure the win.
Halle Nelson finished with seven points, 11 rebounds, and three steals with White and
Kylee Mabry also collecting a trio of steals on a night UVU finished with 13, turned SUU over 19 times, and limited its turnovers to just seven. Utah Valley also held Southern Utah to just 11 points in the first half, building a 26-11 lead at the break.
"I was really pleased with how we started the game, and honestly the first three quarters I thought was as good of defense as we've played all year," said UVU head coach
Dan Nielson. "We need to have a little bit more movement on offense and the fourth quarter was a good reminder for us. That's a well-coached team and we knew they would make a run. Road wins are like gold, so we'll take it and hope this gives us some good momentum going into a big last week."
Danja Stafford Collins finished with 12 rebounds in her return to the lineup,
Tessa Chaney finished with nine points and four rebounds, and
Amanda Barcello finished with seven.
The Wolverines limited the T-Birds to just 8-for-32 from the field over the first three quarters of play. Sierra Chambers hit a 3-pointer late in the third for the T-Birds but that was answered with less than three seconds left in the quarter with a
Saige Gibb three to make it 40-23 after three.
The T-Birds opened the fourth quarter with the first seven points to get back within 10, 40-30, less than two minutes into. Samantha Johnston buried a three to get it back to a single-digit contest.
The Wolverines led by 11, 46-35, with just over four minutes to go before a 13-2 run, capped by a Sydney Gandy layup with 16 seconds left, before White put the game away at the line.
The Wolverines will wrap up the regular season next week with home games against Abilene Christian and Tarleton State with seeding ramifications on the line. The Wolverines will host ACU next Thursday at 6 p.m. MT and Tarleton State on Saturday at 2 p.m. MT on Senior Day.
