PULLMAN, Wash. — Utah Valley University suffered a heartbreaker to end its season in the second round of the 2025 Postseason WNIT in a 57-54 loss at Washington State on Monday night.

The loss ends the Wolverines' (19-13) most successful season at the NCAA Division I level, with the most wins in program history and the first postseason win at the NCAA level. UVU also tied their program record for most road wins on the year with seven.

The Cougars (21-13) got a go-ahead 3-pointer from Astera Tuhina to beat the shot clock with a 28 seconds left in the game. After a the ball was knocked free, Tuhina collected and got the shot off, hitting what turned out to be the game-winner in unlikely fashion. Tahlia White, who led the Wolverines with 12 points, put UVU ahead with a jumper with 1:01 left to break a 52-52 tie as she scored five of her points in the fourth quarter.

Down 55-54, the Wolverines came up empty on their next possession, and Eleonora Villa scored out of a timeout for WSU to make it 57-54 with 10 seconds left. Ally Criddle had a late attempt at a game-tying three and looked to be hit on the arm, but the shot was blocked and time ran out.

"I'm just so proud of this group. I thought we played really well the whole game, especially on the defensive end, against a very good and well-coached team," said UVU head coach Dan Nielson. "In the second half, they hit some big shots and got a couple extra rebounds that really helped them, but I'm still just proud. We've been on the road for several days and gave ourselves a chance at the end; it just didn't work out."

The game was tied after one before an 8-0 UVU run in the second, behind consecutive 3-pointers from Stafford Collins and a Criddle layup, helping the Wolverines to a 26-22 halftime lead. The Cougars evened things up after three, with the game deadlocked at 40-40 entering the final 10 minutes of play.

Down the stretch, the game was tied three times with White banking home a 3-pointer with 2:40 remaining to tie it a 49-49. A Chaney free throw gave UVU a 50-49 advantage before a Dayana Mendes free throw knotted it back up. Cambree Blackham gave the Wolverines the lead back with 1:51 remaining, on a tough drive with the point guard scoring in the paint against three defender for a 52-50 lead. Mendes came back to tie it with 1:31 to go before White's go-ahead jumper at the 1:01 mark. 

Utah Valley outrebounded the bigger and longer Cougars, 45-39, with Halle Nelson pulling down a career-high 15 rebounds and Danja Stafford Collins adding a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Tessa Chaney came off the bench to score 10 points. Villa led all scorers with 15 for Washington State.

The Wolverines shot 38.3% overall (23-for-60) while holding the Cougars to 31.3% (20-for-64) and 10 points below their season average. Washington State advances to the third win of the WNIT with the win and will travel to face North Dakota State.