Wolverines lose critical game against Seattle U 66-51

Gavin Lee

February 26, 2023

Head coach Dan Nielsen talks things over with his squad (Photo courtesy of UVU Athletics).
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The Utah Valley University women’s basketball team (6-21, 3-13 Western Athletic Conference) was defeated 66-51 by the Seattle University Redhawks (5-21, 5-11 WAC) on Saturday afternoon at the Redhawk Center in Seattle, Washington 66-51.

After a 10-10 tie at the beginning of the game, the Redhawks surged to take the lead and never looked back as they outscored UVU in all four quarters en route to a dominant 66-51 victory.

With the Redhawks winning the game, the Redhawks now move into the No. 11 spot of the WAC standings which is the final spot for making the 2023 Hercules Tires WAC Tournament while the Wolverines drop to No. 12. 

Since the Wolverines are now two games behind SU, their only hopes of making it to the postseason are to win out against the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley Gauchos (11-16, 5-11 WAC) and Utah Tech University Trailblazers (17-10, 9-7 WAC) and hope that the Vaqueros lose out in their games since the Redhawks swept UVU 2-0 this season.

Shay Fano led the way for the Wolverines, scoring a team-high 19 points while adding six rebounds and one steal. Kaylee Byon was the second Wolverine to score in double-figures, scoring 14 points to go along with two assists and three steals. Ally Criddle added five points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals as well.

UVU also scored 26 points in the paint and 14 points off of forced turnovers.

Fano and Byon gave the Wolverines a quick burst to start the first quarter, combining for two layups to help UVU go up 4-0 early. However, Seattle responded with a quick 8-0 run to go up 8-4 with 5:06 remaining in the quarter.

With four points by Tessa Chaney and two by Fano, the Wolverines were able to go on a 6-2 run to even the score 10-10 with 1:46 left in the period. The Redhawks answered the Wolverines with a 5-0 run to close out the quarter with a 15-10 lead.

The Redhawks remained hot at the start of the second quarter, going on an 11-0 run within the first six minutes to extend the lead out to 26-10. 

With four points from Byon, the Wolverines fought back, going on a 10-0 run, to cut the deficit down to 26-20 with 1:01 remaining in the half. The Redhawks then went on a 4-2 run to close out the period, taking a 30-22 lead into the locker room. 

SU kept their foot on the pedal to start the third quarter, opening with a 5-0 run in the first two minutes to up 35-22. The Wolverines once again answered, with Fano and Byon combining to go on an 8-3 run for UVU to cut the Redhawks’ lead down to 38-30 with 5:34 remaining.

However, SU would finish the frame outscoring the Wolverines 10-5 to have a 48-35 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter went a little more back and forth between both teams; however, the Redhawks would outscore the Wolverines 18-16 in the period to ultimately win the game 66-51.


This game marked the final road game of the season for the Wolverines as they finish with a road record of 1-14, with their sole win coming against the Tarleton State University Texans in an overtime thriller.
The Wolverines next return home to the UCCU Center for their final two games of the regular season. UVU will face the UTRGV Gauchos on Tuesday at 6 p.m. MT and then the Utah Tech Trailblazers on Thursday at 6 p.m. MT as well for senior day where Kayla Anderson, the team’s only senior, will be honored. Both games can be streamed on ESPN+.