A monster performance from a Wolverine trio of Tessa Chaney, Kylee Mabry and Eleyana Tafisi, propelled UVU to their first conference win of the season, moving their overall record to 6-9 and earned their first win (1-5) in conference play in a win over UTRGV.
After a rough couple of outings, the Wolverines needed a get right game, and the 2-13 Vaqueros proved to be just the opponents for the job.
The Wolverines looked much more aggressive today, moving to a 1-3-1 zone early frustrated the guard lineup of the Vaqueros, with Utah Valley scoring 18 points off turnovers and locked down UTRGV, who went 2-14 from the field in the first quarter.
Both shooting and creativity with the ball were much improved over past games as Tafisi looked like she was moving at a different speed than everyone else on the court, getting whatever she wanted in the paint and ended with 15 points and leading the team in assists.
The story of the day however was the sophomore Chaney, who played with an increased fire today, “She is our post player of the future,” head coach Dan Nielson said. “She has so much potential, the last couple games she was a little shy in how she approached some things. I told her today, no matter what you do, even if you get a couple of silly fouls, I’m going to try to get you twenty minutes, so just go all out.” Chaney seemed to have listened.
She was nearly perfect, going a perfect 6-6 from the field and converting 6-7 from the free throw line. She ended with a career-high 18 points and scored some timely and-ones as the Vaqueros inched closer. She was a spark plug, constantly getting tough offensive rebounds and diving for loose balls.
The Wolverines had a constant double-digit lead for most of the game, but the Vaqueros started to claw back with a twenty-seven point third quarter. UTRGV was on fire from behind the three point line, hitting five threes in the fourth quarter alone, including a buzzer-beating half court heave from Jayda Holiman.
The run was not enough however, as back to back threes by Mabry would keep the Wolverines double-digit lead ironclad.
Mabry’s hot shooting would continue to the fourth quarter, and the Wolverines would close out a dominant performance, beating the Vaqueros 75-62.
This was a game that the Wolverines desperately needed, looking dominant on both sides of the ball was a welcome sight for a team reeling from a tough loss. Hopefully this game will give UVU the momentum needed to beat a Grand Canyon University team who has not lost a conference game this year. The game will be at the UCCU Center this Thursday at 6:00 P.M. MST and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
