The matchup between Utah Valley and Seattle University went into overtime with the game tied at 68. But, the second of two away games for UVU ended in a loss, after a deep three sealed the game for the Redhawks 82-80 in Seattle on Saturday, Feb. 8.
This was the second game between the two teams on the season. The first resulted in a 70-58 UVU win on the Wolverines’ home court back on Jan. 11, in the middle of their hot seven-game win streak.
UVU looked to get back on the winning track after losing their previous three, while the Redhawks looked to add to their two-game winning streak. This resulted in a physical game in the Redhawk Arena in a game that consisted of 45 fouls between both teams and four players fouling out of the game.
A 7-0 run, all from sophomore center Josie Williams early in the third quarter, gave UVU their largest lead of the game at 15 points. The Redhawks would slowly start to chop away at that deficit and get within six points to end the quarter.
From there, SU’s senior guard Kamira Sanders scored 12 points for the Redhawks, just two points away from keeping up with the entire Wolverine roster in the final 10 minutes of play. She ended the night with a team-high 25 points.
Despite Sanders hot hand, UVU led the entirety of the fourth quarter, leading by as many as six points with a minute and a half left of play. By the time the final seconds were counting down, the Wolverines were only up two and a pair of made shots from the charity stripe by sophomore forward Hailey Vice-Neat tied the game.
Overtime started out positive for UVU, putting up three straight points, all free throws by sophomore guard Maria Carvalho and senior forward Jordan Holland. The majority of the Wolverines points in the extra period came from the stripe, 7-of-12 of them to be exact.
Sanders continued to her hot hand, scoring six points in OT but the game-winner came from Vice-Neat who calmly sunk her fourth deep ball on the night, and gave the Redhawks a two-point lead with six seconds left.
UVU head coach Dan Nielson called a timeout to draw his teams saving play but the Wolverines couldn’t execute it and wouldn’t get the shot off before the buzzer sounded ending the game 82-80.
The Wolverines will return home to host UTRGV on Thursday, Feb. 13 and New Mexico State on Saturday, Feb. 15. UVU is currently tied for third-place on the WAC leaderboard with CSU Bakersfield. Both teams hold a conference record of 5-4.
