Wolverines Collapse in Second Half at CBU, Drop Third Straight

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The Utah Valley University women’s basketball team has come back down to Earth. 

After winning their previous seven games — five of which included conference victories — the Wolverines are now amid a losing skid after suffering a loss to the Lancers of California Baptist University 80-67. The game took place Wednesday, Jan. 29 in the Golden State. 

Although senior forward Jordan Holland finished the afternoon netting 20 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, CBU outscored UVU in the second half 45-28 to seal the Wolverine’s doom.

Both teams got off to hot starts offensively. CBU shot 47% and UVU answered by shooting just over a 61% clip. The Wolverines did a good job limiting the Lancers at getting good looks from deep, which is the Lancer’s specialty. CBU leads the WAC in both shots attempted and made from behind the three point line. 

The Lancer’s scored 15 points from long distance in the second quarter, but the Wolverines were able to keep up offensively by shooting 9-of-15 from the floor to their own credit. The hot shooting is what enabled the Wolverines to hold a small lead of 27-23 at the end of the first quarter. 

Both squads cooled down a bit in the second quarter and only scored 12 points a piece. The Wolverines were able to stretch their lead to seven on two separate occasions before half, but another CBU triple just before the horn sounded cut the UVU lead to 39-35 at the break.

The second half is where CBU turned it on defensively, which is a big reason as to why they are one of the top teams in the WAC. UVU held a slim 48-43 lead in the third after a bucket by Holland and a triple by senior guard Alexis Cortez. CBU bounced back and outscored UVU 11-4 in the final two minutes and took the lead 54-52 heading into the final quarter.

The final frame was highly competitive between both teams. After Holland rattled off five straight points to cut the UVU deficit to two midway through the quarter, CBU drilled their final four attempts from three and seven shots overall to pull away and seal the victory. The Lancers were up by as many as 14 in the fourth quarter and outscored the Wolverines 26-15 in the final 10 minutes of play.

In addition to Holland’s 20 points, Cortez poured in 11 points off the bench while freshman center Megan Jensen and sophomore forward Eve Braslis each added eight points, respectively. 

The Wolverines won’t see the court again for a week and a half, and will try to utilize this time to regroup before they take on Seattle University at 4 p.m. MST next Saturday, Feb. 8 in Washington.

Photo by Hunter Hall