Utah Valley University survived an overtime marathon against Sam Houston, 73-69, on Thursday afternoon to close out the pre-Christmas and non-conference schedule. The teams combined to shoot 79 free throws with a total of 58 fouls called.

Tessa Chaney finished with a career-high 14 rebounds, none larger than one on the offensive glass with 32 seconds left in the overtime. She pulled the missed shot down and laid the ball in to put the Wolverines (5-6) ahead for good. Ally Criddle then knocked down two free throws to ice the game with 7.5 seconds left.

Jenna Dick finished with 14 points to lead UVU while Tahlia White added 10 points, and the trio of Liana Kaitu’u, Ally Criddle and Eleyana Tafisi each scored nine. Raanee Smith had 13 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks for Sam Houston as three Bearkats finished with double figures in rebounds; Kassidy Dixon matched Smith’s 11 and Kaylee Jefferson grabbed 10. Halle Nelson had a career-high nine rebounds for the Wolverines.

“It was a great team effort, and the belief was there even when we were up against it at the end. I don’t love how many times we put them on the line, but everyone made big contributions today” said UVU head coach Dan Nielson. “It definitely feels better going into Christmas with a win.”

In regulation, UVU trailed 61-60 when Dick hit a go-ahead three with 2:04 remaining. Kaylee Jefferson tied it with two from the line and then, with 21 seconds left, Shanti Henry gave the Bearkats a 65-63 lead with two more free throws. Criddle, who was 7-for-8 from the line on the day, forced overtime when she buried two clutch foul shots with just four seconds on the clock.

The Bearkats (5-6) shot 40 free throws in the game, making 33, while the Wolverines were 17-for-29 from the line. The Wolverines shot 38.5% (25-for-65) while holding Sam Houston to just 23.9% (16-for-67).

Utah Valley led 17-12 after one quarter after limiting the Bearkats to just 4-for-17 from the floor. In the second, Dick hit her second three to give the Wolverines a 24-19 but that was answered by a 12-2 run from Sam Houston. The Bearkats forced eight turnovers in the quarter and got to the line eight times during the run, making six, before 3-pointers from Shanti Henry and Sydnee Kemp capped it.

UVU trailed 34-28 after Henry got to the line after a foul was whistled on a shot from beyond the arc and she hit all three from the line. White got the Wolverines within three, 36-33, at the half with her second triple with just over one minute remaining. She led all scorers with 10 at the half while Dick had eight.

Neither team shot it well in the third with Sam Houston going just 2-for-18 from the field and Utah Valley going 5-for-17. Both teams got to the line throughout the quarter with UVU making 10-or-14 and the Bearkats making all 11 of their attempts.

Kaitu’u and Dick both had three steals as the team finished with 14 while forcing 26 turnovers. The Wolverines had 27 turnovers in the contest. Utah Valley will now be off until Jan. 4 when they resume conference play at California Baptist.

Newsletter