Tessa Chaney had 12 points and 15 rebounds and Halle Nelson finished with 16 points and seven boards as Utah Valley women’s basketball survived, 59-56, against Seattle University on Saturday afternoon in the UCCU Center.

The Wolverines trailed for much of the game but Amanda Barcello made a driving layup to give UVU a 57-54 lead with 1:14 to play.

After the Redhawks narrowed the gap to just one point, the Wolverines got a big defensive stop and Eleyana Tafisi hit two free throws with 14.3 seconds to play to push the advantage for the home team back to three points.

It was a nail-biting final few seconds as Seattle missed a 3-pointer, UVU missed a couple of free throws and then the final Redhawk tie attempted bounced off the rim, giving the Wolverines the win.

Chaney set a new career-high in rebounds while Nelson’s scoring output is a new career-best for her. The two combined for 28 points and 22 rebounds with 22 points and 13 rebounds coming in the second half. The Wolverines (8-10, 3-6) got 49 of their 59 points from the bench.

“That whole group in the third quarter really came with great effort and energy and that got us going. Looking at what Halle and Tessa did, that’s awesome,” said UVU head coach Dan Nielson. “I thought we missed an opportunity early but credit to Seattle for fighting. They played a good game. But I’m proud of our fight and at this point in the season you take a win any way you can get it.”

Aannah Interrante and Peyton Howard led the Redhawks (1-17, 1-8) with 14 points apiece. The Wolverines got 10 points from Jenna Dick and also won the rebounding battle 49-35. Utah Valley also took advantage of Seattle U giveaways, turning 22 turnovers into 25 points.

Utah Valley scored the first five points of the game before going cold, missing 11 straight attempts from the field while the Redhawks scored the next 13 points to take a 13-5 lead. UVU went over seven minutes without scoring until Nelson cut the deficit to six on a layup with 1:11 left. Seattle U held a 15-9 lead after one.

The teams traded 6-0 runs in the second. First, the Wolverines ran off six straight to tie the game at 15-15 before the Redhawks answered and jumped back up six, 21-15. UVU got a 3-pointer from Amanda Barcello and a reverse layup from Liana Kaitu’u to close the quarter and make it 21-20 at the half.

Seattle scored the first nine points out of the break, including a pair of 3-pointers to take its biggest lead to that point, 30-20. Dick hit a three for the Wolverines to stop that run and start seven quick Utah Valley points that also included a bucket and free-throw from Nelson.

The run was extended to 16-6 after Nelson got another bucket and foul shot, tying the game at 36-36. The duo of Nelson and Chaney did much of the heavy lifting in the third, combining for 15 points and nine boards. Chaney’s layup and bucket with 23 seconds left in the quarter tied the game at 39-39 heading into the fourth.

Saige Gibb gave UVU its first lead since the opening quarter with a layup to open the fourth but that was short-lived as Interrante answered with her fifth 3-pointer of the game.

Dick hit a go-ahead three with 5:30 left during an 8-2 spurt that was stretched to 12-2 and led to a 53-48 Utah Valley lead. Seattle U trimmed it to one after hitting six from the line while the Wolverines sandwiched a layup from Nelson in between. That stretch made it 55-54.

That set the stage for the drama of the final few moments before the Wolverines were able to secure the win.

Utah Valley faces a pair of stiff tests next week. They’ll host Stephen F. Austin on Thursday in Lockhart Arena before traveling to Grand Canyon for a Saturday contest.

Wolverine men’s basketball loses close game at Seattle

Caleb Stone-Carrawell scored a team-high 14 points and Trevin Dorius added 10 to lead Utah Valley in a 62-61 setback on the road to Seattle U on Friday night at the Redhawk Center.

Despite only scoring only two points over the final 6:11, Utah Valley still had an opportunity to pull out the victory but missed a game-winning shot at the buzzer. UVU falls to 9-11 overall and 4-5 in WAC play. Seattle U improves to 12-8 overall and 5-4 in league play. UVU and Seattle U split the regular season series at one game apiece.

After trailing 40-34 at halftime, the Wolverines used an 11-4 run midway through the second half to go up by one point.

UVU was up 59-58 with 3:23 to play but the Redhawks scored four of the final six points of the game, including a pair of free throws with 21 seconds to go before the Wolverines missed a shot to win it at the buzzer.

Stone-Carrawell scored his 14 points on 6 of 12 shooting from the floor, including a pair of three-pointers. He also pulled down five rebounds with one steal. Dorius scored his 10 points on 5 of 10 shooting. Dorius also had five rebounds with one block.

Drake Allen and Osiris Grady each had nine points, while Jaden McClanahan finished with seven. Tanner Toolson finished with six points.

As a team, Utah Valley shot 47.2% (25-53) from the field with a 33.3% (6-18) mark from long range. Seattle U shot 32.8% (21-64) from the floor with a 19.4% (6-31) clip from long range. The Redhawks outrebounded UVU 43-30 on the night, which included 17 offensive rebounds. The Wolverines outscored SU 30-26 in the paint.

Utah Valley continues WAC road play next week as the Wolverines travel Nacogdoches, Texas to take on Stephen F. Austin on Thursday, Feb. 1 at William R. Johnson Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. (MT). The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and on ESPN 960 AM radio.

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