A third-quarter run propelled UT Arlington to a 67-53 win over Utah Valley University on Saturday afternoon in the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. Kylee Mabry and Eleyana Tafisi scored 13 points apiece to lead UVU while UTA’s Gia Adams led all scorers with 19.

The Mavericks (15-14, 11-8) had four players score in double figures, with Taliyah Clark finishing with 17, Adela Valkova adding 11, and Avery Brittingham had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Tahlia White finished with eight points and six boards, Liana Kaitu’u added seven points and Amanda Barcello had a team-high seven rebounds for Utah Valley.

The Wolverines (9-18, 4-14) responded after a slow start to take a lead into the half after outscoring UT Arlington 20-12 in the second quarter. That turned a 14-7 deficit after one into a 27-26 halftime advantage. A 10-1 run in the second, with six points from Tafisi, gave UVU a 19-17 lead with just under four minutes to go in the first half. The Mavericks took the lead late in the quarter before Kaitu’u scored the final bucket of the half to put the Wolverines in front by one.

Utah Valley led 29-26 after Tafisi opened the third with a layup before a quick 9-0 spurt in less than two minutes of game time put UT Arlington back in front by six, 35-29. It was 41-35 with 3:14 remaining when the Mavericks closed the quarter by scoring nine of the final 11 points. The last five came from Clark including a three as time expired in the quarter to give her team a 50-37 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of play.

The Wolverines closed to within eight in the fourth, on two separate occasions, but would get no closer.

The Mavericks forced 27 turnovers, securing 17 steals while turning it over 15 times against a Utah Valley team that entered the game with the best turnover margin in the WAC. The Wolverines had a 44-38 edge in rebounding and outshot the Mavericks from the field but 27 points from turnovers aided UTA in the win.

Utah Valley will now return home to close out the regular season with two games next week, starting with Tarleton State next Thursday, March 7 at 6 p.m. in the UCCU Center.

Wolverine baseball loses to Portland in 10 innings

Utah Valley University baseball fell 8-6 in ten innings to the University of Portland in the series finale. UVU (3-8) got off to a fast start, scoring five runs in the first two frames, but Portland (6-3) rallied late and won the game in extra innings.

Utah Valley scored three in the opening frame after loading the bases with singles by Daniel Dickinson, Burke Camper, and Calyn Halvorson. They broke through on a pair of run-scoring singles by Matthew Schwarz and Isaac Lovings, putting the Wolverines in front 3-0. UVU’s infield came to the aid of Mueller in the top of the second by turning a 5-4-3 double play to end the Pilot threat.

The defensive play turned into offense and added to their lead with a two-out double from Camper before a single from Halvorson put runners on the corners for Luke Iverson. The UVU sophomore cleared the bases with a double in the gap to put UVU up 5-0. Mueller finished the day with three innings and did not factor in the decision.

The two teams traded zeroes until the top of the sixth when Portland plated four runs in the visitors’ half inning to make it 5-4 after a two-run double by Spencer Scott and a two-run homer to left by Jonah Salk. They tied the game in the seventh on an RBI double and took their first lead in the ninth at 6-5.

Utah Valley forced extra innings after Camper hit his third long ball of the year to tie the game at 6-6. The Pilots bats came through clutch with a pair of two-out runs to get the 8-6 final score.

Camper, Dickinson, and Lovings each finished the weekend with two homers, and Garrett Broussard moved into 12th place all-time in at-bats with 611. UVU reliever Sims has moved into a tie with Marcus Moore and Devin Smith for most appearances with 55. He will move into 12th with his next appearance.

The Wolverines are back home on Monday, Mar. 4 against Gonzaga at 2:05 p.m. MT. They will embark on a five-game road trip to Northern California, with a three-game WAC series at Sacramento State and non-conference matchups with UC Davis and Pacific.

Bockman in Top 10 in latest wrestling RPI

The NCAA has announced the updated Coaches’ Panel Rankings and RPI rankings before next week’s Big 12 Tournament. The NCAA also announced the NCAA Championship allocation spots for each conference.

Evan Bockman led the way for the Wolverines in the rankings, coming in at No. 10 in the 197 RPI. The ranking puts him third in the Big 12, just behind No. 1 Tanner Sloan of South Dakota State and Oklahoma’s Stephen Buchanan, who came in at No. 8. The Coaches ranked him at No. 14, which matches his ranking by Flo and InterMat this week.

At 141, Haiden Drury entered the Coaches ranking at No. 29 but went unranked in the RPI as he did not meet the 15-match requirement at 141 pounds. He holds a 16-7 overall record, with some of those matches coming this season at 133. This week’s InterMat and Flo rankings had him at No. 29 and No. 32, respectively.

Jacob Armstrong came in at No. 29 in the final Coaches ranking. It was his first time being eligible for the rankings this season. He finished the regular season with a 12-6 overall record and was 3-2 against Big 12 foes.

The Big 12 Conference received 57 allocation spots for the 2024 NCAA Championships. They will get six at 125, 133, 149, 157, 165, 174, and 197. The conference will get five at 141, 184, and 285. The NCAA Championship field will consist of 330 student-athletes with 283 allocation spots and 47 at-large berths, which will be announced on Mar. 12.

The NCAA Championship brackets and selection show will air on ncaa.com on Mar. 13 at 6:00 p.m. MT. The 2024 NCAA Championships will occur Mar. 21-23 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Wolverines return to action on Mar. 9-10 for the Big 12 Championships at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.

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