UVU women’s basketball loses heartbreaker at UT Arlington
Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald
UVU head coach Dan Nielson directs his team during the WAC game against Cal Baptist at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025.Tahlia White had a career night with 34 points, but Utah Valley University dropped a heartbreaker, 85-83, at UT Arlington on Thursday night at College Park Center.
White was 13-for-20 from the field and had four steals while Danja Stafford Collins finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. Utah Valley (13-8, 5-4) finished with 16 steals, with Cambree Blackham also collecting four as she and Kylee Mabry also chipped in seven points, and Saige Gibb scored eight points off the bench for the Wolverines.
Taliyah Clark led the Lady Mavs (13-7, 8-1) with 24 points behind five made 3-pointers as UTA won its fifth straight game and avenged an earlier loss at Utah Valley to earn a split of the season series.
The game was deadlocked at 62-62 entering the fourth quarter with the Wolverines going on a 9-0 run midway through the quarter to turn a two-point deficit into a 73-66 lead with 5:12 to go. Clark answered a trio of 3-pointers to lead the Lady Mavs on a 13-2 spurt over the next three minutes to take a 79-74 lead with 2:26 left.
Utah Valley wouldn’t go away though, answering with five straight points to tie the game at 81-81 on a layup by Mabry. It was 81-77 with 1:25 left after a free-throw from Ally Criddle when White intercepted a pass and scored to get UVU within two. On the next possession, Mabry stole it and went the distance to tie the game at 81-81 with 1:02 left.
Zoe Nelson delivered the go-ahead bucket for UT Arlington with 49 seconds left and, after a UVU turnover, Avery Brittingham went 1-for-2 from the line. Stafford Collins scored with six seconds left to get UVU back within one before Clark went 1-for-2 from the line to make it 85-83, and the Wolverines’ attempt to tie or win the game went for naught. \
For the game, Utah Valley hit 49.2% (29-for-59) from the field while the Lady Mavs were 28-for-55 (50.9%). The teams combined to shoot 63 free throws; the Wolverines were 22-for-32 (68.8%) while UTA finished 23-for-31 (74.2%).
Utah Valley will now head to Stephenville to take on Tarleton State on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. CT/1 p.m. MT.
