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LAS VEGAS — For several years, Utah Valley women's basketball coach Cathy Nixon recruited to her program without a chance of a postseason bid or an invitation to Division I college basketball's biggest month.
The Wolverines' long sojourn through the wilderness of the old Great West Conference and Division I independence came to a stirring conclusion Wednesday afternoon in southern Nevada.
Sam Loggins scored 10 of her team-high 14 points in the third quarter to help Utah Valley top Missouri-Kansas City 61-53 for its first Western Athletic Conference tournament win in three seasons as a member of its first automatic qualifying conference.
"For us to be in the WAC tournament and advancing to the semifinals is a dream for us, and it's something that's been a goal for us," Nixon said. "I'm really proud of these girls; they've been very resilient this year. I'm proud of the way they've stepped up."
Mariah Seals finished with 12 points and three rebounds for Utah Valley (16-14), who advanced to face top-seeded New Mexico State at 1 p.m. MST Friday.
The Wolverines trailed for less than two minutes early in the first quarter, and Deijah Blanks scored nine of her 11 points in the first half as the Wolverines opened the second quarter on a 10-0 run to take control for good. UVU held the Kangaroos (10-18) without a field goal for nearly four minutes of the second period to take a 25-14 lead with 4:16 left in the half.
"I'm always ready to play for my teammates, no matter what adversities we face," Blanks said.
Loggins came out aggressive in the third quarter to stretch the Wolverines' lead to 46-30 going into the final period. The junior from Boise hit UVU's first field goal of the second half and knocked down the last Wolverines shot of the third quarter with a cutback basket at the buzzer.
"I just tried my best to be aggressive and go hard," said Loggins, who also had seven rebounds. "My teammates gave me the ball, and I made it."
Good things happen for the Wolverines when Loggins stays aggressive, Nixon said.
"Sam was aggressive; it's a thing I challenge her to do every day," the coach added. "When she's aggressive, she's very difficult to stop."
The Wolverines' first two years in the conference yielded a pair of one-possession losses in the postseason tournament. Utah Valley lost to Cal State Bakersfield 65-63 in 2014 as the WAC swallowed up most of the now-defunct Great West following the nation's massive realignment cycle.
The Wolverines nearly pulled off an upset a year ago, coming from 10-down in the final two minutes in last year's quarterfinal against Seattle before ultimately falling 64-62.
When they had the favored seed on the opening day of the tournament, the fourth-seeded Wolverines took advantage of the fifth-seeded Kangaroos.
"After last year, with the buzzer going off, we set a goal to advance in this first round," Nixon said. "I'm proud of the girls tonight; we played about 37 minutes of very good basketball."
Kiana Law totaled 12 points and 15 rebounds to lead UMKC, which got 12 points and two blocked shots from Taylor Leathers.
