Utah Valley women use mammoth third quarter to open WAC Tourney with win

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LAS VEGAS — The tide was turning for Utah Valley women's basketball in the second quarter of the Wolverines' postseason opener Thursday in Las Vegas — in favor of UTRGV.

High tide rebounded a quarter later on the banks of the Orleans Arena.

Maria Carvalho poured in 21 points, including six 3-pointers, and Josie Williams added 22 points, 15 rebounds and three assists as Utah Valley powered through a big third quarter to advance to the semifinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament with a 72-57 win over Texas-Rio Grande Valley at the Orleans Arena.

Megan Jensen added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Wolverines, who shot 47% from the field including an eye-popping 18-3 run in the third quarter as they seek their second NCAA Tournament bid in program history.

"You could kind of feel the tides turning there," UVU coach Dan Nielson said of the third.

It was "definitely way better than the first half," Carvalho deadpanned.

"When we went to the locker room, we were all upset with our performance," she added. "We talked about how defensively we didn't do the best job.

"I believe that we all got together, and realized we're here to win, right? We just did our best to guard and to share the ball inside and out."

Maria Carvalho of @UVUwbb comes through with our @HerculesTires Strong Move of the Game! pic.twitter.com/zg4iY7xIRD
— The Western Athletic Conference (@WACsports) March 10, 2022

Taylor Muff had 12 points and six rebounds to lead the Vaqueros, and Sara Bershers added 12 points, four rebounds and two assists. Arianna Sturdivant added 12 points with three 3-pointers for UTRGV.

Utah Valley shot 60% from the field in the first quarter, including a perfect 5-for-5 from Williams for 10 points, en route to a 21-17 lead at the break. That included Carvalho, who knocked down a pair of threes for 9 points while helping to hold UTRGV to jut 8-of-20 shooting.

But the Vaqueros held Utah Valley scoreless for more than 2 1/2 minutes, capping a 10-0 run with Sturdivant's second 3-pointer of the contest with 2:19 left in the half to go up 32-29. The Wolverines shot just 2-of-9 from the field in the second quarter, and UTRGV forced six turnovers to take a 34-31 edge at the break.

"We got a lot of fight in us," UTRGV coach Lane Taylor said. "The group really came together, and Taylor really deserves a lot of credit for that. When you have a player like her who has played volleyball at a very high level, she came into practice the first day and was just leading the sprints and teaching us how to be Division I athletes. She really led us.

"Even when we got down, we just knew that if we hit five-in-a-row, we still had a chance. It just wasn't our day."

Utah Valley retook the lead with a 12-0 rush out of halftime, a run capped by Megan Jensen's layup while holding the Vaqueros scoreless on six shots over the first five minutes of the third quarter. Carvalho drained her fourth triple of the game to stretch the Wolverines' lead to 49-37 two minutes later, and UVU outscored the Vaqueros 18-3 in the third quarter to take control for good.

The Wolverines also took better care of the basketball — they had just three turnovers in the entire second half — and shot 62% from the field in the final quarter to stay ahead the rest of the way.

"I get so excited when teammates go off, like Megan tonight," said Williams, the former Roy High star who had her 23rd double-double of the season. "As a big, I love it."

The Wolverines (16-14) will faced top-seeded Stephen F. Austin in the WAC semifinals Friday at 1 p.m. MST (ESPN+). Utah Valley lost its first three games in WAC play before winning seven of their last nine.

Among the stumbles during a 10-8 run through the WAC? A 68-53 loss to Stephen F. Austin, the league newcomer that placed two players on the All-WAC first team along with coach of the year Mark Kellogg after a 17-1 regular season in conference play.

"We're going to have to be really consistent through all four quarters," Williams said. "They got a big lead early on us in Orem, and had a hard time coming back from it. I think if we're more consistent through all four quarters, we can do better.

"I'm excited to play them again."