Box Score

CHICAGO – Top-seeded Utah Valley took control with a 13-0 first-half run and went on for a 67-53 victory over fifth-seeded Houston Baptist in the semifinals of the Great West Conference Tournament Friday afternoon at the Jones Convocation Center. The Wolverines advance to face second-seeded NJIT in the championship game Saturday at 4 p.m.
 
Sophomore forward Shanice Steenholdt led HBU (7-24) with 18 points, eight rebounds and four steals. Sophomore guard Tayler Jefferson had eight points and four rebounds, while sophomore forward Erin McGarrachan had six points and three boards.
 
Sammie Jensen led Utah Valley (15-14) with 26 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Tina Doughty had 16 points, and Kaycee Mansfield had 15 points and five rebounds.
 
Utah Valley shot 44 percent from the field for the game, including 41 percent (7-for-17) from 3-point range, while HBU shot 35 percent, but only 19 percent (5-for-26) from long distance. The Wolverines went 16-for-20 from the free-throw line, while the Huskies were 10-for14. Utah Valley outrebounded HBU, 38-30.
 
Utah Valley got on the board first on a layup by Mansfield, but Jefferson nailed a three and Steenholdt made a spin move for a layup. Gray hit a 3-pointer for the Wolverines to tie it, but the Huskies responded with a 7-0 run. Steenholdt got it started with a layup, freshman guard Rachel Arthur drilled a three, then Steenholdt stole the ensuing inbounds pass and laid it in to give HBU a 12-5 lead with 15:40 remaining. Doughty made a three for Utah Valley, then Jensen converted a three-point play to cut the Huskies' lead to one.
 
Sophomore guard Maisie Elston drained a three for the Huskies, but Doughty answered with another trey for the Wolverines to start a 13-0 run. Jensen tied the game on a free throw, then Utah Valley went ahead on a pair of free throws by Mansfield, a runner by Doughty, a pair of free throws by Jensen and a three-pointer by Doughty to lead 24-15 with 9:00 to go.
 
After Steenholdt hit one of two free throws and made a layup, Doughty came back with her third three of the half. Steenholdt took a nice feed from sophomore guard Wiebke Bruns for another layup, but Utah Valley scored the next five to push its lead to 32-20. Jensen banked in a long jumper, and Doughty made a layup to extend the Wolverines' advantage to 16, but Elston buried a three from the corner and sophomore guard Devyn Weymouth knocked down a pair of free throws as the Huskies went into halftime trailing, 36-25.
 
Utah Valley shot 39 percent from the field, including 50 percent (5-of-10) from 3-point range in the first half. HBU shot 35 percent, but only 23 percent (3-for-13) from behind the arc. The Wolverines went 9-for-11 from the free-throw line, while the Huskies went 4-for-6. Both teams had 18 rebounds. Steenholdt led the Huskies with 11 points in the opening frame, while Doughty had 14 and Jensen had 11 for the Wolverines.
 
Alle Finch Cardwell hit a three to put Utah Valley ahead 43-29 early in the second half, but a three by Bruns and a putback layup by senior forward Joselyn Pugh got the Huskies back within eight at 46-38 with 10:45 to go. The Wolverines scored six-straight to lead by 14, but sophomore guard Tayler Jefferson hit a three and Steenholdt made one of two from the line to make it a 10-point game with 8:52 left.
 
Utah Valley scored six-straight to equal its largest lead of the game at 16, then went on to a 14-point victory.
 
With seven wins, the Huskies finished with their highest win total in three years.

Steenholdt was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 19.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.




All-Tournament Team:
Shanice Steenholdt (HBU)
Kaycee Mansfield (Utah Valley)
Sammie Jensen (Utah Valley)
Sarah Olsen (NJIT)
Rayven Johnson (NJIT) - Tournament MVP