OREM — Five players scored in double figures and Taylor Gordon set a new single-season steals record as Utah Valley University notched its second straight win, running past Chicago State, 73-54, on Saturday night in Lockhart Arena. The Wolverines (8-16, 3-6) used a 22-2 fourth-quarter run to put the game away.
Mariah Seals had her first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 10 assists. Sam Lubcke led Utah Valley with 18 points while Keana Delos Santos scored a career-high 12. Gordon also scored 12 while Gabrielle Leos added 10.
"The balanced scoring was really nice for us tonight and for Mariah to get the double-double was great for her," said UVU head coach Cathy Nixon. "I'm proud of Taylor for getting that record, and doing it with still a few games left on the schedule. It's good to get two wins in a row hopefully keep that momentum going and build on that for next week."
Gordon collected her second of three steals two minutes into the second quarter to become the program's single-season steals leader with No. 69, passing Asumi Nakayama. She ended the contest with three takeaways to push her total to 70 in her junior campaign.
The Wolverines hit 52.8 percent (28-for-53) from the field and outrebounded the Cougars (0-24, 0-10) 35-21, with Lubcke leading the way with 10 for her eighth double-double this year. Utah Valley also had 16 steals on the night, four each from Lubke — a new career high — and Seals.
The Wolverines hit six of their first seven from the field to start the game to jump out to a 14-0 lead. UVU led 18-8 after one.
Up 18-10 in the second, Seals hit back-to-back buckets capped by a three-pointer, and Gordon ended a 7-0 run with a jumper to give the Wolverines a 25-10 lead. The Cougars clawed within seven, 32-25, during a 7-0 run before a pair of Lubke free throws gave Utah Valley a 34-25 lead at the break.
The Wolverines extended the lead up to 17, scoring the first seven points out of halftime, but the Cougars responded by scoring the game's next 11 points to get within five. CSU got as close as three in the quarter, but Seals gave UVU some breathing room with a three in the final seconds of the quarter for a 49-42 lead heading into the fourth.
Guard Jessica Cerda knocked down a 3-pointer for Chicago State to open the fourth but UVU scored eight straight — five coming from Gordon — to lead 57-45 with 7:31 remaining on the game clock. The Wolverines extended the run to 22-2 to take their biggest lead, 71-47, with just over a minute left on Gordon's fifth and final bucket of the evening.
Cerda led all Cougar scorers with 24 points, hitting 9-of-17 from the field and going 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.
UVU's 18 dimes in the contest marked its highest assist total in nine WAC games this year, while it was the squad's third-highest amount this season. Those helpers led to Utah Valley's first game all season with five players scoring in double digits.
"When you have such a spread out offense with everybody scoring, the other team can't just key on one player in particular. That's what I kind of wanted to come out and do as a team today. We got to show that everyone out there can score," said Seals.
The Wolverines head back out on the road next week, with games at CSU Bakersfield (Feb. 16) and Grand Canyon (Feb. 18).