Fourth quarter rally comes up just short as Dixie State falls to Utah Valley in Old Hammer Rivalry
Trailing by 17 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter and lacking energy on the bench and on the court, it seemed as though the Dixie State Trailblazers (6-10, 2-2) were heading toward their third double-digit loss in four games.
Down 62-45, Dixie head coach JD Gustin regathered his team, and his newly energized club embarked on a 17-0 run to tie in-state foe Utah Valley (6-9, 1-3) late before the Wolverines recovered and escaped with a 68-65 victory and snapped a five-game losing streak in the process
Emily Isaacson got the ball rolling in the Trailblazer comeback, knocking down a three. Following the bucket from Isaacson, Gustin called timeout to regroup.
"We had to pull it back together again," Gustin said. "We went back to our original defense that we started the game in. We just decided to try it again and see if they would miss threes this time, and this time they did."
Out of the timeout, Isaacson tacked on five more to cut the lead down to nine.
Shanaijah Davison—playing in just her third game with Dixie due to NCAA transfer rules—cut the lead to seven.
Breaunna Gillen scored five straight points before Davison tied the score at 62.
Davison tallied 12 points in the opening quarter and didn't score again until her bucket to cut Utah Valley's lead to seven.
"I think she got a little tired," Gustin said. "Part of our deal is three games in five days. We don't have a deep bench so trying to keep these kids fresh is a huge deal."
"I just had a different mentality (in the first quarter). I told my teammates that I wanted us to come out like we did on Saturday night in the second half," Davison said. "I think I had that momentum in the first half and then I started turning the ball over a little bit and got a little down on myself but I knew I had to pick it up."
After blowing a 17-point lead, Josie Williams and Maria Carvalho each split a pair at the foul line. A strong finish in traffic by Williams pushed the Wolverines lead up to four at 66-62.
A three from Isaacson cut the lead to one. Williams converted two free throws with 2.8 seconds left, and a Davison half-court heaved sailed wide at the buzzer to give Utah Valley the win.
Williams scored 18 points and hauled in 14 rebounds for Utah Valley.
In her first two games, Davison played 38 minutes against Cal Baptist and 37 minutes against Seattle University on Saturday.
"I'd say that first game was a lot of nerves," Davison said. "Being out for two years and finally stepping out on the court in a different environment. I thought I was going to be okay in my home gym but those first game jitters—there's nothing like it."
Davison played 37 minutes against Utah Valley on Monday afternoon.
Davison scored over 1,000 points at Long Beach State University, and the addition of her to the lineup adds another weapon for Gustin, but also changes up roles for Breaunna Gillen — whose emergence as a playmaker and lead guard has been a bright spot for Dixie.
Gillen, as she has done consistently throughout the year for Dixie, stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, eight rebounds, and dished out six assists.
"I love playing with her," Davison said. "We keep getting these compliments and everyone saying we're the dynamic duo. It's so much fun. You would think that we've been playing with each other for years... I feed off of her and she feeds off of me."
Davison also finished with 16 points in the loss.
Emily Isaacson scored a game-high 19 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter.
The Trailblazers hit the road for a Texas swing on Thursday at Lamar and Saturday at University of Texas- Rio Grande Valley.
Sean Ellertson is a sports reporter for the St. George Spectrum & Daily News. To continue to support his work, please subscribe to The Spectrum. Follow Sean on Twitter @SeanEllertson.
This article originally appeared on St. George Spectrum & Daily News: Fourth quarter rally comes up just short as Dixie State falls to Utah Valley in Old Hammer Rivalry
