OREM, Utah — The Chicago State women's basketball team (3-13, 2-5 WAC) fell, 82-62, to Utah Valley on Thursday evening at the UCCU Center.
Allysah Boothe led the Cougars with 11 points, while Nafatoumata Haidara dropped in six points and a game-high 15 rebounds in the loss. Jazmine Covington nailed two three-pointers in an eight-point outing.
In the first quarter, the Wolverines came out hot and opened up their scoring with an 8-0 run, setting the tone. However, the Cougars did claw back with a trey by Quentarra Mitchell to open up their scoring.
The Wolverines never let up, though, and even with the Cougars shoot 4-for-6 from behind the arc, UVU maintained the lead they had secured early on with a score of 28-19 to end an offensively-charged first quarter.
To start the second, the Wolverines once again came out and opened up the scoring with a layup, this time from Josie Williams, increasing their lead to 11.
Nevertheless, the Cougars bounced back with a 6-1 run featuring buckets from Kyjai Miles and Haidara which neared the Cougars closer with a score of 31-25.
Ultimately, however, the Wolverines countered and went into halftime on a 7-0 run which saw the Cougars down 47-31.
In the third quarter, the Cougars and Wolverines each opened up their scoring with four points and then both traversed a scoring drought for a total of four minutes.
It wasn't until the clock showed four minutes that the Wolverines finally broke the stalemate and executed another 8-0 run.
The Cougars then went on to finish the quarter with an impressive 7-0 run, which featured Boothe scoring five points and Covington dropping a bucket, as they decreased the lead back to 61-45.
In the fourth, the Cougars executed a 10-0 run, as Boothe continued her hot streak, along with a phenomenal driving layup by Miles.
In the end, though, despite the Cougars' efforts, the Wolverines cruised to the win, finishing at 82-62.
The Cougars will continue their Utah road trip with a clash at Dixie State in St. George, with tip-off slated for 4:00 p.m.
About Chicago State
Chicago State University Athletics is comprised of 15 intercollegiate teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. CSU held memberships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and NCAA Division II before transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1994. Melvin Bland was the first CSU student-athlete to gain NAIA All-American status in 1974 as a wrestler. Fred Evans became the first black swimmer ever to win a national championship in 1975. In 1991, the Chicago State women's tennis team became the first all-black college team to amass an unbeaten season at the NCAA level. CSU's women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational and CSU's men's basketball team won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament title, also making an appearance in the CollegeInside.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). The Men's Outdoor Track & Field 4x100-Meter Relay team were 2019 Honorable Mention All-Americans and WAC Champions. Their feat marked the first time the Chicago State's men's track & field program was represented at the national meet. Chicago State volleyball recorded a historic season in 2021, with Yanlis Feliz becoming CSU's first volleyball All-American and head coach Tony Trifonov earning selection as WAC Coach of the Year.
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