Grange lifts Wolverines over UTRGV 60-59

Michael Torres

January 21, 2022

schedule 2 min read
Josie Williams backs down her defender to get to the basket (Photo courtesy of UVU Athletics).

The Wolverines were in a neck-and-neck battle against the Vaqueros at the UTRGV Fieldhouse on Thursday night as they narrowly escaped with a victory 59-56. Madison Grange scored the go-ahead three-pointer with 30.5 seconds left.

Head Coach Dan Nielson stated, “Winning on the road is never easy so to be able to hang on is so big for us. I’m so proud of the fight we showed.”

Hanging on is exactly what the Wolverines did and it showed tonight especially behind the performance behind Grange, who put up a career-high 24 points to go along with five rebounds and one steal.

Nielson later mentioned, “Madison came up big for us tonight. That’s a shot we want her to take if it’s there and to have the kind of night she had and to hit that shot was so great to see.”

During the first quarter, the Wolverines were struggling to get the ball in the hoop shooting just  33% from the field. However, the Wolverine defense held firm, holding the Vaqueros to just  14 points in the first quarter. 

The Wolverines began to heat up from the outside as they shot a blistering 60% from three in the second quarter. By halftime, the score was 33-28 with the Wolverines taking control for the time being.  The game got more tightly contested down the stretch with only three minutes left in the fourth quarter Josie Williams made a powerful drop-step move scoring the layup and tying the game at 54. 

With that bucket Williams capped off a  21 point and 10 rebounds performance, notching her 11th double-double of the season. She also dished out two assists and grabbed two steals in the win. 

With 30 seconds to go and down by two points, the Wolverines came out with a three-point dagger from Grange who shot a scorching 6-7 from three-point territory throughout the entirety of the game. 

The Vaqueros had a shot to tie the game but the UVU defense stood tall in the closing seconds.

After the win on Thursday night, the Wolverines only have one more game in their road trip vs Lamar in Beaumont, TX on Saturday, Jan. 22. The game will tip-off at 1:00 p.m and can be streamed on ESPN+.