OREM, UTAH--Bakersfield (7-6) mounted a late comeback to defeat Utah Valley 61-59 in the Western Athletic Conference opener for both teams Saturday.

The Wolverines (3-11) jumped out to a 14-7 lead in the first half before the Roadrunners used a 15-1 spurt to take the lead. Bakersfield led 31-23 at halftime and pushed the advantage to 36-25 early in the second half before UVU used the 22-5 spurt to take the lead.

Bakersfield responded with a 14-6 run that was capped off by a Melissa Sweat (Sr., Bakersfield, Calif., Southern Oregon) basket that gave the 'Runners a 55-53 lead with 4:04 to play. The Wolverines tied the score at 55 after going 2-of-4 from the free throw line.

After forcing a Bakersfield turnover, UVU called timeout with 2:54 to play and took the lead, 57-55, on a Georgia Agnew layup 14 seconds later. Brooklyn Hinkens (Jr., Lake Tapps, Wash., Auburn-Riverside HS) hit a three to return the lead to CSUB, 58-57 with 1:35 to go. A Sweat steal on the ensuing UVU possession led to a Tyonna Outland (R-Jr., Compton, Calif., Lynwood HS) three-pointer for a four-point 'Runner advantage. Rhalah Spooner-Knight scored the next time down for Utah Valley who called timeout with 41 seconds to play.

Bakersfield worked the clock down to 13 seconds before Dajy Vines (R-Jr., Oxnard, Calif., Santa Clara HS) missed a jumper. UVU worked the ball to Whitney Jenkins who had her field goal attempt blocked by Sweat. The Wolverines called timeout after getting the rebound. Karlee Karchner jumper at the buzzer fell short, securing the Roadrunner victory.

Outland led the Roadrunners in scoring for the 11th time in 13 games as she charted 25. Batabe Zempare (So., Accra, Ghana, Scottsdale Chapparal HS) grabbed 14 rebounds. Hinkens' nine points was the second most on Bakersfield for the day.

"Our girls played extremely hard and we got the stops we needed at the end.  "Utah Valley is always a tough opponent. Ty had another great game. I'm very proud of the effort our entire team gave today."

Bakersfield travels to Grand Canyon on Thursday night. Tip in Phoenix is 7 p.m. (MST).

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