SAN DIEGO | Three Bulldogs finished in double figures as the Alabama A&M women's basketball team fell just short to the Utah Valley Wolverines, 56-54, in their first contest of the San Diego Thanksgiving Classic.  

Senior Lauryn Pendleton paced the Bulldogs, scoring 16 points and four rebounds. Kalia Walker followed suit with 14 points, two assists and two steals. Kourtney Rittenberry recorded 10 points and five rebounds, while Alisha Wilson led the Bulldog defense with seven boards of her own. AAMU went 13-13 from the line and picked up nine second-chance points.  
 

Tahlia White led the Wolverines with 19 points, four boards and three steals. Ally Criddle led UVU with five rebounds and four assists. Utah Valley picked up 16 bench points and saw 40 points come from within the paint.  

 

HOW IT HAPPENED  

• UVU took a quick 4-0 lead by way of a pair of layups from Chaney 

• Utah Valley extended its lead to five going into the first media timeout (11-6) 

• A pair of free throws from Walker got the Bulldogs within two of the Wolverines, but a 5-0 run put UVU in front at the conclusion of the first quarter, 16-9 

• AAMU was the first to score in the second frame, but Utah Valley ballooned their lead to seven to force a Bulldog stoppage 

• The Wolverines saw their largest lead of the contest up to that point at 28-17, but a three-pointer from Walker and four points from Pendleton lessened the margin. 

• Alabama A&M scored four more points, but entered the break trailing 34-28 

• The Bulldogs entered the second half with increased intensity, as Rittenberry opened the half with a jumper before forcing a UVU turnover 

• AAMU went on a 6-0 run to level the game at 38 all with four minutes remaining in the stanza 

• A pair of jumpers from Rittenberry put the Bulldogs ahead by one point as the teams entered the final quarter (44-43) 

• Walker added five unanswered points to extend AAMU's lead at 49-47, but a three pointer from criddle gave the Wolverines the ammunition they needed to go ahead of the Bulldogs by three, causing AAMU to call a stoppage (52-49) 

• Wilkerson's shot from beyond the arc tied the contest 54-54 with just over a minute remaining in regulation  

• Criddle recorded a layup that proved to be the difference maker, as Utah Valley claimed the contest, 56-54.  
   

GAME NOTES 

• Alabama A&M shot 38.8 percent (19-of-49) from the field and 100 percent (13-13) from the free-throw line 

• AAMU went 3-14 (21.4 percent) from behind the arc 

• The Bulldogs grabbed 30 total rebounds, 21 of them defensively  

• Lauryn Pendleton scored 16 points and four rebounds. 

• Kalia Walker recorded 14 points, two assists and two steals. 

• Kourtney Rittenberry tallied 10 points and five rebounds, while Alisha Wilson grabbed seven board 

• The Bulldogs finished with 22 points in the paint, 11 points from 17 Wolverine turnovers, and seven bench points 

• The Wolverines shot 47.9 percent (23-of-48) from the field, 63.6 percent from the line (7-of-11) and 21.4 percent (3-of-14) from behind the arc 

• Utah Valley grabbed 25 rebounds 

• Tahlia White led the Wolverines with 19 points, four boards and three steals.  

• Ally Criddle led UVU with five rebounds and four assists.  

• Utah Valley picked up 16 bench points and saw 40 points come from within the paint. 

• UVU picked up nine 12 steals and saw 19 points from 18 Bulldog turnovers

 

UP NEXT 

AAMU will face off with the San Diego Toreros on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. PST with live streaming on ESPN+. This will be the first meeting between the two.  

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