Box Score : Cumulative Stats

Ogden, Utah- The Utah Valley State women’s basketball team ran into one of the top teams in the Big Sky Conference, losing 78-47 to Weber State Saturday night in Ogden.

The Wildcats leading scorer, Julie Gjertsen scored 21 points in 25 minutes of play, showing why she is one of the top players in the Big Sky.

In the first half alone, Gjertsen scored 18 points, including Weber State’s first 11 points of the game, as the Wildcats jumped out to a 36-15 lead at the break.

“She’s good. Any kid that works that hard away from the ball and can shoot the ball like that is very difficult to defend,” said Utah Valley coach Cathy Nixon.

There were some bright spots for Utah Valley State. After trailing 50-17 with 13:35 remaining, the Wolverines finished the game outscoring the Wildcats 30-28.

“Weber State’s a good team. They’re a Big Sky Championship contender,” said Nixon. “And for us, we’re building a program. Regardless of who were playing we’ve just got to have effort. And I was really pretty happy with
our effort overall.”

Rebekah Fales finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and a career high 10 rebounds for Utah Valley. Miriam Palkki also scored nine for the Wolverines.

Coach Nixon was able to finish the game with five freshmen on the floor and was pleased with the way they competed.

“I thought Rebekah came in there and did a nice job. I was happy to be able to play these five kids together. They all need that experience,” said Nixon. “I also thought Bistra did a really nice job against some good post
players.”

Turnovers were another bright spot for the Wolverines. After turning it over 11 times in the first half they only gave it up once in the second.

Up next the Wolverines will host Eastern Washington on Monday, January 10th at 7:05 in The McKay Center. The Eagles will be the fourth straight Big Sky Conference opponent for the Wolverines. All Utah Valley State students and employees get in free with school ID.