Opponent: Westminster
Date: November 29, 2005
Location: Orem, Utah (McKay Center)
Time: 7:05pm MST
Opponent: Boise State
Date: December 1, 2005
Location: Boise, Idaho (Taco Bell Arena)
Time: 7:00pm MST
Opponent: Oregon State
Date: December 3, 2005
Location: Orem, Utah (McKay Center)
Time: 4:30pm MST
This Week's Action ...
The Wolverines have a busy week playing three games in five nights. They begin the week against local NAIA school Westminster College Tuesday before traveling to Boise State for a Thursday matchup. They return home Saturday to host Oregon State at 4:30, which will precede the Wolverine men's game vs. Sacramento State at 7:05pm.
Tuesday's game against Westminster will be the only game of the week that won't have live audio. The Utah Valley men play at Montana and that game will air on WolverineGreen.com. Thursday's game at Boise can be heard by going to BroncoSports.com. Live stats can also be found for the Boise State game at the same website. Saturday's game can be heard live on WolverineGreen.com.
The broadcast of home games will be on a game-by-game basis depending on the schedule of the Utah Valley State men's basketball games. The dates that conflict throughout the rest of the 2005-06 season are: December 28th vs. Portland, January 5th vs. Idaho State and January 7th vs. Weber State.
Last Time Out ...
Utah Valley State picked up its first win of the season in a 72-64 upset of Fesno State. Rebekah Fales led all scorers with 17 points for the Wolverines. The Bulldogs, picked to finish 2nd in the WAC this season, are coming off of a season that had them in the WNIT making the win that much more significant.
"It feels really good. For a Division-I win this is the biggest win we've had. Fresno State's a very good team," said Utah Valley State head coach Cathy Nixon. "We've been telling the kids that on any given night any team can beat somebody. With the situation we're in we basically have to take each game like it's a championship game."
The Wolverines closed out the game on a 10-2 run over the final 2:35, with eight of the points coming from the free throw line.
The entire second half was nip and tuck with neither team leading by more than five. Utah Valley was up 54-49 with 7:27 to go when Fresno went on a quick 7-0 run to regain the lead. The teams traded buckets until a reverse lay up by Ashley Grimm put UV up 64-62 with 1:47 to and gave the Wolverines the lead for good.
Fales' 17 points led all scorers while Parrish had a impressive double double of 15 points and 18 rebounds. Sandy Marvin had her third straight double figure scoring night, with 13 points while Miriam Palkki scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Fales was scoreless until the :58 second mark of the 1st half when she hit a jumper and followed that up with a three-pointer with just :03 seconds to go to give the Wolverines a one point lead. In the second half, what was lost confidence seemed to return as she scored 12 points in the half.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half as Fresno shot just 27% compared to 29% for the Wolverines. But in the second both team picked it up offensively. The Bulldogs won the battle of the boards 58-37 with 23 of their boards on the offensive end.
Scouting the Opposition ...
Westminster is 3-6 after losing twice in Idaho over the weekend. The Griffins lost at Albertson 74-61, then dropped a heartbreaking 69-68 game to Eastern Oregon at the Alberton College Invitational. Tuesday's matchup will be an exhibition contest for the Griffins.
Boise State is a perfect 4-0 on the season after beating Northern Colorado 73-59 on Saturday to win the Wingate Inn Thanksgiving Classic at Montana State. The win kept new head coach Gordy Presnell perfect in his career at Boise State and gave the coach his 400th career coaching win.
The Broncos have three players averaging in double figures, led by Jackie Lee's 16.0 points-per-game.
Oregon State is unbeaten at 3-0 and will travel to Utah for a two-game swing beginning at Utah on Thursday in Salt Lake City. The Beavers are coming off of a close 63-61 win over Drake on Saturday. Kim Butler's 17.3 ppg average leads the team.
Like Boise State, the Beavers also have a first year coach, former Duke assistant LaVonda Wagner.
Up Next:
The Wolverines will host Idaho next Thursday, December 8th at 7:05 followed by an in-state battle against Utah State in Logan on Saturday the 10th at 3:00pm.
