This Week's Action ...
Utah Valley State (2-6) will travel down University Parkway for its first ever regular season matchup against BYU on Saturday afternoon before traveling to Cedar City to take on Southern Utah next Tuesday, the 20th.
Both BYU and Utah Valley will have been off for a full week due to finals when they meet on Saturday. SUU plays host to Eastern Oregon on Friday, the 16th before the matchup with the Wolverines.
"These (in-state) games are important any time you are playing a school that's got basically the same recuiting pool," said Nixon. "It's important the we compete with these programs. Utah State was an opportunity for us to compete that we missed."
UV is coming off of a 74-51 loss at Utah State in their first in-state game of the season. BYU and Southern Utah will round out the Wolverines pre-Christmas in-state road swing. Following Tuesday's game at SUU, Utah Valley will have one more in-state game remaining vs. Weber State on January 7th in Orem.
Nixon's Return to BYU ...
Long time UV head coach
Cathy Nixon will make a return to where she spent her college days at BYU. Nixon played four seasons for the Cougars (1985-1988) and is still in the BYU record books as the 4th All-Time leading scorer with 1,771 points.
"I have a lot of good memories there," said Nixon. "I have good feelings about the people I knew when I was there, but I'm not so hooked on it being BYU more than it will be about us progressing as a team."
Nixon earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from BYU and started her coaching career there under Courtney Leishman and Jeanie Wilson.
Last Time Out ...
Utah Valley State fell to in-state rival Utah State last Saturday, December 10th in Logan 74-51. The win was the first of the season for the Aggies who now move to 1-5 on the season while the Wolverines drop to 2-6. Utah State used a 14-0 first half run to turn a four point deficit into a 10 point lead.
Utah State led the rest of the way, increasing the lead to by as much as 26 points. Utah Valley was led by
Miriam Palkki's 12 points while Rebekah Fales and
Hollie Beaman chipped in nine points each.
Utah State's Jessica Freeman scored 21 points and was a perfect 7-7 from the floor while hitting 7-10 from the free throw line. Former Utah Valley State player Ashley Rutledge scored 14 against her former team. Ali Marchant had a double double of 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Aggies.
The Wolverines hit just 15-56 (27%) from the field while USU shot 43% from the field and 47% from the three point line. The rebounding battle was even with each team picking up 42 boards.
The Aggies held Utah Valley State's top two leading scorers,
Robyn Fairbanks and Sandy Marvin, to just four points apiece.
Scouting the Opposition ...
BYU is a perfect 7-0 on the season with wins that include a 71-67 victory at current #24 UCLA. The seven straight wins to open the season is the best start in school history.
"They're a very good team," said Nixon. "They have a lot of experience and depth. But while it's not just another game, in a bigger sense, we're at the point where we've just got to take it one game at a time. "
They are led by Ambrosia Anderson's 22.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. The senior from Colorado Springs is currently 6th in the nation in scoring while shooting nearly 53% from the field.
Utah Valley and BYU met in an exhibition matchup on November 11, 2003 with the Cougars eking out a 49-47 win.
Southern Utah is 5-3 pending the outcome of Friday's contest against Eastern Oregon. They are led by Charmaine Piula's 13.4 points per game.
"They brought in a bunch of new kids and have gotten off to a good start," said Nixon. "It will be challenge for us. And with it being our last game before Christmas and an in-state game our kids want to go out and play well."
Utah Valley State fell twice to SUU last season, with one of the losses coming on a buzzer beater in Cedar City.
Up Next ...
The Wolverines will be off for Christmas until the 28th of December when they host Portland in the McKay Center. Two days later they will host Gonzaga in part of a women/men doubleheader with the UV men hosting High Point that evening as well.
