Nov. 24, 2006

Box Score

Orem, Utah - The Utah Valley State women's basketball team is off to the best start in the school's NCAA history after rolling past Southern Virginia 84-57 on Friday, to move to 4-1 on the young season.

After finishing the first half with a 41-20 lead, Robyn Fairbanks led the Wolverines on a 20-3 run to open the second half to break the game wide open. She hit all five of her shots and scored 15 points and pulled down five rebounds in the first four minutes and 18 seconds of the half to give Utah Valley a 61-23 lead.

The eventually grew to 41 when Susie Cornejo scored to put UV up 77-36.

"I thought we came out in the second half played our basketball," said Utah Valley head coach Cathy Nixon. "That was a good statement on our part."

Fairbanks finished with 21 points and nine rebounds, hitting 10-for-13 from the floor, all in just 15 minutes of action.

"That's the kind of basketball that Robyn can play when we see that energy and effort from her," said Nixon.

Lauren Smith set new career highs with nine points and eight rebounds in 20 minutes. Cornejo also pulled down eight boards for Utah Valley, helping the Wolverines to a 49-26 rebound advantage. Sandy Marvin had 11 points and six assists while Veva Ahlstrom had four steals for the Wolverines.

Kendra Romito had a double double for Southern Virginia with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Early in the game, Asumi Nakayama hit two three pointers as part of a 22-4 spurt that gave the Wolverines 28-8 lead.

Nixon was able to empty her bench, with every player on the roster seeing at least 13 minutes of action for Utah Valley.

Southern Virginia, an NAIA school, will also play Westminster and Southern Utah during its stay in the Beehive State. Former Lehi High School player Susie Jex had two rebounds in 11 minutes for the Knights.

The Wolverines will now have a chance to pick up their fifth win on Saturday when they host New Mexico State at 3:05pm in the McKay Center.