CEDAR CITY, Utah - Southern Utah held of Utah Valley State down the stretch to pick up a 80-74 victory in Cedar City Tuesday night. The Wolverines stayed in the game the whole way, trailing by only four following a
Robyn Fairbanks' three with 44.3 seconds left.
The Wolverines cut the lead down to three at 72-69 with just under two minutes to go on a three-point play by
Hollie Beaman, but would get no closer.
Robyn Fairbanks led the Wolverines with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Cassie Hahl had 23 points and 12 rebounds for SUU. The T-Birds also got big contributions by Cheryl Grant, who scored 20 points for the T-Birds, and Julie Stradling, who picked a double double with 12 points and 10 boards.
Beaman set a new career high in scoring for the second consecutive game with 16 while Sandy Marvin rounded out the Wolverines in double figures with 13 points of her own.
Southern Utah was 22-for-35 from the free throw line for the game compared to just 8-for-11 by Utah Valley State. The Wolverines committed 26 personal fouls to just 11 by the T-Birds.
Southern Utah opened the 2nd half on a 12-5 run to take a 55-46 lead after at Cheryl Grant layup. The Wolverines used a 10-2 run to get back into the game aided in large part by three Fairbanks' buckets, to make it a two point game at 58-56.
Following a timeout, the T-Birds responded with an 8-0 run to take a 66-56 lead, their biggest lead of the game.
The lead was nine for SUU when Marvin hit a three and was fouled. She missed the chance for a four-point play but Fairbanks got an offensive rebound and put back to cut the lead to four at 70-66, leading up to Beaman's three-point play.
The Wolverines led for much of the first half after going on a quick 9-0 run early in the game to take 15-10. They then stretched the lead to eight at 22-14 on a Palkki three-pointer.
SUU fought back though, using an 8-0 run of its own to turn a six point deficit into a two point lead at 33-31. The two teams played even the rest of the half, with the T-Birds holding a 43-41 lead at the break.
The Wolverines will be off for Christmas and resume play Wednesday, December 28th against Portland in the McKay Center at 7:05pm. They will then host Gonzaga on the 30th at 4:30pm as part of a women/men double header. The Utah Valley men will host High Point that same night at 7:05pm.
