Dec. 7, 2006

Box Score

Orem, Utah - Utah Valley State picked up its sixth consecutive win and improved to 2-1 against in-state opponents as the Wolverines beat Southern Utah, 74-63.

UV (8-1) got 25 points and 11 rebounds from Robyn Fairbanks. Fairbanks led four Wolverines in double figures. Utah Valley also forced 24 SUU (2-7) turnovers including 17 steals.

"We did some different things defensively today," head coach Cathy Nixon said. "I was proud about the way our girls executed defensively."

Utah Valley and Southern Utah fought back and forth throughout the first half. The Wolverines' defensive pressure forced 14 first-half turnovers.

Physical play dominated the early going with both teams struggling to find the basket. Utah Valley jumped to an early 9-4 lead when Susie Conejo hit a layup.

After a three-minute stretch that saw no points scored, Julie McMurray hit a three pointer to extend the Wolverines lead. With UV holding to a 18-14 lead, the Thunderbirds went on a 7-2 run capped by an Anne Westwood jumper to give SUU its first lead at 21-20 with 6:18 remaining in the first half.

Utah Valley State answered with an immediate basket to re-gain the lead. With the Wolverines ahead 28-27, they went on an 11-3 run over the final four minutes of the half to take a 39-30 lead to the break. Asumi Nakayama and McMurray each hit three pointers over the final four minutes while Ashley Grimm scored five points over that stretch for Utah Valley.

SUU's hot shooting kept the game close in the first half as the Thunderbirds hit 55 percent of their shots in the period including 3-of-4 from behind the three-point line. Utah Valley's defense came up with eight steals, including three each from Nakayama and McMurray to spark the Wolverines in the first half.

UV kept the defensive intensity in the second half. More Wolverines' started to fall in the second half. Utah Valley started the half outscoring SUU 18-10 over the first seven minutes of the half. When Fairbanks hit a three pointer with 13:03 remaining, UV opened a game-high, 16-point lead taking a 56-40 advantage.

With Utah Valley State up 65-49, the Thunderbirds scored eight unanswered points to drop the UV lead below double-digits. The Wolverines answered with a Fairbanks' jumper to give them a double-digit lead once again. Utah Valley finished strong and its lead did not drop below 10 again.

Utah Valley plays two more against in-state teams as the Wolverines travel to Ogden to take on Weber State Saturday before taking a week off for finals. After the Weber State game, UV will play host to BYU. The Wolverines need just four wins to set a school record for most Division I wins.

"We are trying to get better as a team each game," Nixon said. "I think we made strides today."