OREM, Utah - Northern Colorado built an early double-digit lead and held on late for a 67-64 win over Utah Valley State Tuesday afternoon despite 29 points from freshman Robyn Fairbanks.
Utah Valley (10-14) had a shot to tie the game in the closing seconds but a three-pointer by Veva Whitear glanced off the rim and the Bears (13-13) hung on.
Robyn Fairbanks hit 12-for-14 from the field for the Wolverines. She scored her 29 points in 25 minutes of action after playing just six minutes in the first half due to foul trouble.
The game got off to a quick start with Northern Colorado hitting eight of its first nine shots and quickly building a double-digit lead at 18-8 with 15 minutes remaining in the first half.
"I wasn't happy with the way we came out," Utah Valley head coach Cathy Nixon said. "We gave them an early lead and had to play from behind the rest of the game."
Midway through the first half the pace of the game slowed but the Wolverines couldn't cut into the lead as the Bears maintained a 27-14 advantage with 7:50 left.
Utah Valley State had to play much of the first half without leading-scorer Robyn Fairbanks who committed two early fouls and only saw six minutes of action. Fairbanks--along with Miriam Palkki and Hollie Beaman--led the Wolverines with eight first-half points.
Northern Colorado was led by Heather Barbour in the early going. Barbour scored 14 points in the first 12 minutes of the game.
Defense stepped up for the Wolverines as they put together a run near the end of the second half. Down 33-20 with under-five minutes to play in the period, Utah Valley State outscored Northern Colorado 9-4 to cut the Bears' halftime lead to 37-29.
After the Wolverines started the second half on a 7-2 run to cut the Bears' lead to 39-36, Northern Colorado came back with its own 7-2 burst to build the lead back up to eight.
Utah Valley State clawed it way back, tying the game on at 51 on a free throw with 6:10 remaining in the game.
"We put ourselves in a position to win at the end," Nixon said. "I felt good about the way we competed.
The Bears came back with seven unanswered points in the next 90 seconds to hold a 58-51 lead with 4:32 remaining.
Defense prevailed in the next three minutes, with each team only managing one basket apiece. A pair of free throws from Fairbanks cut the lead to 60-55 with 55 seconds remaining. After forcing a turnover, Veva Whitear nailed a three-pointer to make the game a two-point deficit.
The Bears traded foul shots for Utah Valley State buckets. Northern Colorado maintained the 67-64 lead with 10.6 seconds remaining before Whitear's shot missed as the final horn sounded.
The Wolverines will now host North Dakota State on Friday night in what will be the final home game in the careers of seniors Miriam Palkki, Kaydee Allred and Jessica Scabby.
