Opponent: IPFW
Date: March 1, 2006
Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Time: 3:30pm MST

Opponent: Texas-Pan American
Date: March 4, 2006
Location: Edinberg, Texas
Time: 6:00pm MST

This Week's Action ...
Utah Valley State will close out the 2005 season with a two-game road trip that begins at IPFW on Wednesday and finishes at Texas-Pan American on Saturday.

The Wolverines and the IPFW Mastodons will play for the first time ever while Utah Valley and the Pan American Broncs will face off for the third time overall and the second time this season. Utah Valley held of the Broncs on January 17th in Orem, 73-67.

Utah Valley needs one win to surpass the NCAA school record for wins in a season. UV finished its first season of NCAA play 11-13, in 2003-04.

The Wolverines are coming off of a 76-57 win over North Dakota State on senior night last Friday in Orem.

Seniors Miriam Palkki, Kaydee Allred and Jessica Scabby each played in the final home game of their careers against NDSU. Palkki scored 10 points and had seven rebounds, while Allred collected a season-high 10 rebounds.

Independents Update ...
Utah Valley State is currently fifth overall among all other D-I Independent teams behind South Dakota State, UC Davis, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Northern Colorado. They are 4-1 against Independent schools with two games to go.

Robyn Fairbanks continues to lead all Independent players in both scoring (18,0) and rebounding (8.0) while she is in the top three in both field goal percentage (.527) and blocked shots per game (1.2).

All-Academic Team Announced ...
Four Utah Valley State players were named to the D-I Independent All-Academic Team for their success both on the court and in the classroom. Seniors Kaydee Allred and Miriam Palkki, junior Veva Whitear and sophomore Rebekah Peterson were all named to the team.

All four had GPAs of at least 3.27 during the fall semester with Whitear the highest with a 3.925 GPA. It is the 2nd time that Allred has been named to the team.

Last Time Out ...
Three Utah Valley State seniors won their last home game in style as the Wolverines erased a two-point half time deficit to run away from North Dakota State 76-57 at the McKay Events on Friday.

Miriam Palkki, Kaydee Allred and Jessica Scabby all saw playing time in season's home finale. Palkki scored in double figures, pulled down seven rebounds and dished out four assists, while Allred had a team-high 10 rebounds and added four points. Utah Valley State head coach Cathy Nixon is pleased to see her seniors go out with a victory.

"I can't say enough about what they have done for this growing program," she said. "They have perspective on every step from junior college until now. No other class will have this type of growing experience."

The Wolverines (11-14) trailed 27-25 at the half before putting together a furious second half that helped four players score in double figures. Utah Valley outscored the Bison 51-30 in the second half en route to a comfortable victory.

Neither team shot well in the first half. Utah Valley shot 33 percent from the field, including 0-for-8 behind the three point line. North Dakota shot just 32 percent.

The Wolverines anemic first-half shooting turned red-hot in the second half. Just 15 seconds into the half, Hollie Beaman nailed a three-pointer that seemed to open the flood gates for Utah Valley. The Wolverines had runs of 14-4 and 7-0 that quickly buried North Dakota State.

"I was pleased with the way we committed ourselves defensively in the second half," Nixon said. "Our defense and rebounding led to a good offensive output."

The Wolverines were led in scoring by Sandy Marvin, who scored 19. Fairbanks added 14 and eight rebounds. Rebekah Peterson also scored in double figures with 10 points, all scored in a four minute span in the second half.

Scouting the Opposition ...
IPFW is 5-21 on the season but is playing its best basketball down the stretch having won three of its last four. The Mastodons beat North Dakota State on Sunday, 77-64 in Fort Wayne.

They are led by Johnna Lewis-Carlisle and Ashley Johnson, who average 14.2 and 14.0 points per game, respectively. Johnson leads the team in rebounds with 5.8 per game.

Texas-Pan American is 6-21 following a loss at Oregon State on Monday night. They are led in scoring by Devin Reed, who averages just over eight points per game.