Dec. 15, 2007
Box Score
OREM, Utah - Utah Valley (9-2) remained undefeated at home and ended its two-game skid with a 91-87 win over Portland (7-4) at the McKay Center Saturday.
Robyn Fairbanks led UV with 28 points, on 9-of-13 shooting, and seven rebounds. Sandy Marvin had 22 points and three steals, while Julie McMurray chipped in 15 and point guards Hollie Beaman and Asumi Nakayama both dished out six assists.
"Robyn had fantastic game. Those are big strong posts, she worked hard on both ends of the floor," said head coach Cathy Nixon. "I see big progress with her defensively and offensively she was just really big and strong with the ball."
Both teams were hot from the floor, as the Wolverines shot 54.2 percent and the Pilots hit 51.2 from the field. Portland cleaned up the boards, pulling down 40 rebounds to UV's 25.
Nakayama came off the bench to contribute 12 points, tying a career high, along with some late-game heroics. Nakayama hit two straight three-pointers and two free throws in the closing minutes of the game to help Utah Valley pull out the victory.
The Pilots dominated the inside game in the opening minutes, as four buckets in the paint led to an 8-2 deficit for the Wolverines. After a brief timeout and another Portland basket, McMurray knocked down her second shot of the day, a three-pointer along the right sideline, to cut the Pilots' lead in half at 10-5.
Utah Valley turned up the defensive pressure, and a couple of UP turnovers led to some easy baskets for the Wolverines. UV took its first lead of the game as a result of a McMurray steal. After the takeaway, McMurray drove the length of the court and put down a left-handed lay-up to give Utah Valley the 13-12 lead.
Marvin tied the game at 15-all with a pair of free throws at the 13:30 mark of the first half. The Wolverines proceeded to go on an 8-3 run behind six points - all in the paint - from Fairbanks. Still ahead at 25-21 with 8:50 remaining in the half, Fairbanks sank another two points with a post-up move on the right block. Seconds later, she hit one of two freebies to make it a 28-24 game.
The Pilots fought back and eventually regained the lead with 4:54 to go on an Allyson Sievers lay-up that put her team ahead, 32-30. However, an 8-4 UV run to close the half gave the Wolverines a 38-36 halftime advantage.
Utah Valley spread the ball effectively coming out of the break, as four different UV starters scored the Wolverines' first four baskets of the second half. Holding onto a 46-44 edge with just over 15 minutes to play, Utah Valley extended its lead to six points behind two Marvin free throws and two Fairbanks shots from the charity stripe. Senior Rebekah Peterson hit from long range, giving the Wolverines their largest cushion to that point at 53-44.
UV led by as many as 11 points and looked to be on its way to a blowout before Portland came back once again. The Pilots used a 13-3 run capped by a Meagan Bermingham steal and lay-up to climb back to within one point at 63-62 with 7:47 remaining. Portland evened it up at 69-69 a minute-and-a-half later, as sophomore Laura Thomas sank one of two free throws.
UP completed its comeback, taking a 73-72 lead on a Bermingham turn-around jumper. The lead would switch hands five times in the last 4:30, the last time coming at the after Nakayama's trey with 2:27 to go. Nakayama's long ball was part of a back-to-back-to-back series in which the five-foot-4 guard hit two threes in a row capped by a Fairbanks bomb from behind the arc with 1:53 remaining.
The Wolverines then hit 7-of-8 from the free throw line in the final 49 seconds to ice the win.
Portland had six players reach double figures, led by Laiken Dollente and Karlie Burris, who had 17 points apiece.
The Wolverines travel to Durham, N.C., to take on No. 15 Duke Tuesday, Dec. 18 at 5 p.m. (MT). The game can be heard live at WolverineGreen.com.
