Feb. 17, 2007
Brookings, South Dakota - Robyn Fairbanks had 21 points and put Utah Valley State up one late in the ball game but the Wolverines' upset bid fell short, 61-59, at South Dakota State (20-5) in front of 2,652 fans at Frost Arena on Saturday.
SDSU star Megan Vogel was held to just seven points in the game but ended up the hero with the game-winning three-pointer with 2:28 left.
Neither team scored the rest of the way as Sandy Marvin's jumper with three seconds left caught the front of the rim and fell off.
"Overall it was one of our best team efforts, defensively it was very good," said head coach Cathy Nixon. "We we saw the tip of the iceberg with what our girls can do. For the kids to perform in this environment shows a level of confidence, I'm very proud of the way they played with this loud crowd."
The win was ninth straight and the 20th of the year for South Dakota State (20-5), who had beaten its four previous opponents by an average of over 45 points per game. Utah Valley (12-13) is now 2-5 in United Basketball League play and under the .500 mark for the first time this season while SDSU improved to a perfect 7-0 in league play.
Julie McMurray had 17 points for the Wolverines on 7-for-11 shooting with Marvin scoring 14 points and dishing out five assists. Fairbanks scored her 21 points on 10-for-14 from the field while Hollie Beaman had a game-high eight rebounds.
Courtney Grimsrud had 13 points to lead the Jacks with Maria Boever adding 11.
Early on, South Dakota State's struggles from the field early on allowed the Wolverines to go on a 12-2 in the first half to take a 27-19 lead with 4:54 left in the first on a Fairbanks three-point conversion.
At that point Utah Valley was 11-for-19 from the field but a 0-for-5 stretch and four turnovers during the final minutes of the first half allowed the Jacks to get back within one point, 27-26, by the break.
The Wolverines finished the half 11-for-24 (45.8%) while the Jacks hit just 10-for-35 (28.3%) but 11 UV turnovers kept SDSU close.
The Jacks scored first in the second half to push their run to 9-0 and take a 28-27 lead. The game see sawed back and forth for the next six minutes until Marvin scored to put UV up 42-41 with 12:16 remaining.
South Dakota State then went on a 10-0 run over the next five minutes to take its biggest lead of the game, 51-42.
McMurray stopped the run with a three-point play with 7:38 to go, sparking a 13-2 run that she capped off with a three from the corner with 5:08 left in the game.
After Verdegan hit a three with 3:09 to go to put SDSU up 58-57, Fairbanks answered right back before Vogel's game winner with 2:28 left.
The Wolverines out-rebounded the Jacks 38-32 but committed 23 costly turnovers, compared to just 12 by SDSU.
The Wolverines will host IPFW next Thursday at 7:05pm before Senior Day on Saturday at 3:05pm against New Jersey Tech. Both games will be played in the McKay Center.
