Dec. 19, 2008
Box Score
OREM, Utah - Robyn Fairbanks had another big game but Utah Valley was unable to hand Mississippi State its first loss, falling 71-63 on Friday at The McKay Center. Fairbanks finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds on 10-of-16 shooting as the Wolverines dropped to 4-6 while the Lady Bulldogs improved to a perfect 9-0.
Utah Valley closed within one, 47-46, using an 8-0 run capped by a Sandy Wall layup. The Lady Bulldogs then reeled off nine straight points, with six coming on second chance opportunities, to take a 56-46 lead and control of the game with 6:07 left.
Robin Porter began the 9-0 MSU spurt when she grabbed an offensive board and scored and was fouled. Following a Wolverine turnover, Alexis Rack hit a three followed by a Armelie Lumanu three on a possession in which Porter had two offensive rebounds.
The Wolverines got within five on a Julie McMurray three with 47 seconds left but the Lady Bulldogs, who were relentless on the boards all night, hauled down two offensive boards off of free throws in the final 17 seconds to seal the win.
Overall, Mississippi State outrebounded Utah Valley 41-35 and had a 19-to-11 edge on the offensive glass, leading to 23 second chance points.
"Against a team like that there's not a big margin of error," said UVU head coach Cathy Nixon. "I was pleased with a lot of aspects of the game. I thought we defended well on their first shots but we struggled keeping them off the boards and it was obvious that giving up those offensive rebounds turned things for us."
Wall had 16 points, six rebounds and four assists for UVU but McMurray, the team's second leading scorer, was limited to five points while playing just four first half minutes due to foul trouble.
The first half saw nine lead changes and seven ties before Mary Kathryn Govero, who has a team-high 16 for MSU, gave her team a 29-28 lead with 3:21 left before the Lady Bulldogs carried a 33-30 advantage into the break. MSU never trailed in the second half.
Rack finished with 13 for Mississippi State and Lumanu had a double double with 10 points and 11 rebounds to go along with five steals and four assists.
Kayla Burningham had seven points, five rebounds and four assists off the bench for the Wolverines, who will now have 10 days off before resuming action post-Christmas at Portland State on Dec. 29.
