Nov. 14, 2009
Box Score
OREM, Utah - Utah Valley got a combined 34 points from its senior captains and a solid contribution off the bench to outlast Mesa State, 62-56, on Saturday afternoon in the Wolverines' (1-1) home opener.
Senior Julie Smith led the way with 18 points while another senior, Asumi Nakayama, chipped in 13 points and six assists. But it was the bench play of freshman Kyra Prause and sophomore Jenna Johnson down the second-half stretch that helped catapult UVU to the win.
"Kyra has really proven to be a gamer. She's really maximizing her minutes and rising to the occasion," said UVU head coach Cathy Nixon. "Jenna came off the bench and not only made a contribution offensively but also helped us on the defensive end, drawing a charge and getting a steal when the game was on the line."
Prause finished with eight points, four rebounds and four steals in 25 minutes while Johnson finished with seven points in 14 minutes. Kaycee Mansfield had nine off the bench, six in the first half, as the three combined for 24 of the team's 62 points.
"This game probably typifies what I think this team will be like," said Nixon. "We have to be good and solid and we've got to defend. We did a better job in the second half, taking away their inside looks."
Nakayama scored 10 of her points in the opening half as the two teams played to a 28-28 tie at the break. Neither team led by more than six points in the first 20 minutes.
The second half played out much like the first. The teams played back-and-forth for the first 12 minutes until a pair for Smith free throws gave Utah Valley the lead for good.
Still though, the Wolverines were never able to shake the Mavericks. With UVU nursing a 51-49 lead, Prause knocked down a three in the corner off an inbounds play to push the lead to five with 4:32 to go.
Johnson made it 56-49 when she followed a missed Nakayama jumper and put it back in. After two MSC free throws, Smith scored consecutive buckets to push the lead to a game-high nine with 1:42 to go.
Mesa State got as close as five in the final minute on a 3-pointer by Meagan Selvidge, who led her team with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the beyond the arc. Courtney McCaig added 14 points for the Mavericks.
Smith finished with seven rebounds as Utah Valley had a 32-30 edge on the boards. A day after getting outworked to the tune of 26 offensive rebounds at BYU, UVU limited Mesa State to just seven on the offensive glass.
After a day off on Sunday, the Wolverines host College of Idaho on Monday night at 7:05 p.m. before a two-game trip that will take them to SEC-Mississippi State and to Longwood in Virginia.
