Nov. 24, 2009

Box Score

OREM, Utah - A big first half carried Boise State past Utah Valley, 79-55, on Tuesday night at The McKay Center. It's the third straight loss for the Wolverines, who dropped to 2-4 on the year.

The Broncos (5-0) were firing on all cylinders early, hitting seven of their first 10 shots from the 3-point line on the way to 50 percent (17-for-34) shooting overall in the first half. As remarkable as the accuracy may have been BSU's offensive balance, with seven different players each hitting once from beyond the arc.

BSU's hot start, combined with just a 9-for-28 (32.1 percent) first half for the Wolverines, led to a 20-point half time lead, 46-26, for the visitors.

UVU made a mini-run early in the second half to trim the deficit to 14, but Boise State scored 18 of its 34 points inside the paint in the final 20 minutes en route to the 24-point win.

Julie Smith scored a season-high 23 to lead the Wolverines and also had a team-high eight rebounds, but was the only UVU player in double figures. Kayla Burningham finished with nine points to go along with two blocks and two steals.

The Broncos got 18 from Tasha Harris and 10 from Julia Marshall while Melissa Rima had eight points, eight rebounds and four blocks and Kinzi Poteet pulled down a game-high nine boards.

The Broncos cooled in the second half and finished at 43.8 percent from the field. The Wolverines had a better second half but shot just 37.9 percent for the game.

Utah Valley was outrebounded 43-34 after both teams were deadlocked with 20 boards at the break. Boise State also took advantage of 18 Wolverines turnovers, turning that into 25 points while limiting UVU to six points off of its 14 giveaways.

The Wolverines will now hit the road for the Wingate Thanksgiving Classic at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. Utah Valley will face Winthrop on Friday at 5:05 p.m. MT and then either host Montana State or Southern Utah on Saturday.