Feb. 17, 2009
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio - Despite 32 points and 10 rebounds from Robyn Fairbanks and 23 points from Sandy Wall, Utah Valley's seven-game winning streak came to an end at Ohio University, 83-74, on Tuesday night.
Fairbanks, who finished with three blocks, recorded her sixth consecutive double-double and 45th of her career. It was also her 20th career 30-point game. She scored 20 points in the second half while Wall had 19 of her points after the break. Julie McMurray finished with 13 points, six rebounds and seven assists and Asumi Nakayama also had seven assists for UVU.
Playing their third road game in six nights, the Wolverines (13-9) could not overcome a sluggish first half on the offensive end. Clinging to an early 19-16 advantage with nine minutes remaining in the first half, UVU went cold.
The Bobcats (9-15) went on a 10-0 run over the next six minutes before Fairbanks finally ended the scoreless drought on a layup with three minutes left. Ohio closed the half on a 21-6 run to take a 37-25 lead at the break.
Jennifer Bushby scored all 12 of her first half points during the run including a jumper as time expired. Bushby finished with a team-high 22 points, six assists and four steals.
Utah Valley trimmed the deficit to five, 46-41, with 14:48 remaining on a McMurray layup but could get no closer the rest of the way. The Wolverines got within six on two occasions, but each time the Bobcats were able to push the lead back into double digits.
Ohio held a slim 37-34 advantage on the glass, both teams had 20 assists and the Wolverines had 14 turnovers compared to 15 by the home team. The Bobcats were 32-for-62 (51.6 percent) from the field while UVU shot 46.3 percent (31-for-67). The most glaring statistical difference came from the 3-point line, where Ohio hit 5-of-11 compared to just 2-for-17 (11.8 percent) for the Wolverines.
Fairbanks upped her nation-leading scoring average to 26.2 points per game and is now just eight rebounds shy of becoming the first UVU player with 1,000 boards. Tuesday's game gives her 2,382 career points and was also her 75th consecutive game scoring in double figures. She has scored in double figures 99 times in 105 career games.
Utah Valley will play its final road game of the season next Monday in Fargo, North Dakota at North Dakota State of the Summit League at 6 p.m. MT.
