Jan. 21, 2010

Box Score

OREM, Utah -- South Dakota held off Utah Valley, 65-56, on Thursday night at the UVU Events Center in Great West Conference women's basketball action.

In a game that was knotted at 28 at the half, the Coyotes (7-8, 1-1) got a big game from Amber Hegge, who finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four blocks and hit 8-for-12 from the field.

The Wolverines (4-16, 0-3) were led by 17 points from Jenna Johnson, who played all but the final 29 seconds after fouling out. Asumi Nakayama played all 40 minutes and finished with 11 points. Kaycee Mansfield came off the bench to score eight points and pull down seven boards while Erika Newbold had just the opposite, with seven points and eight rebounds.

UVU got off to a slow start offensively, falling behind 15-5 nine minutes into the game. The Wolverines used a 12-0 run, holding USD without a point for five minutes, with Johnson and Kayla Burningham each scoring five points apiece, to take a 17-15 lead.

South Dakota never trailed in the second half after scoring seven of the first nine points out of the locker room.

The Coyote lead reached double digits at the 9:02 mark, 46-35, on a layup by Annie Roche, who finished with 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting.

The Wolverines kept within striking distance though and after trailing by 12, 57-45, with 4:08 left, got a 3-pointer from Mansfield and a bucket by Nakayama to get within seven.

Abby Kinder came back with a big three to push the lead back to 10 for South Dakota with 2:05 remaining. A Mansfield 3-point play on a bucket and a free-throw and a Nayakama free throw made it a six-point game but UVU could get no closer.

The Coyotes were an identical 12-for-26 from the field in each half, finishing at 42.6 percent (24-for-52) for the game. The Wolverines shot 33.3 percent (17-for-51).

Utah Valley will now hit the road next week for conference games at Chicago State (Jan. 28) and NJIT (Jan. 30).