Nov. 26, 2010
Box Score
OREM, Utah - Utah Valley's women's basketball team found itself trailing by 20 points in the second half against Southern Utah Friday afternoon at the UCCU Center and couldn't complete the comeback as it dropped a 73-63 game.
Despite the loss, the Wolverines (0-4) had three players finish in double figures. Junior Jenna Johnson paced UVU with 16 points on 5-10 shooting, while sophomore Sammie Jensen and freshman Kali Roche each added 10 apiece.
"We didn't compete for 40 minutes and to win basketball games you have to compete the entire game," UVU head coach Cathy Nixon said. "That is a lesson our team is yet to learn. We competed for 30 or 35 minutes and that's not good enough. We have to start from top to bottom; every player, every possession and compete for all 40 minutes. When we do that we will start winning basketball games."
With SUU (2-3) leading 11-5 in the early stages, UVU went on an 8-0 run to take its first lead of the ballgame at 13-11. The T-Birds then went on a run of their own as they enjoyed a 15-3 spurt to take a 26-16 advantage with seven minutes to play in the first half.
The Wolverines then fought back to cut the deficit to five at the half at 36-31. UVU converted 10-of-13 from the foul line in the first half and was led by Johnson and Jensen with six points apiece.
In the second half, UVU kept the deficit to single digits for the first couple minutes but SUU went on a run of its own to go up by 20 points, at 59-39, with 10:54 to play.
UVU freshman Whitney Jenkins then hit a big 3-ball for the Wolverines and junior Tasha Sanborn converted a free throw to put UVU down just 16 with 8:53 to play.
The Wolverines then got within 15, at 65-50 with 6:31 to play, on a steal and coast-to-coast layup from Jensen. The UVU comeback continued in the second half as Johnson drilled a 3-ball from the top of the key to cut the deficit to 11 with 5:15 left.
UVU hung around and got within 10 in the final stages but just couldn't get over the hump and complete the comeback as the T-Birds held on to win by 10.
Challis Pascucci led SUU in scoring as she poured in 19 and added seven rebounds. Kaila Goff too had a nice game for the T-Birds as she scored 15 and dished out six assists. For the game, Southern Utah finished shooting 46-percent from the floor, while UVU finished with a 36-percent clip.
UVU and SUU will meet-up one more time on the season, as they will go head to head against one another on Dec. 11 in Cedar City.
The Wolverines will have a quick turn-around ahead of them, as they will be back in action at the UCCU Center, Saturday at 3 p.m. when they host NAIA foe Northern New Mexico. Following Saturday's game, UVU will host in-state rival Utah State next Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.
