Feb. 13, 2010

Box Score

EDINBURG, Texas - A late run sent Texas-Pan American to a 78-69 over Utah Valley on Saturday in Great West Conference women's basketball. Julie Smith, the Great West's leading scorer, finished with a game-high 24 for the Wolverines.

With the game knotted at 61 with 3:45 left, the Lady Broncs (10-14, 6-2 in GWC) went on a 17-3 run to take a 78-64 lead with less than a minute remaining.

UVU (5-20, 1-7 in GWC) also got 19 points from Jenna Johnson and 14 points and six assists from Asumi Nakayama.

UTPA was led by 21 points from Marah Guzman and got a 15 point, 15 rebound double-double from Aleeya Grigsby. Maria Ben Erlingsdottir added 16, hitting four 3-pointers and Bianca Torre finished with 14 for the Lady Broncs.

Grigsby started UTPA's run with 3-point play on a put back and free throw with 3:45 on the clock. After Smith went 1-of-2 from the free throw line, Guzman converted five quick points for the Lady Broncs to push the lead to seven, 69-62.

Smith again made 1-of-2 from the line before Erlingsdottir hit a back-breaking three with 1:54 to go, putting UTPA up 72-63. The Lady Broncs eventually stretched the lead to 14, scoring its final six points from the free throw line.

The game was tight until the final minutes, with eight ties and nine lead changes.

In the first half, neither team led by more than six points before the Lady Broncs carried a 33-30 lead into the break.

The Wolverines took a pair of short-lived leads in the second half, the biggest being a 47-44 advantage on a Johnson three with 12:23 left. Erlingsdottir came right back with a 3-pointer to tie the game before Smith pushed UVU back in front with a jumper.

Down 59-54 with 5:05 remaining, Smith hit a 3-pointer and a foul was called away from the ball on UTPA putting Kaycee Mansfield at the line for UVU. Mansfield hit both to tie the game at 59 and finished with four points and six rebounds in 32 minutes off the bench.

After Torre hit two free throws, Smith hit a jumper to tie the game for the eighth and final time.

The Wolverines will play a pair of games next week in the Dakotas beginning with South Dakota next Thursday, Feb. 18 and at North Dakota two days later.