Nov. 25, 2011
Box Score
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - With the Wolverines trailing Kent State by a point with a minute to play, Utah Valley's (2-2) Sammie Jensen took over and scored a bucket and hit two crucial late free-throws to give UVU a 46-45 win over the Golden Flashes (1-3) Friday afternoon at NAU's Hilton Garden Inn Thanksgiving Classic.
After an Itziar Llobet three-pointer gave Kent State a late one-point lead, UVU looked to Jensen. With 1:06 to play Kaycee Mansfield fed Jensen, who drained an inside shot to give the Wolverines a 44-43 advantage. KSU's Jamie Hutcheson then answered with :44 to play with a jumper of her own to put the Golden Flashes back in front by one. A KSU foul then put Jensen at the line shooting one-and-one with :32 seconds to play. Jensen stepped to the line and calmly hit both of them to put UVU back in front by a point. Kent State then fired up two late deep looks but they didn't fall as the Wolverines came away with the one-point win.
"I was really pleased with what we did on the defensive end down the stretch," UVU head coach Cathy Nixon said. "We had a long stretch where we were held scoreless in the second half but our defensive efforts helped us survive. It came down to those two last possessions at the end where I called plays for Sammie (Jensen), and she came through for us."
In the beginning UVU jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead after back-to-back baskets by Abbie Beutler and Jenna Johnson to open the game. Kent State responded with six straight points of its own to take a 6-4 lead. The rest of the opening half followed suit as it saw six ties and three lead changes.
The Wolverines later worked a four-point lead in the opening period, at 21-17, with just under 10 minutes to go after a Whitney Jenkins jumper. With UVU leading 24-21 with three minutes until the break, the Golden Flashes then made their move by going on a 7-0 spurt to pull ahead 28-24. Just before the break Mansfield picked up a steal for the Wolverines which UVU converted into a Jensen layup to put the Wolverines down by just two, at 28-26, at the break.
UVU looked very strong to open the second half as they went on a 9-0 run to pull ahead 35-28 on the scoreboard. Johnson led the Wolverines during the stretch with seven of the nine points. Kent State finally silenced the Wolverines run 5:30 minutes into the second half with a layup from Leslie Schaefer.
Later leading 42-35, UVU went cold and was held scoreless from the 8:46 mark until the 1:06 mark when Jensen made her move. The Wolverines' solid defensive efforts held Kent State to just eight points during the stretch.
Johnson led UVU with 13 points on the afternoon while Jensen finished right behind her with a double-double of 12 points and 11 boards. With their efforts both Johnson and Jensen earned Hilton Garden Inn Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team accolades.
UVU's Jenkins also finished with eight points - all of which that came from the first half - while Bell and Mansfield both toped double digits in rebounds with 12 and 10 respectively.
Following Saturday's finale of the Hilton Garden Inn Thanksgiving Classic between Kent State and host NAU, an all-tournament team will be announced. On Wednesday, the Wolverines dropped a 73-59 game to the Lumberjacks.
Utah Valley will next travel to Cedar City to play its first of six contests on the season against in-state opponents when it plays at Southern Utah on Wednesday, Nov. 30. Next Saturday, Dec. 3, UVU will then host Conference USA member Tulsa.
Hilton Garden Inn Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team
Sammie Jensen - Utah Valley
Jenna Johnson - Utah Valley
Aubrey Davis - Northern Arizona
MVP, Amy Patton - Northern Arizona
Itziar Llobet - Kent State
