Feb. 9, 2012

Box Score

OREM, Utah -- Utah Valley trailed by five with 27 seconds to play but couldn't convert the tying bucket as time expired to drop a 48-46 decision to NJIT in the UCCU Center Thursday night. The Wolverines were led by 13 points from Sammie Jensen and a double-double performance from Erika Newbold.

"This was a real opportunity for us to defend our home court and put ourselves in a position to contend for the conference championship," said UVU head women's basketball coach Cathy Nixon. "We were solid on the defensive end, but we missed a lot of opportunities in this game."

The Wolverines (11-11, 3-2 GWC) winners of the season's first meeting with the Highlanders (9-14, 3-3 GWC) less than two weeks ago in Newark, grabbed a three point lead, 31-28, midway through the second half following a leaner in the lane from Jensen with 13:41 remaining. But that score would be the last the Wolverines would see for the next six minutes, a drought during which NJIT pieced together an 8-0 run, capped by a three-point play from Uju Nwankwo, to capture 36-31 lead with eight minutes to play.

A free throw from Newbold at the 7:35 mark finally stopped the UVU scoring drought, and both teams would seesaw back and forth over the next five minutes.

Then, with 3:06 to play, NJIT seemed to grab all momentum when leading scorer Rayven Johnson notched three of her team-high 13 points after finishing a lay-in despite the Newbold foul, and sinking the ensuing free throw.

But UVU got right back into it when Newbold scored four points in a 25 second span, cutting the deficit to 45-43 with 1:35 showing on the clock. A series of empty possessions from both teams left NJIT with the ball, clinging to that two-point lead and just 48 seconds left.

The Wolverines forced an air ball from Denisa Domiterova, but failed to corral the rebound, allowing NJIT a second chance in the offensive zone. Then, with the shot clock winding down, Domiterova tracked down a deflected pass near the halfcourt line and turned to heave a desperation 35-footer as the shot clock expired. The junior guard's prayer was answered as the ball banked in, giving NJIT a 48-43 cushion with 25 seconds to play.

After a timeout, the Wolverines stayed alive when Abbie Beutler netted a quick, wing three with 18 seconds left. A foul in the backcourt sent NJIT's Kimberly Dweck to the line for a one-and-one, where she missed her first attempt off the back iron. UVU raced the other way with a chance to tie, but Whitney Jenkins' baseline fall-away was short, giving the visitors a narrow 48-46 victory.

Jensen's 13 points led the Wolverines in scoring, while Newbold's 12 points and career-high 14 rebounds mark her first double-double on the year. Jenkins also finished with nine points and Beutler handed out five assists.

Utah Valley now hosts defending conference champion Chicago State Saturday afternoon. The Wolverines fell to the Cougars in the squads' first meeting this year in Chicago. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. in the UCCU Center and will precede Saturday night's wrestling match between UVU and second-ranked Penn State.