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Show /port/ MONDAY • NOVEMBER 20 • 2006 B3 Girls basketball wins again Fairbanks carried UVSC before the intermission by scoring 19 points. At the half, Coach Nixon helped her team make some much-needed adjustments for the second half, as the lady Wolverines came out blazing, starting out on a 9-1 run. Julie McMurray and Sandy Marvin both heated up in the second half by adding 11 and 7 points, respectively. The Wolverines defense tightened up on the Aggies as Utah State shot a dismal 28 percent from the field in the second half and just 32 percent overall. The Aggies had added only eight points, 11 minutes into the second half, a credit to UVSC's defense. Coach Nixon added, "Our kids did a good job and played well enough to get the win and did the things on the defensive end that we needed to in the second half." The Aggies gave UVSC a scare FromWOMENSBBALL-Bl that she'll make good things happen. She's difficult to defend because she is so versatile at her size." Before the game, the Wolverines were 0-9 against in-state DivisionI schools and 0-2 facing Utah State. Last year in Logan, Utah State handed the Wolverines a lopsided 74-51 loss. "This was important for the overall progression of our program, that we start to establish ourselves in the slate. That's tough in this state when you have so many good teams," said Nixon. The Wolverines' tempo and level of play seemed to be too much for the Aggies to keep up with during the first few minutes. USU hung around, though, because they converted 15 UVSC's turnovers into 21 points in the first half, giving the Aggies a 36-35 lead at the half. • WG soil now & uooti video gnrncs for less! • Wf give inorf innn^y in tr.itJo (or your Lisnrt q.imrii • W<! lot you try the qatr.fts in our 3(oro boforo you buy. • We do system .md disc rep.iif. » H v/c don't hiiuc ivhnt you riftfitt, wi^-'ll find it for yr»u * Wo buy. soil and Uado all systems & qjincs from Nmtctnto N t 5 to Uio XBOX 360 f i fi/cryllilnt) i>i bi:lwyon. • We mntnh our competitors' advertised prices. by getting within four points at 64-60 with one minute left. But UVSC answered the challenge by making their clutch free throws down the stretch. UVSC 101 Mesa State 82 UVSC hit the century mark beating Mesa State during homecoming week. The Wolverines played well on all sides of the ball and were led by contributions from nearly everyone, as all 12 of the lady Wolverines saw playing time in the high-scoring win. Robyn Fairbanks ana1 Sandy Marvin led the way with 25 points apiece, as Hollie Beaman added 16, and Julie McMurray scored 10. Freshman point-guard Asumi Nakayama had a nice all-around game with eight points, eight assists, and six steals. Chad Clark/NetXNews Robyn Fairbanks drives on Mesa State For two points. 160 East University Parkway u (Suite G) r PLAY N TRADE ESTABLISHED 1956 m it i ! It's fun to i be a neck Elegant gifts for |" every occasion LOSEE Jewelers In COTTONTREE SQUARE • (801) 373-1000 Albert Mitchell/NetXNews The volleyball team suffered a loss the Independent Championships after winning the tournament in 2005. www.loseejewelers.net 5 0 YEARS Or FALLI^1G IN LQVE * 'Bi »<% Chinese Cuisine BUSINESS HOURS Mon.-Sat.: 11:00 am - 9:30 pm Closed Sunday Dine-In • Take-Out • Delivery Party Room (up to 100 people) 2% Senveet /4il $4. 99 801-225-8883 435 East 1150 South • Orem, Utah 84097 (Next to University Mall) Season successful despite loss Dave Gillespie Sports Writer Winning a title is one thing, but defending it is quite another. After winning the 2005 Independent Tournament, UVSC Women's Volleyball entered this season trying to continue its dominance. Despite being marked on every Independent's hit list. The Wolverines nearly had an identical season as last year. The difference? UVSC was not only one game away from matching last year's championship team win total, butone game from defending the title. "Despite [the loss]," said Coach Sam Atoa, "looking at the whole season I thought it was very successful. We're pleased." Departing senior Lacee Koeliker, who established herself as a UVSC all-time great, led the Wolverines to a 17-11 record. "We had our tips and downs, but, overall, we had a great season. We played hard and had a winning record." To begin the year, wins were a bit slow as UVSC went 1-3 in the Sun Devil Classic. But that would shortly change as the girls went to sunny Florida, got hot and won the UCF Classic. UVSC returned home for the LaQuinta Invitational and went 2-1 at home. Then in the Hyatt Invitational, Utah Valley reversed itself to a 1-2 record. Despite the losing record in San Jose, UVSC finally concluded its string of invitationals and could start competing against in-state opponents and fellow Independents. Of the in-states none was bigger than B YU who came in ranked #19. In what was the closest 3-0 loss you will ever see, 1,501 fans saw UVSC hang tuff never losing by more than four points. "Playing against BYU, even though we lost, we played hard and that was a really fun match for us. That huge crowd was really fun," said Koeliker. The BYU loss was followed by another in-state rival and top 25 team, Utah, who smashed the Wolverines 3-0 as well. Unfortunately, the headaches didn't end as UVSC struggled against North and South Dakota State. In the four losses, Utah Valley only won one game. But Atoa's team didn't give up and came back to Orem with a rematch on hand as the Dakota States left lonely Fargo and came to Happy Valley. "Coming back and beating North and South Dakota . . . that was big," said a reflective Koeliker. Those two wins propelled the Wolverines to six straight wins, before losing in the Independent Championship to IPFW, 3-1. Despite the final loss, Atoa couldn't be happier with his departing seniors. "It's always hard to [see the seniors go], especially this group. All three of them (Brooke Adams, Jessica Endres and Koeliker) will be sorely missed. Statistically for the year, Koeliker had 1170 assists, Camie Manwill led with 403 kills while Jessica Endres had top hitting percentage at .345. BYU looking for first win in four years over Utah From WISDOM* B1 they only got to within 14 because they scored a late, meaningless touchdown. BYU has already captured the conference title and clinched a spot in the Las Vegas Bowl to play the PAC-10's fourth best, and Utah is just hoping to receive a bowl bid. They say in a game like this you have to throw out the records, but it's hard to throw out how dominant BYU has been during their run against conference opponents. They have outscored Mountain West teams 24155. The Cougars are 7lh in the country in total offense and in scoring offense. The conference's stingiest defense, Wyoming, gave up 454 yards to BYU and 55 points. On that night, there was no doubt that BYU owned this weak conference. The Cougars are even starting to get some respect nationally, reaching iy\ 24th and 25lh in the AP, Coaches and BCS polls, respectively, before the New Mexico game. Besides the two losses early in the year at the hands of Boston College and Arizona, the Cougars offense has been unstoppable while the defense has been impenetrable, allowing a meager 13.5 points per game. The Cougars looked like they were the better team last year but Utah and then back-up quarterback Brett Ratliff went to Provo, took the Cougars to overtime and went home with their fourth win in a row over BYU. Utah has been unimpressive most of the year. At the times they showed promise, they came back with some what-were-they-thinking moments. Utah's best player Eric Weddle is on the defensive side of the ball, but he gets offensive snaps regularly. Maybe he should concentrate on defense, though. He has been a target the last few games. He is still said to - be one of the best defensive backs in the nation, but it makes one wonder why when teams are beating him deep more than they should. Even Weddle has been inconsistent during the year. Ratliff won the starting job this year before the season, but that decision probably has been questioned by even Kyle Whittingam. BYU senior quarterback John Beck and the rest of the Cougar seniors have got to be sick to their stomachs from losing last year and for the past three seasons. Beck has finally shown he can be a winner. His final tasks before heading off to BYU glory: Beat Utah and win a bowl game. His legacy will be cemented with those two things. If Ratliff somehow plays like he did against BYU last year, Utah may have a chance, but remember BYU's defense isn't giving up points by the bunches like they did last year. Prediction: BYU-45 UTAH-17 |