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Show Women's basketball: regular season underway KIRA TERRY Asst. Sports editor The lady Wolverines played three games from Nov. 13-16 to begin their 2009-10 regular season. UVU began the season on the road in Provo against BYU. During the first half, the Wolverines only shot 40 percent from thefieldand went into the second half trailing by 19 points. In the second half UVU contained BYU's offense, but it wasn't enough. The Cougars ultimately won the contest 73-51. Senior Julie Smith finished with a teamhigh 20 points and freshman Kaycee Mansfield added eight. The next day the Wolverines recorded their first win in the home opener against Mesa State. At the half, the score was tied at 28-28. The score was kept tight until the last few minutes of the game when UVU was able to get a small lead, inching them toward the win. On Nov. 16 UVU took on the College of Idaho and captured the win by 16 points, 72-56. The College of Idaho immediately put on the pressure to make the Wolverines work for the victory. "I knew when we scheduled them that they'd be a handful with the way that they press and run. I felt it was good for us to get this kind of test before we head out on the road," said UVU coach Cathy Nixon. In the first half UVU had an eight-point lead, but College of Idaho bounced back to pass the Wolverines while holding them scoreless for a period of time. College of Idaho then scored seven more points without a UVU bucket. Despite the constant struggle the Wolverines went into the second half with a fivepoint lead. UVU maintained a lead in the second half, but not without effort. College of Idaho pressured the ball each time UVU attempted to bring it up the floor. Smith led the Wolverines with 16 points. Seniors Blake Reynolds, Asumi Nakayama and freshman Kyra Prause all finished with 10 points while Kayla Bumingham and Erika Newbold each finished with eight. DIANA PRATTAJVU Review Kayla Burningham and the Wolverines invaded the Marriott Center at BYU, falling short. Lady Wolverines to take on Boise State KIRA TERRY Asst. Sports editor The UVU women's basketball team will be back on its home court Tuesday Nov. 24 at 7:05 p.m. to take on the Boise State Broncos. This game will be "hometown hero" night for senior Blake Reynolds because she hails from Boise. Admission for the game will be $1 if you're from the state of Idaho and free if you're from Boise. The game will be the third meeting between the two teams in the last three seasons.'UVU took on Boise State during the 200607 season on its home court winning 81 -66. The Wolverines took the rematch last season winning 73-70. During the 2007-08 season the Wolverines and Broncos were not scheduled to meet. In last season's game against Boise State, UVU barely clinched the win. Both teams struggled to get a go at offense in the first half, but the Wolverines went into the second half with a seven-point lead. The game came down to the last minute. Sandy Wall hit a crucial lay-up for UVU with less than a minute left. In the last 27 seconds, Asumi Nakayama hit four free-throws allowing the Wolverines to take the win by only three points. Reynolds showed off her talent in her hometown grabbing a career high seven rebounds and contributing six points. The lady Wolverines will head out to Bozeman, Mo. on its second road trip of the season over Thanksgiving break for the Wingate Thanksgiving Classic Nov. 27-28. UVU will take on Winthrop and either Montana State or Southern Utah. .--i-*--- g UVU vs. Boise State atr Day: Tuesday Date: Nov. 24,2009 Location: McKay Center Time: 7:05 p.m. uvu vs. San Jose State $ Day: Saturday Date: Dec. 5,2009 Location: McKay Center Time: 2:05 p.m. Much to be gained in disappointing loss MATT BEAUDIN Sports editor It was a true David versus Goliath story, but in this case the Goliath character handled the character playing David quite easily. The analogy is geared toward the Wolverines recent loss to the Minnesota Golden Gophers of the Big Ten conference. The Gophers came into the game ranked eighteenth in the USA Today/ ESPN poll and ran away from UVU with a 76-51 shellacking. However, the Wolverines put up a fight and near the end of the first half the Wolverines cut the Gopher lead to just one but couldn't get any closer. Jordan Swarbrick led UVU with 11 points while Tyray Petty added eight points to go along with nine rebounds and four assists. The Wolverines cut the lead to seven points midway through the second half, but for Minnesota, the game was never in jeopardy. So, what is to be gained by playing a game like this for the Wolverines? There are more pros than there are cons. While a loss is never easy to swallow, it is only one game. And whether you lose by one or 100, it only counts as one loss. So, other than the paycheck UVU undoubtedly took away from the encounter, the experience is just as valuable. UVU was able to find out how it measures up with the best teams in the country and, most likely, will not see any team as talented as the Golden Gophers the rest of the way. This will be especially important come conference play. Another positive is the chance to see a nationally ranked team up close. If the Wolverines can learn from the loss and the things Minnesota was able to do well, then they can improve in many areas. Utah Valley will get another chance to topple a nationally recognized program when the Wolverines take on the Cal Golden Bears on Dec. 28 in Berkley, Calif. And keep in mind, it wasn't that long ago that the Wolverines knocked off Arizona State in Tempe. Nothum named GWC student athlete of the month On Wednesday UVU cross country runner Mary Nothum was named the Great West Conference Women's Student Athlete of the Month for October. This marks the second consecutive month that Nothum has won the conference honor. Nothum, a junior from Washington, Mo., was named the Great West Women's Runner of the Year after she won the GWC Cross Country Championship on Oct. 31, with a blazing time of 22:16.49. With her top finish at the championship, she helped lead the Wolverines to a first place finish at the conference meet for the second straight year. Nothum also placed second overall at Southern Utah's Color Country Invitational on Oct. 10, helping her team to a second place finish. Nothum was UVU's top runner all season long and helped earn her team a spot in the NCAA Mountain Regional for the first time in school history. Several wrestlers place in top three at the Cowboy Open to lead UVU Several grapplers from UVU's wrestling team placed high at the Cowboy Open on Saturday to lead the Wolverines. The open, hosted by the University of Wyoming, marked the first action of the season for the majority of UVU's wrestlers. UVU's No. 9 nation- feicfeefes afe Gampas Qemeckiev* UVUfrSA . '(• t t ' • ally ranked junior, Benjamin Kjar(125 pounds), started off his season by going 2-1 to earn a second place finish. Senior Jeffrey Newby (133 pounds) also placed second for UVU after he went 3-1 on the night. Sophomore Brad Darrington (174 pounds) performed well for the Wolverines as he alsofin-• ished second at the open. Darrington won his first three matches before fall- • ing in the championship bout. He went 3-1 on the day. At 184 pounds junior Casen Eldredge finished his day with an impressive 5-1 record as he earned himself a third place finish. |