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Show SPORTS B1 Weary of the road, Wolverines return home UVU men's basketball looks to bounce back at home after dropping all five of its first road games By Kyle Spencer Sports Editor @kyledspencer The perfect 2-0 beginning to the season will seem like a distant memory when Utah Valley finally plays its third home game of the season Dec. 7 against St. Katherine. Beginning a season-high five-game road slate with losses at perennial national powers Oklahoma State and Oregon, the Wolverines were unable to come up with any wins during the long stint away from Orem, concluding the stretch with a three-point loss to the University of South Dakota. Following both of the defeats to the nationally ranked Cowboys and Ducks, UVU dropped its next three contests by a cornbined 12 points. "We played our hearts out. I couldn't say enough good things about the team right now with the way they came into this game and how hard they played," head coach Dick Hunsaker said after the loss to University of South Dakota. "We had a couple of times down the stretch that we didn't finish and a couple of untimely turnovers, but we have character and fight and the kids will keep getting better and improving." Hunsaker and the team were obviously frustrated. Their inability to pick up a win showed their frustration, as evidenced in a postgame interview between the coach and long-time UVU TV play-by-play man Jim McCulloch. As McCulloch asked about how the losing streak was affecting the team, Hunsaker questioned the intention of the inquiry, asking if it was meant to start something Hosting NAIA St. Katherine (1-4) of the California Community College Athletic Association could be just the remedy the team and its coach need. The opportunity to snap the skid versus the Fightin' Firebirds is the first of six consecutive games within the state of Utah for the Wolverines. UVU welcomes Weber State to the UCCU Center Dec. 11 before visiting the always-raucous Smith Spectrum in Logan Dec. 14 for a meeting with Utah State. Each contest is scheduled to tipoff at 7:05 p.m. MST. Through seven games, freshman Zach Nelson leads the team in scoring at 11.9 points per game. Nelson's 5.9 rebounds per game are second on the team to senior Ben Aird's 7.0 average on the glass. Senior point guard Holton Hunsaker continues to facilitate, and his 4.3 assists per game have helped the Wolverines garner the second-best team average in the category among WAC schools. UVU is shooting 73.6 percent from the free throw line, which is currently the best mark in the conference. The Wolverines get to the charity stripe just over 18 times each game. However, the team's 40.8 field-goal percentage is worst in the league, and UVU is allowing opponents to shoot 45.5 percent from the floor. The six games in Utah from Dec. 7-Dec. 28 will round out the Wolverines non-conference schedule and the portion of the schedule played in 2013. PHOTO COURTESY OF UVU ATHLETICS Keawe Enos and the Wolverines play their next six games in Utah. Thanksgiving not so kind Losing streak reaches six games as UVU women's basketball returns to Utah By Matthew Baiamonte Sports Writer @baiamontematt PHOTO COURTESY OF UVU ATHLETICS Katie Kuklok leads UVU with 19.7 points per game. Thanksgiving break wasn't a joyous time for the women's basketball team as it dropped a pair of home games to Sacramento State and Northern Arizona. The Hornets of Sacramento State came into the game averaging nearly 91 points per game and their offensive output did not disappoint in an 87-84 victory over UVU. The Hornets buried 11 three-point field goals and had four scorers in double figures. Sacramento State wasn't the only team that played well offensively. UVU had its secondhighest shooting percentage of the season, but it wasn't enough to overcome a late game push that gave the Hornets a quality road win. "We worked really hard today," head coach Cathy Nixon said. "We just needed to work a little bit smarter. There are little things in each game that you need to care of or else they will beat you. Today it was not making free throws and not keeping them off the offensive glass. But, we competed hard today and we'll continue to mature and get better and we'll start closing out games like this." The Wolverines had a chance to tie the game with 19 seconds left, but they were unable to get off a shot. The Hornets forced a traveling violation, which put the game out of reach for UVU. It was a difficult loss for the Wolverines because they led by eight points with seven minutes remaining. A similar finish was repeated against Northern Arizona a few days after Thanksgiving. The Wolverines were in control for the first 35 minutes of the games, but the Lumberjacks put together a late game run that UVU could not overcome. The Wolverines had a onepoint lead with eight minutes to play but it was all Lumberjacks after that. Northern Arizona dominated the glass and used strong low-post play from Erikka Banks and Priscilla Brooks. Both players were monsters in the paint and UVU had no answer. Banks had 19 points and 19 rebounds, and Brooks wasn't far behind with 19 points and 13 rebounds. The Lumberjacks finished the game on a 24-11 run that gave them their first victory of the season. "The difference in this one came on the defensive end," Nixon said. "We gave up way too many offensive rebounds and they took 12 more shots than we did. We also turned the ball over a bunch. These are things that are fixable and as a coaching staff we are committed to fixing them. We've just got to find ourselves as a team on the defensive end." Two seniors that were expected to be large contributors have started slow. Senior guard Whitney Jenkins has yet to score in double figures this season. She started every game as a junior and was the most experienced player returning to the Wolverines in a year where UVU lacks experience. Kyra Prause is another senior who hasn't contributed as much as expected. Coaches were excited to have her back after sitting out last season with a serious leg injury. Prause is a dynamic player who can affect a game on both ends of the floor. She hasn't seen the minutes necessary to be a game changer. This is largely due to the emergence of Katie KuKlok, who leads the team in scoring with 19.7 points per game. Prause is averaging 13.9 minutes per game, which ranks her seventh on the team in minutes averaged. The Wolverines still have time to find an identity and correct their mistakes before WAC play begins on Jan. 4. 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