Sports Briefs February 15, 2011
UVU’s Isiah Williams named Great West Conference Player of the Week
NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Utah Valley University’s Isiah Williams has been named the Great West Conference Player of the Week after leading the Wolverines to two conference road wins last week. The award was announced on Feb. 7 by the league office.
Williams scored a career-high 33 points in an 88-84 win at Texas-Pan American on Feb. 3 and followed that with a 24-point effort in a 73-66 win at Houston Baptist on Feb. 5.
“Isiah had a great road trip to Texas,” said UVU coach Dick Hunsaker. “Personally, I think his play has been deserving of player of the week numerous times this year.”
Williams tied a school record, with at least 10 attempts, by hitting 70 percent (7-of-10) from the 3-point line in the win at UTPA on Feb. 3.
He was 6-of-9 from beyond the arc and scored 24 in the win at HBU on Feb. 5, helping the Wolverines to a 6-1 record so far in Great West play, including a 4-1 road record in conference.
The junior guard had an average of 28.5 points the week of Jan. 31 while hitting 13-of-19 (68.4 percent) from 3-point range. He is currently second among all Great West players with 18.0 points per game overall this year and 21.9 per game in GWC games.
UVU Softball selected as preseason favorites in the Great West Conference
NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The Great West Conference softball coaches have selected Utah Valley as favorites to win the 2011 conference softball championship. The preseason poll was announced on Feb. 8 by the league office.
Utah Valley received two first-place votes and a total of 13 points, just edging out North Dakota and South Dakota, who finished right behind with 12 and 11 points, respectively. The defending champions, the Fighting Sioux, received the other two first-place votes. Houston Baptist rounded out the poll with four points.
The 2011 Great West Conference champion will be crowned at the GWC Softball Tournament held May 15-16 at Vermillion, S.D., and will be hosted by South Dakota. Houston Baptist will host a cluster event to determine GWC tournament seeding on March 25-27 at Farmers Branch, Texas.
A week ago, the Wolverines were also selected to finished third in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference (PCSC) Mountain Division.
UVU opened its 2011 season Saturday, Feb. 12 when the Wolverines played a 3-game series at the University of New Mexico.
UVU grappler Justin Morril named WWC Wrestler of the Week
OREM, Utah – 141-pounder Utah Valley University senior Justin Morrill (Logan, Utah/Mountain Crest HS) has been named the Western Wrestling Conference Wrestler of the Week after an outstanding performance on the mat during the week of Jan. 31. This was announced by the league office on Feb. 8.
UVU’s dual against the No. 9 ranked Boise State Broncos on Feb. 4 began at 141-pound weight class, and Morrill got the Wolverines off to a good start as he defeated No. 15 Levi Jones 5-4 in 2OT. The match was tied at four-all at the end of regulation. In the first sudden victory overtime, Morrill had a chance for a late takedown, but he ran out of time before he could secure it as the bout went to a second overtime. Morrill managed to score however in the tiebreaker period, when he broke Jones’ hold and picked up an escape point to win the contest.
The win for Morrill was his third over a ranked opponent on the season, and it kept his undefeated streak alive in the 2011 calendar year. The Wolverine senior is 18-7 on the season and a perfect 6-0 in duals.
The conference honor is Morrill’s first of his career.
The Western Wrestling Conference, which is in its fifth year of competition, is comprised of seven schools, including Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming.
Lady Wolverine Sammie Jensen named GWC Player of the Week
NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Utah Valley’s Sammie Jensen has been honored as the Great West Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week after an outstanding individual performance the week of Jan. 31, the conference office announced on Feb 8.
Jensen, a sophomore from Stansbury Park, Utah, averaged a double-double in two road wins Feb. 3 and 5 over GWC foes Texas-Pan American and Houston Baptist. Jensen averaged 22 points and 15.5 rebounds to lead UVU to their first two conference victories of the season. The forward went 17-for-29 (58.6 percent) from the floor, 4-for-9 (44.4 percent) from beyond the arc and a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line. Jensen now has 10 double-doubles for the season, and the 23 points at HBU on Feb. 5 was a career-high for the sophomore transfer.
Others nominated were Courtney Waldon (F) of Chicago State, Megan Green (G) of Houston Baptist, Jessica Gerald (G) of NJIT, Mallory Youngblut (G) of North Dakota, Amber Hegge (F) of South Dakota and Ce’Monay Newell (F) of Texas-Pan American.
The weekly honor is Jensen’s second of the season.