Wolverines fall to 1-9 in conference play

Utah Valley battled in the Dakotas Feb. 18 and 20 taking two more conference loses from South and North Dakota.

In the first seven minutes of play against USD, the Wolverines fell behind 15-0 making it hard to come back. The game ended in a 68-39 loss.

Shooting just 20 percent from the field in the first half didn’t compare to the Coyotes 53.3 percent. USD sent the Wolverines into the locker room at the half trailing 27 points with a score of 41-14.

Utah Valley improved to shooting 32 percent from the field in the second half but trailed by as much as 24 points in the last 20 minutes of play.

Three Wolverines, Julie Smith, Jenna Johnson and Kayla Burningham each led the team with six points while Freshman Kaycee Mansfield put up five.

With a one-day break, Utah Valley traveled to North Dakota where they faced the Fighting Sioux for the second time this season ending the contest in a 68-57 loss.

Utah Valley trailed UND 36-22 at the half and came within 10 points of the Fighting Sioux during the second half but could not make up the deficit taken during the first 20 minutes of play.

Burningham led the Wolverines with a career-high 18 points in 22 minutes of action. Mansfield followed with 10 points and pulling down seven rebounds while Erika Newbold finished with nine points and Johnson with eight.

Utah Valley will play their final home regular season game this Thursday at 4:30 p.m. against NJIT. This game will be the Pink Zone Game to raise awareness for cancer as well as Senior Night for Smith, Blake Reynolds and Asumi Nakayama.