Wolverines pick up first conference win

Freshman Kaycee Mansfield pulled down 11 boards as the Wolverines recorded their first GWC win. Dave Iba / UVU Review

The lady Wolverines took away a win, 81-69, against conference opponent Houston Baptist on Feb. 6, putting them 1-6 in conference play and 5-19 for the season.

Sophomores Jenna Johnson and Erika Newbold led the team in scoring with 20 and 16 points, respectively. Johnson has now been the top scorer in eight of UVU’s 24 regular season games this year.

Other top performers against HBU were Julie Smith with 13 points, Asumi Nakayama with 10 points and seven assists while freshman Kaycee Mansfield posted a career-high 11 rebounds and contributed nine points.

Utah Valley toggled the lead with the Huskies during the opening minutes before taking the lead for the rest of the game at 21-18. The Wolverines had an 18-point lead, taking that advantage into the second half.

Utah Valley finished the game shooting 49.1 percent from the field to Houston Baptist’s 36.5 percent.

The Wolverines will now head out on their second-to-last road trip of the season before returning to home court March 4 to face NJIT. Utah Valley will begin its road trip on Thursday taking on South Dakota.

Earlier this season the Wolverines took a 65-56 loss against South Dakota on home court. South Dakota used the second half of the game to get to a lead of 12 and not letting UVU get close enough to record a win.

The Wolverines will take a one-day break and travel to face North Dakota on Saturday. The Fighting Sioux took the win during the first meeting this season at 84-71. Smith scored 23 points, but it wasn’t enough to match North Dakota’s five starters who all scored in double figures.

Utah Valley will take its final road trip of the season, facing Houston Baptist on Feb. 25. After returning to home court on March 4 for their regular season home game the Wolverines will host the GWC Tournament March 10-13 in the UVU Events Center.