Wolverines win in dramatic fashion

Learning from your mistakes can help you play better.

That’s what Utah Valley did to improve their record to 5-6.

After playing 9-0 Mississippi State at home and losing, the Wolverines learned from their mistakes to give a relentless fight against Portland State in an exciting overtime victory.

The Vikings came back from a double digit deficit; Courtney Cremer, with 5.1 seconds in the game, banked in a three-pointer to tie it up, 82 a piece. Utah Valley’s, Asumi Nakayama, a junior from Japan, had a chance to win the game, but her driving lay-up fell just off the rim at the buzzer.

Utah Valley found themselves in a similar situation two years before with the Vikings winning a double overtime battle.

What made the difference this year?

The difference was UVU’s 47.9 percent field goals and 87.9 percent success rate from the free-throw line.

“I really felt like we got some key contributions from a lot of players,” said coach Cathy Nixon. “Erika (Newbold), Kayla (Burningham), and Blake (Reynolds) played great defensively. Portland State hit big shots, but we really kept our composure.”

“It was a little too déj? vu,” Robin Fairbanks said, referring to the game two seasons ago when the Vikings came back to win in double overtime. “A lot of us were here and remember that well and we did not want this game to end the same way.”

Fairbanks shot 11-of-17 from the field and 11-of-15 from the line, and totaled 34 points. She was also active on the boards with 14.

Nakayama tied the school assist record with 13 assists along with her first career double-double.

The final score was 102-92. Utah Valley looks to improve its record and keep any New Year’s resolutions starting Jan. 10, 2008 against Texas-Pan America.