Women’s basketball: Regular season underway

Photo by Diana Pratt/UVU Review

The lady Wolverines played three games from Nov. 13-16 to begin their 2009-10 regular season.

UVU began the season on the road in Provo against BYU. During the first half, the Wolverines only shot 40 percent from the field and went into the second half trailing by 19 points.

In the second half UVU contained BYU’s offense, but it wasn’t enough. The Cougars ultimately won the contest 73-51. Senior Julie Smith finished with a team-high 20 points and freshman Kaycee Mansfield added eight.

The next day the Wolverines recorded their first win in the home opener against Mesa State.

At the half, the score was tied at 28-28. The score was kept tight until the last few minutes of the game when UVU was able to get a small lead, inching them toward the win.

On Nov. 16 UVU took on the College of Idaho and captured the win by  16 points, 72-56. The College of Idaho immediately put on the pressure to make the Wolverines work for the victory.

“I knew when we scheduled them that they’d be a handful with the way that they press and run. I felt it was good for us to get this kind of test before we head out on the road,” said UVU coach Cathy Nixon.

In the first half UVU had an eight-point lead, but College of Idaho bounced back to pass the Wolverines while holding them scoreless for a period of time. College of Idaho then scored seven more points without a UVU bucket. Despite the constant struggle the Wolverines went into the second half with a five-point lead.

UVU maintained a lead in the second half, but not without effort. College of Idaho pressured the ball each time UVU attempted to bring it up the floor.
Smith led the Wolverines with 16 points. Seniors Blake Reynolds, Asumi

Nakayama and freshman Kyra Prause all finished with 10 points while Kayla Burningham and Erika Newbold each finished with eight.