OREM — The Utah Valley State women's basketball team opened exhibition play by cruising to a 73-43 victory over Division-II opponent Western State Saturday night in Orem.
Sophomore Rebekah Fales had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, while senior Miriam Palkki had 13 points in just 15 minutes as all 11 Wolverines scored.
Utah Valley used a 15-0 run early in the 1st half to bury the Mountaineers early, building a 46-24 half time lead. The Wolverines held Western State to just 21-percent shooting in the first half, while hitting 61 percent of their own shots to build that big lead. For the game Utah Valley shot 47 percent compared to 22 percent for the Mountaineers.
The Wolverines got a big boost from several of the new freshmen expected
to play big roles this year. Center Robyn Fairbanks scored nine points (all
in the first half) and pulled down seven rebounds while Hollie Beaman (eight
points and five assists), Ashley Grimm (eight points and five rebounds) and
Sandy Marvin (seven points) all made a difference in the victory.
The Wolverines will wrap up exhibition play next Saturday the 12th
against Mesa State before opening the regular season on November 18th at
home against Jacksonville State.