BOISE, Idaho — Boise State jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead and made its first eight shots over Utah Valley Saturday afternoon at the Taco Bell Arena en route to a 85-64 win over the Wolverines.
UVU (6-7) missed its first seven baskets and didn't get on the scoreboard until five minutes into the game when freshman Taylor Huber came off the bench and drilled a jump shot. Sophomore Kim Bell then hit a 3-pointer and junior Sammie Jensen scored a jumper of her own to put the Wolverines within striking distance down just 12, at 19-7 with 12:06 to go in the half. That was as close as UVU would get the rest of the way however, as Boise State kept its hot-shooting going.
The Broncos finished shooting 62.5 percent from the field in the opening period and took a 47-26 into the intermission.
The Wolverines tried to stage a comeback in the second half, but the deficit was too large to overcome. The closest UVU would get was within 15. The Wolverines cut it to 56-41 after another jumper from Huber with 11:19 to play.
Utah Valley kept plugging away at the double-digit deficit and made it a 16-point game a couple of times, but couldn't get any closer as the Broncos finished shooting 49 percent from the field to hold onto the contest.
"They got up on us early and when you are on the road it is very difficult to dig yourself out of that. That is a puzzle that we haven't been able to solve," said UVU head coach Cathy Nixon. "We played them even in the second half but we have to be able to get off to better starts."
Huber helped lead the comeback effort in the second half and finished with a season-high 17 points in 25 minutes of play. Jensen had another solid outing with a near double-double of 19 points and a game-high nine boards. Idaho-native and UVU sophomore Kali Roche also put in a good effort for the Wolverines by recording a season-best four points and eight rebounds in 13 minutes of play.
"We had some good contributions from a couple of starters and a couple of players off the bench but a deficit that large is very hard to overcome, especially on the road," Nixon said.
Kati Isham led Boise State with 20 points. Utah-native Nicole Brady and sister to former UVU men's basketball great Jordan Brady also had a solid game for the Broncos with 15 points and nine rebounds on 6-of-9 shooting.
The Wolverines will now come home and will face WAC member San Jose State in the UCCU Center on Jan. 5. Utah Valley will then head up to Logan to face its final in-state opponent of the season and another member of the WAC on Jan. 7 when they play Utah State.
James Warnick is an assistant sports information director at Utah Valley University.
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