UVSC gets 32 from Fairbanks in win

OREM — In the end, seemingly the only thing that mattered Tuesday was Utah Valley State had Robyn Fairbanks and Texas-Pan American didn't.

With 11 rebounds and five blocked shots to go along with a career-high 32 points, Fairbanks did the heavy lifting for UVSC and led the Wolverines (7-10) to a 73-67 victory over the visiting Broncos (4-14). The freshman center scored 21 first-half points to propel Utah Valley to a 42-29 halftime lead.

But six minutes into the second half, Texas-Pan American whittled the UVSC lead to 48-42 when Fairbanks was forced to the bench with four fouls.

With Fairbanks out of the game, the Broncos began to dominate the boards and got several offensive rebounds.

Two consecutive 3-pointers by UTPA freshman guard Teshay Winfrey put the Broncos ahead 56-54 with seven minutes to go in the game.

UVSC coach Cathy Nixon could wait no longer — it was time to put Fairbanks back in the game, four fouls and all.

Fairbanks wasted no time in getting back up to speed. She scored on three straight Wolverine possessions and from there UVSC never looked back.

Equally impressive as her offensive output was the effort Fairbanks put forth on the defensive end. She managed to be aggressive without being reckless, as evidenced by the blocked shot and steal she got in spite of having four fouls.

"I knew I couldn't foul again, because that'd be bad," Fairbanks said. "They were catching back up, so I tried to step it up. I didn't do the stupid reaches or hack; I tried to be aggressive without fouling."

When Sandy Marvin found Fairbanks trailing on a fast break for another layup, UVSC was back ahead at 64-60 with less than three minutes to go.

A 3-pointer by Marvin and a parade of Wolverines to the free throw line stretched the Utah Valley lead to 73-62.