Wolverine women waltz past Aztecs

OREM — Utah Valley State routed visiting San Diego State 75-44 Wednesday in women's basketball.

The Wolverines scored 11 consecutive points in the middle of the first half and another nine straight to begin the second. Ahead 57-22 with 15 minutes remaining, UVSC liberally substituted out its starters in the latter part of the second half while coasting to the lopsided victory.

"The presence that we started (with) and the tone we set defensively was a big thing," Utah Valley State coach Cathy Nixon said. "Things clicked (for us) offensively, and I thought we did a really good job defensively containing their personnel and taking away some of their strengths."

Sophomore center Robyn Fairbanks led the Wolverines with 17 points and 13 rebounds, but it was forward Ashley Grimm who keyed the rally that irrevocably and emphatically swung the momentum in UVSC's favor.

Grimm scored six points in an 11-0 run midway through the first half that put the Wolverines ahead 25-6. Posting up a San Diego State defender at least 2 inches shorter than her, the 6-foot Grimm appeared to have no trouble making three bank shots from the paint in a four-minute span.

"We've been working really hard in practice on our post entry passes," Grimm said. "It's been paying off; (today) we emphasized on both our inside and outside game (offensively)."

A 40-18 halftime lead didn't stop UVSC from coming out and scoring the first nine points of the second half. Fairbanks sparked the run with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws.

Wolverine junior shooting guard Rebekah Peterson got fouled while connecting on a short baseline jumper with 14:45 to go. When Peterson made the ensuing free throw to complete a three-point play, the Wolverines had their largest lead of the game at 57-22.

Despite employing a lineup down the stretch made up mainly of reserves, Utah Valley State's lead didn't go below 26 points and finished at 31.

San Diego State's lackluster performance Wednesday was remarkably similar to its 76-46 loss Sunday to the University of San Diego. Against the Toreros, the Aztecs shot 29.1 percent from the field, scoring 18 points before halftime and 26 after. Facing the Wolverines, SDSU connected on 28.1 percent of its field goal attempts, tallying 20 first-half points and 26 in the second half

Grimm finished with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Sandy Marvin added 12 points and six assists for UVSC.

Freshman forward Lauren Hoisington led the Aztecs with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

The Wolverines host Southern Virginia at 3:05 p.m. Friday.