UVSC cools off after hot start

OREM — In college athletics, a young lineup often has two contradicting effects on a team's coach.

While potential can create high hopes for what could transpire when today's underclassmen become seniors, the reality of inconsistent performances from inexperienced players has been known to frustrate coaches to no end.

Such is the case with the Utah Valley State women's basketball team. The Wolverines, the only Division I team in Utah without a conference affiliation, field a starting lineup of four sophomores and a freshman with nary a senior in the regular rotation. After racing out to a 9-1 start, UVSC has lost six of its last seven games.

Last Saturday, in an 85-74 home loss to Idaho State, the Wolverines provided a prime example of just how mercurial their play can be. After scoring 22 points in the first 23 minutes of play, UVSC suddenly, and somewhat inexplicably, came to life to score 44 points in an 11-minute span to cut the Bengals' lead to six points before ultimately losing by double digits.

"When we do fight, we're a pretty good team, and when we don't, we're bad," Utah Valley coach Cathy Nixon said. "That's a lesson that we haven't quite learned yet. We have kids who need to learn that Division I basketball is 40 minutes of fight and compete and everything like that."

Nixon, who knows a thing or two about the college game after 12 years at the helm at UVSC and a playing career at BYU that puts her fourth on the Cougars' all-time scoring list, can still see the forest for the trees. Knowing that the Wolverines are only in their fourth year of Division I competition and that her young team will soon surpass its win total from last year's 11-16 mark, Nixon regularly emphasizes a focus on process in lieu of a result-oriented paradigm.

"The thing for me as a coach is I really honestly am not that focused on score," Nixon said. "I just want to see effort. I want to see us fight. I think if we play smart and play hard, things will go our way. We're just trying to coach the effort and make sure that we're aggressive offensively and defensively."

The Wolverines are powered by the dynamic inside-outside duo of sophomores Robyn Fairbanks and Sandy Marvin. Fairbanks, a 6-foot-1 center from Alberta, Canada, currently ranks second in the nation in scoring with a 25.3 points-per-game average. Marvin, the former 4A MVP who led Payson High to a state title in 2005, averages 15.7 points as Utah Valley's shooting guard.

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UVSC women's basketball

SCHEDULE/RESULTS

    
            

        	
		
        
                
Nov. 11   UVSC 101, Mesa State 82