UVU women's basketball: Wolverine women beat up Bengals

OREM — The Canadian duo of Julie McMurray and Robyn Fairbanks combined for 49 points and 27 rebounds as Utah Valley withstood a late Idaho State run to win 76-65 on Saturday at the McKay Center.

McMurray tied a career high with 30 points and 10 rebounds while Fairbanks finished with 19 points and 17 rebounds. Fairbanks became the first Utah Valley University player to reach 2,000 career points with a jumper just inside the paint at the 10:28 mark of the first half.

"Robyn reaching 2,000 points is phenomenal. I can't congratulate her enough," said Wolverine coach Cathy Nixon. "And Julie was awesome. She's been stepping up consistently for us when the game is on the line, and that's really helping to be a more versatile team."

"Defenses key on Robyn, and she's still going to get her points," said McMurray. "That opens up the perimeter more for everyone. And when someone else can score, too, it makes it a lot harder for teams to defend us."

Asumi Nakayama dished out 10 assists for the Wolverines (4-5) and Hollie Beaman had four steals off the bench as UVU evened the all-time series with the Bengals (3-8) at three wins apiece.

After building an 11-point half time lead at 39-28, Utah Valley could not shake Idaho State, who after falling behind by as much as 12, knotted the game at 52 on a Devin Diehl three with 8:09 left.

After a timeout, McMurray broke the tie with a jumper. Sandy Wall hit a three, Fairbanks scored on a put-back and McMurray capped a 9-0 run with two free-throws with 4:15 remaining.

Jenna Brown hit a three to trim the lead back to six, 63-57, at the 3:27 mark, but that's as close as the Bengals could come.

Michelle Grohs had a team-high 16 points for ISU while Utah native Sheila Adams finished with 14.

The Wolverines will wrap up their pre-Christmas schedule on Friday at 3 p.m. by hosting Mississippi State, the first time UVU has faced an SEC team.