Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz said it best; but sparing the cliché, the Wolverines were more than happy to play their second straight game at home and collect their 15th victory of the season with a 70-52 drumming of University of Texas-Pan America Saturday afternoon.
With the win the lady Wolverines tied last year’s win total (15), which marked their best season playing at the Division I level.
With three games yet to be played before the Independent Tournament, including one of those taking place in the McKay Center, it is likely Utah Valley will set a new single-season record.
"We have an opportunity to make some more history," coach Nixon said. "We’re achieving a level of success that is an indication of where our program is."
After suffering a sprained ankle in last week’s win over NJIT, Utah Valley guard Sandy Marvin wasn’t content to take the night off. Receiving treatment night and day since the injury, she felt well enough to go Saturday and ended up scoring 16 points with four three-pointers on the night.
"I think Sandy’s just kind of too stubborn to be hurt," Nixon said. "It’s a credit to her mental toughness to be able to go in there."
Leading the way in the scoring column for the lady Wolverines was Robyn Fairbanks with 23 points. She also added 12 rebounds to her résumé as Utah Valley dominated the boards.
The ability to out-rebound their opponents has become a recurring theme for the Wolverines this season.
"We really dominated the boards in the first half," Nixon said. "On the boards and defensively, I thought we really came out and shut them down."
Utah Valley will go for its record-breaking 16th win of the season when it travels to take on NJIT next week.
The team will also make a stop in Illinois for a rematch with Chicago State before returning to finish out the regular season at home against Cal State Bakersfield.
