Kyle Bruderer, Sports Writer
The Utah Valley University women’s basketball team gave the Seattle University Redhawks a good old fashioned beat down on Saturday in the PE building with a final score of 73-42.
“I thought it was our best team defense of the year by far,” said head coach Cathy Nixon. “We really took them out of their action and took them out of their rhythm. If you get stops on the defensive end it makes it a lot easier to win.”
After a big win against Bakersfield Thursday night, the Wolverines had new confidence and a little pep in their step as they stepped out on the floor. Sophomore forward Rebecca MaWhinney scored the first basket of the game connecting on a three pointer. The Redhawks looked to go inside nearly every possession to their star center Taelor Ross, but she struggled from the field scoring five points and turned the ball over four times in the first half. UVU finished the first period with a 14 point lead after shooting an impressive 55 percent as a team.
SU entered the second half playing solid defense causing the Wolverines to commit 11 turnovers. The problem however was that the Redhawks couldn’t seem to put the ball in the net and shot a season low 18 percent from the field. Credit is due to UVU for playing their best defensive game all year, but even the wide open looks weren’t falling for SU.
While SU was missing shot after shot, the Wolverines capitalized on their offensive possessions. Sophomore guard Rhaiah Spooner-Knight recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. MaWhinney also had 18 points while making four of six from beyond the arc. Sophomore guard Georgia Agnew ended up with a season high eight assists, and junior center Sam Loggins chipped in eight points and 10 boards.
The Wolverines will head out on a three game road trip starting with Grand Canyon University on Feb.14, at 2p.m.
