November 6, 2007

Wolverine women aim to keep on winning

Neil K. Warner - DAILY HERALD

Perhaps the toughest part of the upcoming season for Utah Valley State College isn't the road trip that takes the team to second-ranked Duke. It's not the two-week, five-game road trip at the end of November and early December or the home game against Seton Hall.

Nope, the most difficult problem just might be living up to expectations for the women's basketball team.

Two years ago, the Wolverines won 11 games and last year they posted a 15-13 overall record, the most wins in Division I school history. And what has hyped expectations about this year's team is the fact that this team lost just one senior, who was a non-starter.

"Even though we have the same people back, they have different games and their roles have changed," Nixon said. "One of the obstacles we face is dealing with the perception that we are already a good team. We still have some work to do as for as cohesiveness and meshing together as a team."

Not only do the Wolverines return their starting five, they bring back an improved Robyn Fairbanks, an All-American last year, who was third in the nation in scoring last year with a 23.7 average per game.

"I think she's improved her conditioning this fall and one of the biggest areas of improvement for her has been defensively," Nixon said. "She's a more physical player and that should translate into her being a better defender."

Before anyone gets too carried away, there are a few factors that are keeping this team grounded. For starters, this year's schedule is as tough as any UVSC has played and there are still the challenges of being an independent team, a virtual dinosaur in a landscape dominated by conferences.

"Is our schedule tougher than last year? I feel like it's the toughest schedule we've ever had," Nixon said. "Duke is ranked No. 2. That's the highest ranked team we've ever played and our home schedule is probably as competitive as we've ever had with Seton Hall, (Cal-State) Fullerton and Gonzaga."

For those who followed UVSC, this year's lineup will look pretty familiar.

At point guard, Asumi Nakayama, a sophomore from Japan, returns after averaging 5.5 points per game. Nixon can play the versatile Hollie Beaman, a junior, who averaged 4.4 points and five rebounds and could see time at the point along with Chelsey Potter.

Sandy Marvin, a junior who was the second-leading scorer (13.3 ppg), will start at the two spot. She scored a career-high 28 points in a win over Boise State last year. Susie Cornejo, one of just two seniors on the team, will also see time at the two.

Rebekah Peterson, the other senior, will see time at the three spot. Look for Julie McMurray, a sophomore who averaged 8.3 points a game, to see time at the two, three and four.

UVSC has some help in the post for Fairbanks with Jordyn Bowen (6-foot), Blake Reynolds (6-foot) and Lauren Smith (6-5), who is coming off a back injury and hopes to have more of an impact this year.

Lehi's Kayla Burningham, a sophomore, is in the program, but is redshirting along with Kim Koeven, a UNLV transfer.

"I think depth will be one of our strengths. We also have experience at each position. We started four freshman two years ago and had 10 underclassman last year," Nixon added. "On the other hand, we didn't have very much of an offensive balance last year and I think that was a weakness. I'm not looking for Robyn to score less. I'm just hoping more of the girls make more of an offensive contribution."