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No. 6 Seed Utah Valley Upsets No. 2 Seed Texas-Pan American in Women's GWC Semifinals
March 12, 2010 Utah Valley 72, Texas-Pan American 56 OREM, Utah - No. 6 seed Utah Valley upset second-seeded Texas-Pan American, 72-56, in the semifinals of the GWC Basketball Tournament at Orem, Utah. Second-team All-GWC and the league's leading scorer Julie Smith led five Wolverines in double figures with 20 points. Honorable mention all-conference Erika Newbold, Asumi Nakayama and Kaycee Mansfield each added 11 points, while honorable-mention selection Jenna Johnson scored 10. Nakayama dished out eight assists, while Smith and Mansfield recorded two blocked shots each. The game was a tale of two halves with UTPA taking a 31-21 lead into halftime after forcing UVU into 17 first-half turnovers. In the second half, however, the Wolverines limited their turnovers to six and outscored the Lady Broncs 51-25 in the stanza. For the game, UVU outrebounded Texas-Pan American by 20, 44-24, and connected on 6-14 (.429) from beyond the arc while holding UTPA to 1-12 (.083). "It (the game) really summed up our season," said UVU coach Cathy Nixon. "We've been faced with that exact same challenge multiple times when things haven't been clicking for us, we haven't been able to get stops on the defensive end and we have been flat and stale. We've learned lessons along the way. That's one thing about losing games you learn lessons as you go along. "It was a physical, mental and emotional test for us. It was a quick turnaround. I couldn't be happier for the girls in the way they turned it around and rose to the challenge. It was a challenge. Texas-Pan American played very well in the first half and put us back on our heels. I compliment our team effort." UTPA was led by second-team all-conference and Newcomer of the Year Bianca Torre with 22 points. Joining Torre in double figures were GWC Defensive Player of the Year Rose Esther Jean with 14 points and second-team all-GWC honoree Aleeya Grigsby with 11. Jean led the Lady Broncs on the boards with seven rebounds. "We started the season 0-8. Had we won today, we would have tied the school record for most wins in a season," said UTPA coach Denny Downing. "I really want to congratulate my seniors. They bought in to what we were doing the second semester. If you could see the tears in those eyes in that locker room, you would understand the passion that those kids have played with all year long." Utah Valley will face top-seeded and GWC regular-season champion North Dakota in Saturday's tournament final at 4 p.m. (MT).
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