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Sophomore Ashley Grimm averaged 8.0 points and 6.5 rebounds last week for Utah Valley State
  
 
Wolverines Head East to Face New Jersey Tech & IPFW

Utah Valley hopes to end losing skid Thursday in New Jersey

Jan. 30, 2007

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Coming Up...
Utah Valley State (10-10) heads East this week for road games at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, New Jersey and IPFW in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

UV will face NJIT (3-16) on Thursday, February 1st with a 5pm MT tip-off. Gametracker for the game can be found on www.WolverineGreen.com. The Wolverines will battle IPFW on Saturday at 11am MT with live audio and live stats available at www.GoMastodons.com.

It will be the first meeting ever between Utah Valley and NJIT with the teams meeting again on February 24th in Orem. IPFW holds a 1-0 advantage all-time over the Wolverines, winning 84-60 last March in Fort Wayne. The Mastodons will be in Orem for a rematch on February 22nd.

Utah Valley has lost seven straight games, its longest losing streak since the 2004-05 season, after getting off to the best start in school history with a 9-1 record through 10 games.

The Wolverines last won on December 20th, 84-78 over Montana State and have been stuck at 10 wins, one shy of the school record, for over a month.

During the losing streak, two of the losses have come by one point. In both instances, free throws with less than three seconds on the clock decided the game.

Robyn Fairbanks Watch..
Robyn Fairbanks was named Division-I Independent Player of the Week on January 16th, the fourth time this season she has earned the award.

The sophomore All-America candidate is currently averaging 24.8 points per game, second behind Western Michigan's Carrie Moore.

Unfortunately, due to Utah Valley's provisional status, the school's stats are not counted by the NCAA but Yahoo.com does include the Wolverines on its stats page and Fairbanks' name can be found there among the nation's elite scorers.

Fairbanks continues to lead all independent players in scoring and field goal percentage and is second in rebounding and fourth in blocks per game.

She has reached the 30 point plateau on six occasions this season, including a school-record 43 point performance against Montana State on December 20th.

The Canadian center has hit double figures and scored at least 16 points in all but one game and has recorded a "double-double" eight times. She has scored at least 20 points in 14 out of 20 games.

Peterson Starting to Heat Up...
Junior Rebekah Peterson has been consistent all season for Utah Valley State, but it has been the last three games that she has taken her game to another level. She has hit 13 three pointers in the last three contests, against UCSB, South Dakota State and North Dakota State, and set a school record by hitting five treys to go along with a career high 23 points against NDSU.

After starting five games as a freshmen, Peterson didn't start at all as a sophomore. Now, after making her first start of the season against South Dakota State, she has all but cemented her spot in the lineup for at least the rest of this season.

In two starts, Peterson is averaging 20 points and seven rebounds and on the season is third on the team with a 7.9 ppg average. She's also hitting a career best 45% from the field and is third among D-I independent players, hitting 42% from the three-point line.

Scouting the Highlanders...
New Jersey Tech is 3-16 and, like Utah Valley, has lost seven straight games. After beginning the season 2-2, the Highlanders are just 1-14 since.

Jill Dickinson (9.8 ppg), Katie Pieliekski (9.7 ppg) and Kelly Crowe (9.5 ppg) lead NJIT offensively.

Last time out, New Jersey hosted fellow D-I independent IPFW and lost 81-70. Crowe led the Highlanders with 18 points while the team hit 63.6% from beyond the three-point line.

New Jersey Tech is in its first season of Division-I competition and is coached by Kim Bowen Lusk, who is in her fifth season at the helm.

Scouting the Mastodons...
IPFW is 9-9 with games on Tuesday vs. Northern Illinois and Thursday vs. Texas-Pan American before Saturday's contest.

The Mastodons are led by junior guard Johnna Lewis-Carlisle's 17.2 points and Ashley Johnson's 14.8 points per game.

Lewis-Carlisle had 20 points in the win over New Jersey Tech and had three of the team's 14 steals. Johnson, who was named D-I Independent Player of the Week on January 23rd, had 17 points and seven rebounds for IPFW.

IPFW is coached by Chris Paul, who is in his first full season as head coach after leading the team over the final 20 games of the 2005-06 season.

The team is in its final season as an independent and will join the Mid-Continent Conference next year along with current independents North Dakota State and South Dakota State.

D-I Independent Awards for 1/29...
South Dakota State University senior Megan Vogel was named the Division I Independent Women's Basketball Player of the Week, while UC Davis freshman guard Anna Harp was named the Division I Independent Newcomer of the Week on Jan. 30 by vote of independent sports information directors for their performances Jan. 22-28.

Vogel was selected as the Player of the Week for the second time, while Harp earned the Newcomer of the Week honor for the second time as well this season.

Looking Ahead...
The Wolverines will host Texas-Pan American next Saturday night at 7:05pm in the Shurian Family Activity Center. It will be the last of three games played there this season, with the remaining home games in the Wolverines' usual home, the McKay Center.