Dec. 31, 2010

Complete Release in PDF Format

OREM, Utah -- The Utah Valley University women's basketball team returns home for a New Year's Day date with the Big Sky's Montana State. The Wolverines will host the Bobcats on the heels of returning from playing two games at the University of Montana's Lady Griz Holiday Classic.

Live video and audio for the game is available at WolverineGreen.com with Drew Dowling handling the play-by-play. Live stats will also be available for the game at the same website.

The Wolverines (1-12) have lost eight straight games and dropped two contests at the 30th annual Lady Griz Holiday Classic in Missoula, Mont., earlier this week. UVU lost to the host Montana Lady Griz (75-53) on Tuesday and also found themselves on the wrong end of a 63-48 score against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Wednesday.

At the holiday tournament, sophomore Sammie Jensen was recognized for her stellar play as she was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging a double-double in the two contests. On the year she leads the Wolverines in both scoring and rebounding with a near double-double average of 12.7 points and 9.9 rebounds. Junior Jenna Johnson is right behind her, averaging 10.2 points per contest.

About Montana State
The Bobcats will enter Saturday's game hot as of late as they hold a three-game win streak and an overall record of 5-8. In Montana State's last game on Thursday in Provo, MSU upended the BYU Cougars by nine points 58-49.

MSU has four players that average double figures in scoring on the year. Katie Bussey is tops on the club with an average of 13.9, while Lyndi Seidensticker, Sarah Balian and Chelsea Banis score 12.2, 11.9 and 11.2 respective per night. Balian also is also first in rebounding with an average of 9.3 per game.

The Bobcats will be the third Big Sky foe that UVU has met-up with this season. So far the Wolverines are winless against competitors from the Big Sky after losing at Montana and at Idaho State earlier this year.

The game will be the eighth all-time meeting between UVU and MSU with the Bobcats holding a 5-2 series advantage. The Wolverines however are 2-1 against Montana State in Orem. In the last meeting on Nov. 14, 2008, MSU got the better of the Wolverines in Orem for the first time by the score of 94-71.

Following Saturday's game, UVU will have a week off before hitting the road and heading to Chicago State to begin the 2010-11 Great West Conference season on Jan. 8.