Utah Valley Wolverines women's basketball
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| Utah Valley Wolverines women's basketball | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| University | Utah Valley University | ||
| First season | 1979–80; 47 years ago | ||
| Athletic director | Dr. Jared Sumsion | ||
| Head coach | Dan Nielson (7th season) | ||
| Location | Orem, Utah | ||
| Arena | UCCU Center (capacity: 8,500) and Lockhart Arena (capacity: 2,000) | ||
| NCAA division | Division I | ||
| Conference | Western Athletic Conference (Big West in 2026–27) | ||
| Nickname | Wolverines | ||
| Colors | Green and white[1] | ||
| Student section | The Den | ||
| NCAA Division I tournament appearances | |||
| 2021 | |||
| Conference tournament champions | |||
| Great West: 2010 | |||
| Conference regular-season champions | |||
| Great West: 2013 | |||
The Utah Valley Wolverines women's basketball team is the basketball team that represents Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Western Athletic Conference.[2]
Utah Valley began play in 1979 as a member of NJCAA. They joined Division I in 2003.[3] They never reached the NCAA Tournament prior to 2013, due to the Great West Conference (their previous conference before joining the WAC in 2013) not getting an automatic bid to a postseason tournament. They won the 2010 Great West Conference women's basketball tournament, finishing runner-up in 2012 and 2013.[4] In 2021, the Wolverines made their first appearance in the NCAA tournament after WAC champion, California Baptist could not participate due to being in the middle of a transition from Division II.[5]
Coaches
- Sharon Peterson (1979–1984)
- Tom Perkins (1984–1995)
- Cathy Nixon (1995–2019)
- Dan Nielson (2019–present)
Postseason results
NCAA Tournament appearances
The Wolverines have appeared in one NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament and have an overall record of 0–1. UVU was matched with Stanford in the First Round and was defeated 44–87 in the Alamo Region.[6]
| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | #16 | First Round | #1 Stanford | L 44–87 |
WNIT Tournament appearances
The Wolverines have appeared in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) two times.[7] In 2025, the team defeated Air Force 70–64 before falling to Washington State 54–57.[8] The following year, the Wolverines were again selected to participate in the WNIT and faced San Francisco.[9] Their overall record in the WNIT is 1–2.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Round 1 Round 2 | Air Force Washington State | W 70–64 L 54–57 |
| 2026 | Round 1 | San Francisco | L 50–80 |
Seasons
| Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utah Valley (Western Athletic Conference) (2013–present) | |||||||||
| 2013–14 | Cathy Nixon | 7–23 | 4–12 | 8th | |||||
| 2014–15 | Cathy Nixon | 11–19 | 5–9 | 6th | |||||
| 2015–16 | Cathy Nixon | 16–15 | 8–6 | 4th | |||||
| 2016–17 | Cathy Nixon | 9–22 | 3–11 | 7th | |||||
| 2017–18 | Cathy Nixon | 11–19 | 5–9 | 6th | |||||
| 2018–19 | Cathy Nixon | 14–16 | 8–8 | 6th | |||||
| 2019–20 | Dan Nielson | 12–16 | 9–6 | 3rd | |||||
| 2020–21 | Dan Nielson | 13–7 | 10–4 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2021–22 | Dan Nielson | 16–15 | 10–8 | 4th | |||||
| 2022–23 | Dan Nielson | 6–24 | 3–15 | 12th | |||||
| 2023–24 | Dan Nielson | 10–19 | 5–15 | 10th | |||||
| 2024–25 | Dan Nielson | 19–13 | 9–7 | 4th | WNIT Round 2 | ||||
| 2025–26 | Dan Nielson | 16–15 | 9–9 | 4th | WNIT Round 1 | ||||
| Total: | 160–223 (.418) | ||||||||
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National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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Individual Honors
All-American
- Robyn Fairbanks, three times (2007, 2008 and 2009)[10]
Conference player of the year
- Sammi Jensen, twice (2012 and 2013)
Hall of fame
- Tricia Ferrin
- Melani Francis Kirk
Individual Records
- Points scored, single game: 43, Robyn Fairbanks
- Points scored, season: 708, Robyn Fairbanks
- Points scored, career: 2507, Robyn Fairbanks
- Rebounds, single game: 22, Sammi Jensen
- Rebounds, season: 394, Sammi Jensen
- Rebounds, career: 1,048, Robyn Fairbanks
- Assists, single game: 13, Abbie Beutler and Asumi Nakayama
- Assists, season: 180, Asumi Nakayama
- Assists, career: 553, Asumi Nakayama
