If there was one thing that could help Utah Valley University coach Cathy Nixon forget about the air balls and silly turnovers, it was a performance like that of Kaycee Mansfield.

Mansfield, a freshman from American Fork, looked like she fit right in. She scored 14 points and hit 5-of-6 shots from the field to help UVU beat Montana Tech 69-54 on Wednesday night in an exhibition game at the McKay Center.

"I told myself not to worry about the mistakes because I knew they would already be stressed out about making mistakes, so I just wanted to focus on the positive things," Nixon said. "And I thought Cydne (Mason) and Kaycee were two highlights."

Julie (McMurray) Smith led UVU with 23 points and nine rebounds. Kayla Burningham scored 11 points and Jenna Johnson added eight for the Wolverines. Mason, another freshman, scored two points, handed out four assists and grabbed five rebounds.

UVU struggled to find its shooting range and as a result led just 30-28 at the break. In the first half, the Wolverines shot just 38 percent from the field and its starting five connected on only 6-of-19 shots from the field.

UVU trailed 44-42 until Mansfield hit a 3-pointer with 8:30 left in the game. She added a jumper to give the Wolverines a 47-44 lead. Smith then scored on back-to-back baskets

"The thing that I liked about her was the points she scored were points that came when the game hung in the balance," Nixon said. "She not only scored, but set Julie up a couple of times that helped us in that stretch."

Smith, the Great West Conference Preseason Player of the Year, struggled early, hitting just two of her first 13 shots from the field, but in true Smith fashion, she heated up and helped UVU open up some breathing room.

She put the game away when she got loose on a fastbreak layup, scored and was fouled. She added the free throw to give UVU a 62-49 lead.

UVU will now be off until it opens the season at BYU on Nov. 13.

• UVU volleyball: The Utah Valley University volleyball team will look to maintain its current second-place positioning in the Great West Conference when the Wolverines travel to take on Houston Baptist (11-17, 3-7) and Texas-Pan American (6-15, 4-6) today and Friday, respectively.

Both matches are set to begin at 6 p.m. (MT).

The Wolverines (17-9, 7-2) swept Houston Baptist on Oct. 23 to move to 2-0 all-time versus the Huskies.

On Oct. 15, the Wolverines posted a 3-1 victory over Texas-Pan American to move to 13-1 all-time versus the Lady Broncs. UVU has won the last nine in the series.

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