Utah Valley vs. Idaho State (Dec. 16)
3 p.m. MT | Rebecca D. Lockhart Arena | Orem, Utah
Utah Valley Game Notes | Idaho State Game Notes
Game Information
Live Video Stream: WAC Digital Network
Live Stats Link: UVU vs. Idaho State Live Stats
 

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OPENING TIP

Utah Valley continues its six-game December homestand with a Saturday afternoon contest against Idaho State. Tip-off versus the Bengals is set for 3 p.m. MT inside Lockhart Arena.

The Wolverines (4-6) swept their contests versus Air Force and in-state foe Utah State last week, improving to 4-0 at home for the second time in the last three seasons. Reigning WAC Player of the Week, senior guard Taylor Christensen averaged 19.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 3.0 assists for the week and hit the game-winning shot against the Falcons.

UVU's backcourt of Christensen, Mariah Seals and Britta Spencer forms the third highest scoring backcourt trio in the WAC with a combined 34.9 points per game entering the weekend. The senior duo of Seals and Christensen has combined for 34.5 points per contest on UVU's home floor this season.

The UVU floor general, Seals enters the weekend ranking fourth in the WAC in assists with 3.5 dimes per contest. After racking up a season-high six helpers versus USU, Seals extended her streak of consecutive games with three or more assists to five.

On defense, Christensen leads the Wolverines with a WAC-leading 3.1 steals per game. Christensen has recorded four or more steals in three of her past four outings, including a season-high tying five versus USU.

Behind Christensen's defensive abilities, Utah Valley sits atop the the WAC leaderboard in turnover margin and steals per game (10.0 spg). UVU has won the turnover battle in six of its 10 games this season.

About the Bengals
Idaho State (6-3) comes into Saturday off a 64-62 win at Hawaii to snap a previous two-game skid. Senior guard Brooke Blair scored a team-high  20 points, while Sai Tapasa recorded a 17-point, 13-rebound double-double for the Bengals in the victory. ISU's offense is paced by Blair's 14.8 points per contest on the year, which ranks 12th in the Big Sky. Blair has recorded 20 or more points in two outings, including a season-high 30 at PAC-12 foe Washington. On the glass, Tapasa leads the Bengals with 7.1 rebounds per game to rank ninth in the Big Sky on the Year. In addition, Tapas has recorded two double-doubles this season. With Tapasa's rebounding skills, Idaho State boasts the Big Sky's top defensive rebound team entering the weekend.

Series History vs. Idaho State      
Saturday afternoon's contest will mark the 13th all-time meeting on the hardwood between the Wolverines and Bengals. Idaho State owns an 8-5 advantage over Utah Valley in the all-time series, including a win in the past three matchups. Last season's contest between UVU and ISU saw the Bengals earn a 61-56 victory over the Wolverines. Senior guard Taylor Christensen led Utah Valley with a game-high 21 points against Idaho State in her junior campaign. UVU holds a 4-3 all-time record against Idaho State at home. The last Wolverine win at home versus the Bengals came in a 59-56 decision on Dec. 20, 2013. Idaho State topped Utah Valley, 56-47, in the last matchup between the two squads in Orem, Utah, on Dec. 29, 2015.

Wolverines remain unbeaten at home with wins over Air Force, Utah State
Utah Valley swept its pair of contests versus Air Force and in-state foe Utah State last week, improving to 4-0 at home for the second time in the last three seasons. Reigning WAC Player of the Week, senior guard Taylor Christensen averaged 19.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 3.0 assists for the week and hit the game-winning shot against the Falcons. In the squad's 61-43 victory over the Aggies, Christensen and her senior backcourt teammate Mariah Seals helped account for 58 Wolverine points. Christensen tallied a season-high 22 points and three assists, while Seals tallied 17 points and season-best six dimes in UVU's second straight win.

Christensen earns WAC Player of the Week honors
Utah Valley senior guard Taylor Christensen has been named Western Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week for the week spanning Dec. 4-10. A native of Mount Pleasant, Utah, Christensen led the Wolverines to a pair of wins at home over Air Force and Utah State for the squad's second 4-0 home start in the last three seasons. Against Air Force, she finished with 17 points, including 7-of-8 on free throws, to go along with nine rebounds and three assists. She followed that up with 22 points, six rebounds and five steals in a dominating 61-43 win over in-state rival Utah State. On the week, she averaged 19.5 points per game, 7.5 rebounds per game, 3.5 steals per game and 3.0 assists per game. In addition, Christensen earned the College Sports Madness WAC Women's Basketball Player of the week recognition. The weekly award marks the first for Christensen this season and second in her career. UVU will continue its six-game homestand to close the 2017 calendar year when it hosts Idaho State on Saturday, Dec. 16. Tip-off against the Bengals is set for 3 p.m. MT inside Lockhart Arena.

Backcourt in Front
Utah Valley's guards Taylor Christensen, Mariah Seals and Britta Spencer form the third highest scoring backcourt trio in the WAC with a combined 35.7 points per game through eight games entering this week's contests. Christensen ranks sixth on the WAC scoring leaderboard with a team-high 16.0 points per game, Seals sits at 13th (11.6 ppg) and Spencer  (8.1 ppg) claims the 23rd spot among the WAC's top scorers. In addition, sophomore guard Gabrielle Leos enters the week averaging 7.1 points per game to give the squad the third highest scoring guard quartet in the WAC. The group of Wolverine guards has teamed up for a combined 42.8 points per contest in the squad's first 10 outings, as each ranks among the top 25 in the WAC in points per contest on the year. The Wolverines' top-two scorers from 2016-17, senior guards Taylor Christensen and Mariah Seals have comined to score 34.5 points per contest in four home games this season. In addition, the senior backcourt duo helped account for 58 points in a win against Utah State last weekend.

Mariah's Helping Hands
UVU's floor general, senior Mariah Seals has pushed her streak of consecutive games with an assist to 15 games dating back to last season. In addition, she has racked up multiple assists in 14 of those contests, including a season-high six dimes versus Utah State. Fresh off a string of three straight games with at least three dimes, Seals enters the weekend at fourth in the WAC in assists. Her 144 assists last year marked a new career high, topping her previous high of 82. The 5-3  Wolverine point guard, Seals has recorded or tied for the team high in assists in seven of her 10 outings in non-conference play. Seals led or tied for the team lead in assists 23 times last season. Among the program's all-time assists leaders, Seals is third on UVU's all-time career assist chart (347) in her fourth year.

Home for the Holidays
After beginning the season with 3,336.4 miles of traveling in November, the Wolverines will play six straight home contests spanning the last three weeks of December to conclude the 2017 calendar year. The Wolverines opened their 2017-18 home slate with back-to-back contests versus in-state foes Dixie State (Nov. 28) and Southern Utah inside Lockhart Arena. UVU's first road trip of the year included a string of five consecutive  contests at Weber State, Portland, No. 17 Oregon State, crosstown rival BYU and Eastern Washington.

Wolverine Gladiators
UVU guards Mariah Seals, Taylor Christensen, Britta Spencer and Gabrielle Leo each average 30-plus minutes  per game this season. Seals headlines the group of Wolverine gladiators with 35.9 minutes per game to rank fourth in the WAC and 59th in the nation. Meanwhile, Christensen's 33.6 average minutes of action puts her at ninth in the WAC in minutes averaged. Leos (31.0 MPG) and Spencer (30.6 MPG) rank third and fourth among all UVU players, respectively, in minutes per contest this year. Seals and Christensen spent 1,000-plus minutes on the court during 2016-17, finishing top-10 in the WAC in minutes per game. Seals led the WAC in minutes per game with 36.7 and total minutes played with 1,001 during her junior campaign.Christensen joined her Wolverine gladiator counterpart in the 1,000-minute club with 1,036 minutes, while ranking eighth in the league in minutes per game with 33.4. In three years as UVU's floor general, Seals has amassed 101 starts to rank third all-time in program history one-third into her senior campaign. Seals comes into the weekend seven starts shy of the second most starts in school history (108).

Get That Dirt off Your Shoulder
Among the top three-point shooters in the WAC this season, guard Mariah Seals sits in fifth in the WAC in three-point field-goal percentage with a 38.9-percent mark. In addition, Seals' 1.4 made threes per contest rank 13th in the conference. Joining Seals on the league three-point shooting leaderboard, junior guard Britta Spencer rounds out the list in 15th in shooting percentage from beyond the arc and is 14th in three-pointers per game with 1.3. Outside of Seals and Spencer, senior guard Taylor Christensen is among the top-10 overall shooters in the WAC. The Wolverines' scoring leader on the year, Christensen has knocked down 44.8 percent of her shots this season.

Charity at the Line
UVU sophomore guard Gabrielle Leos leads the WAC at the charity stripe, converting 87.5 percent (21-of-24 FT) of her shots at the free-throw line. Wolverine senior guard Taylor Christensen follows closely behind Leos in second on the WAC free-throw percentage chart, sinking 77.8 percent  of her attempts from the charity stripe.

Taylor-Made Glass
Senior guard Taylor Christensen begins the weekend fourth among all guards in the WAC on the glass with a team-leading 4.8 boards per contest, while sophomore guard Gabrielle Leos sits in fifth among the league's guards in rebounds (4.4 rpg).

Stealing the Show
Last year's WAC steals leader, Christensen again finds herself atop the WAC steals chart with 2.9 steals per game.  Christensen has recorded a steal in each outing for UVU this season. With her season-best five steals versus Utah State, Christensen extended her streak of contests with at least four takeaways to three straight games. The Wolverines have won the steals and turnover battle in contests versus Weber State, Portland, BYU, Southern Utah, Pepperdine and Utah State. UVU has forced 18 or more turnovers in five consecutive contests and has recorded double-digit steals in four of those outings. Behind their success at limiting opponents' offensive possessions, Utah Valley leads the WAC in both steals with 10.0 takeaways per contest and turnover margin.

Making History in the Valley
Senior Taylor Christensen sits at second in program history in all-time career steals (156).  After setting UVU's single-season steals record in 2016-17, Christensen remains 67 steals shy of the Wolverines' all-time steals leader Asumi Nakayma (223). On the program's all-time scoring leaderboard, Christensen begins the weekend in ninth with 829 points. The 5-8 senior guard needs 71 points to become the seventh Wolverine in UVU's Division I era to eclipse 1,000 career points. After increasing her minutes total every season since becoming a Wolverine, Seals currently holds the top spot on the school's all-time minutes played with 3, 515 minutes of action during her career. She also currently stands above the UVU all-time minutes per game chart with 34.8 MPG.

Older and Wiser
After returning only one starter a year ago, UVU welcomes back four starters from last season's squad that gave the program a WAC Tournament semifinal appearance for the second straight year. Seven players on the Wolverines' 2017-18 roster saw playing time last year, accounting for more than half of the full roster of 13 players. In 2016-17, Utah Valley returned only four active players who earned minutes the season prior. Guards Mariah Seals and Taylor Christensen give the Wolverines their first senior class and duo since the 2015-16 season, in which the squad posted its best record since joining the WAC. The Wolverines also welcome a pair of sophomore transfers, including guard Alexis Cortez (East Carolina) and forward Va'e Malufau (Northern Arizona).

UVU senior duo tabbed Preseason All-WAC in WAC preseason polls
Utah Valley women's basketball seniors Mariah Seals and Taylor Christensen received Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Preseason All-Conference selections, as announced in the WAC preseason polls released at WAC Preview and Media Day. Seals and Christensen were selected to the Preseason All-WAC first team by the league's eight coaches. In the media poll, the senior duo of Christensen and Seals was selected to the Preseason All-WAC second team. Joining Seals and Christensen on the first team in the coaches poll were GCU's Brie Mobley, NMSU's Brook Salas and Seattle U's Alexis Montgomery.

Wolverines picked to finish fourth, fifth in WAC preseason polls
The Wolverines were voted to finish fourth in the WAC in the coaches poll, ahead of Grand Canyon, UT Rio Grande Valley, UMKC and Chicago State. In the media poll, Utah Valley was picked fifth, edging UTRGV, UMKC and Chicago State. Utah Valley was picked fifth in the media team poll, edging UTRGV, UMKC and Chicago State. In the media and coaches polls, reigning back-to-back WAC champion New Mexico State received seven first-place votes from media and six top votes from the coaches. Seattle U and CSU Bakersfield finished behind the Aggies in the voting, as the Redhawks and Roadrunners traded spots for second and third, respectively, in the media and coaches polls.