Utah Valley vs. Grand Canyon (Feb. 22)
3 p.m. MT | Lockhart Arena | Orem, Utah
Utah Valley Game Notes | Grand Canyon Game Notes

Game Information
Live Video Stream: WAC Digital Network
Live Stats Link: UVU vs. Grand Canyon Live Stats
 

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OPENING TIP

Utah Valley closes its 2017-18 home slate when it hosts Grand Canyon Saturday Senior Day at 3 p.m. in Lockhart Arena. UVU will honor its three seniors  Taylor Christensen, Mariah Seals and Brighton Taylor prior to the game.

The Wolverines (10-17, 4-8 WAC) hope to get back in the win column after a 64-60 loss  to CSU Bakersfield Thursday afternoon. Seals (18 points)  and sophomore Jordan Holland (17 points) scored UVU's last 20  points versus the 'Runners.

Utah Valley's senior leaders, Christensen and Mariah Seals form the third highest-scoring backcourt duo in the WAC with a combined 28.3 points per game. The senior backcourt has averaged 30.5 points in seven of its last nine outings.

The fourth-year Utah Valley floor general, Seals sits atop the WAC assists leaderboard during league play with 5.7 dimes per game. Seals has tallied six or more assists in five of her last six on-court appearances.

On defense, Christensen leads the WAC in steals with 67 takeaways and a league-best 2.6 steals per contest. Christensen has recorded a steal in 25 games this year, including three or more in 11 of those contests.

Behind Christensen's defensive abilities, Utah Valley has recorded a WAC-best 258 steals. UVU also sits atop the the WAC leaderboard in turnover margin ( 3.80)  and steals per game (9.6 spg).

Coming into the weekend, the Wolverines boast the league's second-ranked scoring offense (66.0 ppg) and passing team  (13.8 apg) in conference play. UVU's third-leading scorer, Holland (7.3 ppg) has fueled the offense, averaging 12.6 points per game in the squad's last eight contests.

UVU junior guard Britta Spencer has also caught fire with a season-high three three-pointers in back-to-back games (6-of-8 3-pt FG)  and has scored 15.5 points per game in those contests.

 Senior Send-off

• The Wolverines' contest versus GCU marks the final career home games for seniors Mariah Seals, Taylor Christensen and Brighton Taylor.
• UVU's seniors have led the Wolverines to 46 wins during their tenure, including the program's first pair of WAC tournament victories and trips to the WAC semifinals each of the past two seasons.
• In addition, these Utah Valley seniors helped guide the squad to its best record as a member of the WAC with a 16-15 overall clip and 8-6 conference record in 2015-16.

   Making History in the Valley

• Senior Taylor Christensen sits at second in program history in all-time career steals (192).  UVU's single-season record holder for steals, Christensen remains 31 steals behind the program's all-time steals leader Asumi Nakayma (223).
• The 5-8 senior guard, Christensen became the seventh Wolverine in UVU's Division I era to score 1,000 career points versus Chicago State. In the WAC opener at CSU Bakersfield, Christensen surpassed her former Wolverine teammate Rhaiah Spooner-Knight  for seventh on the program's all-time career scoring list.
• 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 4,107 minutes of action during her career. She also currently stands above the UVU all-time minutes per game chart with 35.1 MPG.  
• In her 111th career start versus NMSU at home, Seals became UVU's all-time leader in career starts. The Wolverines' fourth-year floor general, Seals surppased former UVU player and All-American Robyn Fairbanks for most career starts in school history.
• Among the program's all-time assists leaders, Seals is third on UVU's all-time career assist chart (439) in her senior campaign. She is four dimes shy of moving into second all-time at UVU in assists.

 About the 'Lopes

• Grand Canyon (14-12, 7-4 WAC) begins the weekend at third place in the WAC standings after claiming a 64-57 victory on the road at Seattle U Thursday night. Senior Brie Mobley guided three double-digit scorers for the Antelopes with 21 points versus the Redhawks.
• Mobley, who ranks second in the WAC in scoring on the year, leads all GCU scorers with a team-best 18.1 points per game. With her 20-point effort at Seattle, Mobley has recorded two 20-point performances in the 'Lopes last three contests.
• GCU's offense boasts the league's highest scoring guard trio. Along with Mobley's scoring, senior Jessica Gajewski (14.6 ppg) ranks ninth in the WAC in scoring and senior August Touchard (10.7) sits at 16th on the WAC scoring chart.
• The 'Lopes bring into the game the conference's top three-point shooting percentage with a 35.7-percent mark from three-point range. Gajewski is hitting a WAC-best 39.4 percent of her three-pointers on the season.

  Series History vs. Grand Canyon

• Saturday morning's Senior Day contest between the Wolverines and 'Lopes marks the 11th all-time meeting on the hardwood between the two squads. GCU holds an 8-2 advantage over the Wolverines in the series.
• In the squad's last matchup, Utah Valley fell to Grand Canyon 81-61 inside GCU Arena on Jan. 27, 2018. In spite of their loss in Phoenix, the Wolverines received a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double from Jordan Holland and 21 points from Mariah Seals.
• UVU also dropped its last home contest against GCU last season, 62-46, inside Lockhart Arena on Jan. 7, 2017. Taylor Christensen scored 21 points in her the squad's last home appearance against the 'Lopes.
• Utah Valley seeks its first victory over Grand Canyon since earning a 52-50 win against GCU on Jan. 17, 2015 in Orem, Utah.

CSUB survives the Wolverines' second-half comeback attempt

• Utah Valley women's basketball battled from a 16-point, first-half deficit with a pair of second-half runs, but the Wolverines' late push came up just short in a 64-60 defeat to WAC frontrunner CSU Bakersfield Thursday inside Lockhart Arena.
• Senior Mariah Seals, who scored a team-high 18 points, and sophomore forward Jordan Holland shouldered UVU's (10-17, 4-8 WAC) offense down the stretch with the squad's final 20 points to pull  within two points of CSUB (16-10, 10-2 WAC) heading into the game's final 2:17.
• The Roadrunners, however, iced the game with a 4-of-5 mark at the free throw line in the final two minutes of the contest to survive the Wolverines' comeback attempt.

Backcourt in Front

• Utah Valley's senior leaders in guards Taylor Christensen and Mariah Seals form the third highest-scoring backcourt duo in the WAC on the year with a combined 28.3 points per game. Christensen ranks seventh on the WAC scoring leaderboard with a team-best 14.2 points per game, while Seals averages 14.1 points per contest to rank eighth on the league scoring leaderboard. With three 20-point efforts in her last eight outings, Seals sits at fifth among all WAC scorers with 15.8 points per contest during league play. UVU's newest member of the 1,000-point club, Christensen is 14th with 11.6 points per game versus league foes.
• In addition, junior Britta Spencer and sophmore Gabrielle Leos give UVU the second highest scoring starting backcourt in the WAC with a combined 42.5 points per contest. Spencer (7.1) ranks 29th on the league's scoring leaderboard and Leos (6.8) is fourth on the team in scoring.
• UVU's lone seniors, Christensen and Seals enter their final week of regular season action with at least 25 points as a duo in 10 of their last 12 on-court appearances. Seals and Christensen have averaged a combined 30.5 points in seven of their last nine outings.

        Stealing the Show

• Last year's WAC steals leader, Christensen finds herself atop the WAC steals leaderboard with 2.7 steals per game. She also has racked up a WAC-best 67 steals. Christensen has tallied at least one takeaway in 24 of 26 outings during her senior campaign, including three or more takeaways in 11 of those appearances.
• The Wolverines have won both the steals and turnover battle in 15 contests this season, including season-highs of 18 steals and 29 forced turnovers in their road win at Chicago State.
• UVU has forced 15 or more turnovers in 14 of the last 16 games, while recording double-digit steals in seven of those outings.
• Behind their success at limiting foes' scoring chances, Utah Valley leads the WAC in steals with 9.6 takeaways per contest and turnover margin ( 3.80).

 Mariah's Helping Hands

• After racking up three or more assists in 18 of the last 20 games, senior guard Mariah Seals ranks second in the WAC with 127 assists and 4.7 assists per contest. Seals has racked up six or more assists in five of her last six outings, including a season-high tying nine dimes versus UMKC, to sit at first in league play with 5.7 dimes per contest.
• UVU's floor general, senior Seals pushed her streak of consecutive games with an assist versus CSUB to 32 games dating back to last season. In addition, she has racked up multiple assists in 28 of those contests.
• The 5-3 Wolverine point guard, Seals has recorded or tied for the team high in assists 23 times on the year. Behind Seals' playmaking ability, UVU is third in the league with 14.0 assists per game as a team against WAC foes.

Senior Send-off

• The Wolverines' contest versus GCU marks the final career home games for seniors Mariah Seals, Taylor Christensen and Brighton Taylor.
• UVU's seniors have led the Wolverines to 46 wins during their tenure, including the program's first pair of WAC tournament victories and trips to the WAC semifinals each of the past two seasons.
• In addition, these Utah Valley seniors helped guide the squad to its best record as a member of the WAC with a 16-15 overall clip and 8-6 conference record in 2015-16.

 Wolverine Gladiators

• UVU guards Mariah Seals, Taylor Christensen, Gabrielle Leos, and Britta Spencer each average 29-plus  minutes per game this season.
• Seals headlines the group of Wolverine gladiators with 36.7 minutes per game to rank third in the WAC. The senior point guard has played every minute during seven of UVU's last nine contests.
• Meanwhile, Christensen's 32.6  average minutes of action puts her at 16th in the WAC in minutes averaged. Spencer (30.4 MPG) and Leos (29.5 MPG) join their senior teammates on the WAC top-25 list for minutes played in 20th and 22nd, respectively.
• Seals and Christensen each spent 1,000-plus minutes on the court during their junior year in 2016-17, finishing top-10 in the WAC in minutes per game.
• In her junior campaign, Seals led the WAC in minutes per game with 36.7 and total minutes played with 1,001. Christensen joined her Wolverine gladiator counterpart in the 1,000-minute club last season (1,036).

Get That Dirt off Your Shoulder

• Among the top three-point shooters in the WAC, guard Mariah Seals ranks second in the conference in three-point field-goal percentage on the year with a 38.7-percent mark from beyond the arc. Entering the final two weeks of league play,  Seals is also third in the WAC with 2.4 three-point makes per game against conference foes.
• Outside of Seals' three-point accuracy, senior guard Taylor Christensen ranks among the top-15 overall shooters in the WAC. Christensen has knocked down 42.1 percent (135-of-321 FG) of her field goal attempts this season, sitting in 12th on the league's field goal percentage list.
• In WAC contests, sophomore forward Jordan Holland joins her sharp-shooting teammates at 13th in the conference with a 43.8-percent shooting clip this year (39-of-89) in league play.

Charity at the Line

• UVU senior guard Taylor Christensen leads the Wolverines at the charity stripe and ranks second in the WAC with 83 made free throws. She has converted 74.1 percent of her shots at the free-throw line to rank ninth in the WAC in free throw percentage. Meanwhile, Christensen's 112 trips to the foul line puts her atop the WAC leaderbord in free throw attempts this year.
• Sophomore forward Jordan Holland has nailed a team-best 75.8 percent of her free throws during league contests to land at 8th in the conference. Mariah Seals is third on the team in efficiency at the free-throw line, sinking 71.1 percent of her extra attempts to rank 11th in the WAC.
• UVU's 357 made free throws and 73.0 percent free-throw percentage leads all teams in the WAC. In addition, the Wolverines' 489 trips to the foul line are the most by any WAC team on the season.

Taylor-Made Glass

• Senior guard Taylor Christensen begins the week at seventh among all guards in the WAC on the glass, pulling down 4.6 boards per contest. In addition, Christensen has finished or tied as the Wolverines' leader in rebounds in nine contests, including UVU's victories at home over Air Force and Dixie State.
• With 47 rebounds over the span of her last seven outings, UVU sophomore forward Jordan Holland begins the week at sixth in the WAC with 6.8 boards per game during WAC play. In addition, Holland ranks 15th in the conference with a team-best 5.0 rebounds per game.
• Holland's 3.3 offensive rebounds per contest versus league foes lands her at first in the WAC. The 6-0 foot forward, Holland has posted a career-high seven offensive boards twice, including games versus CSUB and Chicago State.
• UVU's leading rebounder, Holland grabbed a career-best 12 rebounds in UVU's last contest versus Grand Canyon.

Fuel to the Fire

• After averaging 10.8 bench points in 16 games prior, Utah Valley's bench has ramped up its bench scoring to 14.9 points per game over the squad's last 11 contests.
• Behind their bench's resurgence, the Wolverines boast the WAC's second-highest scoring offense against league opponents with 65.5 points per game. Sophomore guard Alexis Cortez leads UVU's bench with 5.8 points per contest.
• Junior guard Britta Hall has caught fire from beyond the arc in the Wolverines' last four contests with a 52.9-percent mark from downtown (9-of-17 3-pt FG). In addition, she has shot 75 percent from distance in her last two outings, while averaging three three-pointers per game during that span.
• Along with Hall's and Cortez's resurgent offensive abilities, Holland has averaged 12.6 points per contest over the last eight games to enter the weekend as UVU's third-leading scorer. During her explosive offensive stretch, Holland has posted seven double-digit outings with a career-high 20 points  versus Seattle U.