OPENING TIP

• Utah Valley University hits the road for a challenging two-game trip that starts Thursday at Grand Canyon University with a 6 p.m. tip from Phoenix. The weekend concludes on Saturday at noon MT at New Mexico State University. Both games will air live on ESPN+.
• The Wolverines (9-12, 4-6) are led by Josie Williams' 16.4 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. She leads the WAC and ranks third in the country in rebounds per game, and her 15 double-doubles are tied for fifth nationally. Last week against Stephen F. Austin, Williams became the ninth player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points.
• Eight games remain in the WAC regular season  — four home and four away — as UVU continues to battle for positioning in next month's WAC Tournament. The top two teams earn byes into the semifinals, seeds 3-4 will open in the quarterfinals and seeds 5-6 will also earn first-round byes.
   

LAST TIME OUT
Utah Valley dropped two games at home last week, to WAC leader Stephen F. Austin (68-53) and to streaking Sam Houston (69-66). In Thursday's loss to SFA, the Ladyjacks jumped out to a big first quarter lead and the Wolverines couldn't recover.

On Saturday against the Bearkats, UVU trailed by 10 entering the final quarter before eventually taking a brief lead, but Sam Houston scored the final four points of the game to win its fifth straight. Maria Carvalho had 20 points for Utah Valley against Sam Houston while Josie Williams added 19 points and 16 rebounds and averaged 17.0 points and 15.0 boards in the two games.

COMING UP
The Wolverines are home next week to host Tarleton on Wednesday, Feb. 16 and Dixie State on Saturday, Feb. 19.

ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
Grand Canyon is coming off a pair of road wins last week, including a victory on Saturday at California Baptist. The Lopes have won seven of eight overall with their only loss coming to first-place Stephen F. Austin. GCU is led by UTRGV transfer Amara Graham, who is averaging 12.7 points per game. The Lopes have a 13-6 record all-time against UVU. The last time the teams met in Phoenix, during the 2019-20 season, the Wolverines came away with a 64-54 win.

New Mexico State is 8-14 overall and 4-6 in WAC play entering a Thursday contest against Dixie State. The Aggies held off Seattle U on Tuesday, 59-54, in the first game of four straight at home. NM State is 4-0 at home in WAC play. Bigue Sarr, a graduate transfer from Oklahoma State, leads the team with averages of 13.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. The Aggies are 15-4 all-time against UVU and 8-2 at home.