OPENING TIP
Utah Valley University will face old conference foe New Mexico State as part of the WAC/Conference scheduling alliance this Saturday at 1 p.m. MT at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The game will air live on ESPN+. 

The Wolverines (4-5) are coming off a decisive 68-38 win over Utah State last Saturday. Kylee Mabry and Kaylee Byon lead the team with averages of 8.7 and 8.6 points per game, respectively, while Ally Criddle is scoring 7.6 per contest. Tessa Chaney leads the squad with an average of 6.0 rebounds per game. 

LAST TIME OUT
In the win over Utah State, UVU built a double-digit lead before the half and then pulled away with a big fourth quarter, outscoring the Aggies 26-8 in the final frame. Criddle led all scorers with 13 while Jenna Dick hit four 3-pointers and finished with 12. The Wolverines forced 24 USU turnovers and had 11 steals, which led to 32 points. Utah Valley was also 6-for-6 from three in the fourth quarter en route to the lopsided win.

WHERE THEY RANK
UVU leads the WAC and ranks 11th in the country in turnover margin, is 18th in turnovers forced per game, and ranks 16th in steals per game at 12.2. The Wolverines are -7.7 in turnovers so far, while forcing just over 22 opponent giveaways per game. UVU also leads the WAC and ranks 20th in the country in bench points per game (30.3). 

ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
New Mexico State is 5-4 and defeated Western New Mexico on Tuesday, 89-54. The Aggies are getting 14.9 points per game from Molly Kaiser while Femme Sikuzani Masudi is averaging 13.0 points for NM State. The Aggies lead Conference USA and rank 50th in the nation in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 56.0 points per game. 

THE All-TIME SERIES
NM State holds a 16-6 all-time series lead, but the Wolverines are 4-3 in the last seven meetings. The Aggies won in overtime in Orem last season, 63-57, to snap a three-game UVU winning streak. In the last meeting in Las Cruces, UVU won 66-32, during the 2021-22 season.

UP NEXT
The Wolverines will wrap up the non-conference and pre-Christmas schedule next Thursday, Dec. 21 at 2 p.m. MT in the UCCU Center against Sam Houston, another former WAC foe. It will be the second and final game of the WAC/C-USA scheduling alliance.