OREM, Utah — A staunch defensive effort and a big fourth quarter on the offensive end helped Utah Valley pull away from Utah State in a 68-38 victory on Saturday afternoon in the UCCU Center.
 
The Wolverines (4-5) led by 12 entering the fourth and outscored the Aggies (3-6) 26-8 in over the final 10 minutes. UVU was 10-for-15 from the field and made all six 3-pointers attempted while forcing eight turnovers that led to 14 points in just the fourth quarter alone. For the game, the Wolverines forced 24 turnovers and had 11 steals, leading to 32 points.
 
"Our defensive effort tonight was awesome," said UVU head coach Dan Nielson. "To hold a team under 40 is really good. We rebounded it better and kept up our trend of good assist-to-turnover for us while turning over the other team. It was good to see some people get some confidence and see the ball go through the hoop. It was nice to see what we've been working on come together today."
 
Ally Criddle led all scorers with 13 points to go along with four rebounds and five assists. UVU finished with 24 assists on 28 makes while turning it over 14 times. Jenna Dick came off the bench and hit four 3-pointers to finish with 12 points while Liana Kait'u added nine points, five rebounds, and three steals. The Wolverines won the battle of the boards, 40-30, with 15 coming on the offensive end. Tessa Chaney led all players with seven rebounds.
 
The Wolverines trailed 10-9 late in the first before scoring the last seven points of the quarter to take a 16-10 lead after 10 minutes. Kaylee Byon hit a jumper, Dick buried a 3-pointer in transition, and Mabry scored on a layup with 28 seconds left.
 
With UVU up 16-13, Kaitu'u scored five straight points, including a three from the top of the circle to push it to 21-13. The Aggies got back within five with 4:29 left until the half but Utah Valley closed the second with seven straight points to take a 30-18 lead into the break.
 
Tafisi began the second half with a three and Kaitu'u followed with two more to give the Wolverines a 35-18 advantage and a 12-0 run dating back to the first half.
 
Cheyenne Stubbs almost singlehandedly kept the Aggies within striking distance in the third. She scored all eight USU points over the first seven minutes, including a pair of 3-pointers. Utah State got back within nine late in the third, but Dick hit a corner triple to push it back to 12, 42-30, after three.
 
In the fourth, the Wolverines led 46-34 less than two minutes in before going on runs of 10-0 and 12-0 over the eight minutes. The 12-0 spurt came on four makes from the beyond the arc; two from Criddle and one each from Saige Gibb and Abby Conlee.
 
Utah Valley shot 44.4% (28-for-63) overall and 11-for-25 (44%) from beyond the arc while Utah State was 14-for-46 (30.4%) overall and 5-for-20 (25%) from three.
 
UVU will now have the middle of next week off for finals before heading to Las Cruces, New Mexico to face former conference foe New Mexico State. That game is part of the WAC/Conference USA scheduling alliance and will tip Saturday, Dec. 16 at 1 p.m. MT.