OPENING TIP
Utah Valley continues its best start since 2007 as the 5-1 Wolverines will play in the University of San Diego's Thanksgiving Classic this week. UVU will face Alabama A&M on Friday and Omaha on Saturday in a pair of neutral site contests.

Friday's game tips at approximately 4 p.m. PT/5 p.m. MT with the opening game of the classic set between Omaha and host San Diego at 2 p.m. PT. On Saturday, UVU and Omaha will play the first game of the day, a 2 p.m. PT/3 p.m. MT tip. Live stats links will be available via GoUVU.com on the women's basketball schedule page. 

The Wolverines split two games last week, falling in a tight contest to LMU, 76-68, last Friday, before rebounding with an 89-56 win on Saturday over Bethesda. 

Amanda Barcello leads Utah Valley with 11.2 points per game while Danja Stafford Collins is scoring 11.0 points and leads the team with 8.7 rebounds per game. As a team, UVU is among the national leaders in steals per game (fifth, 16.5), turnovers forced per game (ninth, 26.7), assists per game (ninth, 21.2), and bench points per game (13th, 36.2).

LAST TIME OUT
Utah Valley University moved to 5-1 on the season, rolling to an 89-56 win over Bethesda University on Saturday in Lockhart Arena behind a pair of double-doubles from two newcomers.

All 11 Wolverines who saw the floor scored, with freshman Kennedy Carlyle finishing with 21 points and 11 rebounds and JC transfer Gracie Sorenson adding 14 points and 14 rebounds as both players shattered their previous career highs. Danja Stafford Collins added 11 points and seven rebounds while Tahlia White finished with 10 points and six assists.

The Wolverines scored the first five points of the game and led 12-6 midway through the opening quarter when Sorenson started a 12-0 run to make it 24-6. She scored on three straight possessions with UVU making six consecutive shots and Carlyle also scoring four points during the spurt. Carlyle scored again right before the buzzer sounded to give UVU a 30-9 lead after one as both she and Sorenson had eight points.

UP NEXT
Next week, Utah Valley will travel to Air Force for a contest on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 6:30 p.m. The following week, the Wolverines will make the short trip to Provo to face BYU, on Tuesday, Dec. 10.

ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
Alabama A&M enters the weekend at 3-2 and winners of two straight. The Bulldogs secured recent wins over Kansas City, 57-52, and a 71-68 win over Division II Alabama Huntsville. Friday will mark the first time UVU and Alabama A&M will meet. The Bulldogs, who compete in the SWAC, are led by Kalia Walker's 12.6 points per game.

Omaha is 2-4 on the season after surviving a comeback attempt from Utah State on Tuesday night at home. The Mavs were outscored by 14 in the fourth quarter but prevailed in overtime, 79-77.  The Mavs and Wolverines have met twice before, with UVU winning both times—once on each team's home court. The programs have not met since the 2015-16 season.