OPENING TIP
Utah Valley University begins its pre-holiday stretch of the final three non-conference games on Tuesday night against BYU at the Marriott Center in Provo. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. MT with the game airing on ESPN+. The Wolverines (6-3) will play just the one game this week due to finals. 

Utah Valley and BYU have several connections with head coach Dan Nielson and assistant coach Michael Shreeve both having been on staff with the Cougars. Paisley Johnson Harding also enjoyed a storied career on the court with BYU and is among the school's top 10 in several categories including first in games played and sixth in career points scored, just shy of 2,000 for her career. Wolverines Tahlia White and Amanda Barcello both began their careers at BYU before transferring to UVU, and Saige Gibb's sister, Delaney, is a freshman with the Cougars. 

UVU fell at Air Force last Wednesday, 76-58, but still remains among the nation's top teams in terms of steals per game, where the team ranks fifth in the country with 15.2 per game. The Wolverines are also 11th in turnovers forced per game (25.2), 22nd in assists per game (18.0), and 23rd in both bench points per game (31.7).

LAST TIME OUT
Kylee Mabry had a career night with career highs of 21 points and four assists on eight made field goals but the Wolverines dropped their second straight game. The Falcons jumped out to a 10-0 lead and never trailed. Utah Valley made a run to get within eight by the end of the third but Air Force pulled away with five quick points to start the fourth. 

ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
BYU is 7-2 and coming off of an 81-68 road win at UTEP last Thursday. Prior to that, the Cougars split two games at the Cancun Challenge, defeating Rice before falling to Iowa. Freshman Delaney Gibb is averaging 16.1 points to lead BYU, while Emma Calvert is scoing 14.7 per contest. The Cougars have won each of the 11 prior meetings between the neighboring programs.

UP NEXT
The Wolverines return to action next week when they host Jacksonville State in the WAC/CUSA Challenge on Monday night, Dec. 16, in the UCCU Center at 6 p.m. MT. UVU will close ou the non-conference schedule on Friday, Dec. 20 at in-state foe Weber State at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.