OPENING TIP
Utah Valley hosts in-state rival Southern Utah on Saturday in a pivotal conference matchup as both teams are vying for spot in the WAC Tournament. Saturday's game tips at 2 p.m. MT in Lockhart Arena and will air on ESPN+.

The Wolverines (9-14, 4-10) are tied with the Thunderbirds and Tarleton State for the No. 8 spot, one-half game behind UT Rio Grande Valley for seventh and one full game in front of Seattle U. A UVU win on Saturday would split the season series while an SUU win would give the T-Birds a one-game lead and the tiebreaker.

LAST TIME OUT
Tessa Chaney and Jenna Dick had career night as Utah Valley knocked off California Baptist, 92-89, in overtime on Thursday night in Lockhart Arena. Chaney had a career-high 25 points to go along with 14 rebounds while Dick finished with a season-high 26 points, five rebounds, and a career-high seven assists. 92 points is the highest scoring output for UVU since scoring 99 against Utah Tech in February of 2022. 

Dick was 8-for-15 overall and 7-for-12 from three, one make shy of matching the school record. Chaney was 10-for-14 from the field as the Wolverines shot a season-best 47.1% overall (32-for-68). UVU also won the rebounding battle, 47-39. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Wolverines and a streak of seven consecutive losses to the Lancers, who entered the week with the 6th-best winning percentage in the country.

NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Wolverines lead the WAC and rank fifth in the country in bench points per game, with 29.8 points per game coming off the bench. UVU also leads the league and ranks 17th in the nation with 11.4 steals per game as a team while also leading the conference in turnover margin (-3.91) and turnovers forced per game (20.4, 25th nationally).

ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
Southern Utah (6-17, 4-10) dropped a 75-71 decision at Seattle U on Thursday night to drop into a tie with UVU and Tarleton State. Former Wolverine Megan Smith (Jensen) averaged 16.2 per game for the T-Birds before suffering a season-ending injury. Daylani Ballena is scoring 15.3 per game and freshman Ava Uhrich is scoring 13.3 points and grabbing a team-best 7.2 rebounds per game. Uhrich had 18 points in SUU's 71-58 win over the Wolverines on Jan. 6 in Cedar City. Dick led Utah Valley with 15 points in the game. 

SUU leads the all-time series 18-9 and has won three straight. UVU is 5-7 at home against the T-Birds. The Wolverines are 0-3 against SUU since the teams became conference partners prior to the 2022-23 season.

UP NEXT
The Wolverines head back to Texas next for games at UT Rio Grande Valley (Feb. 22) and Stephen F. Austin (Feb. 24).