OPENING TIP
Utah Valley's three-game road swing wraps up on Saturday at Abilene Christian. The game will tip at 1 p.m. CT/noon MT from Moody Coliseum and will air live on ESPN+. The Wolverines are currently 10th in the standings,  one game back of three teams that are tied for seventh. The top eight teams in the standings qualify for the WAC Tournament in March. The Wolverines (8-13, 3-9) are led by Kylee Mabry's 7.6 points per game average and have eight players averaging 5.7 ppg or more. Tessa Chaney is third on the team a 6.5 points per game while pulling down a team-high 6.2 boards per contest. Mabry also leads the team with 47 steals on the year, a 2.24 per-game average. 

LAST TIME OUT
Utah Valley University had chances late but fell short, 60-55, at Tarleton State on Thursday night in Wisdom Gym in WAC women's basketball action. Eleyana Tafisi matched her season high with 13 points to lead the Wolverines while Saige Gibb added 10 and Tessa Chaney chipped in eight points and six rebounds. The Wolverines forced 20 turnovers, recorded 13 steals, and scored 25 points off of the giveaways while turning it over themselves just 14 times. UVU got within two points late in the game and trailed by three in the closing seconds when Lexi Bull scored a back-breaking layup with 16 seconds left to secure the win for the Texans. 

NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Wolverines lead the WAC and rank eighth in the country in bench points per game, with 28.9 points per game coming off the bench. UVU also leads the league and ranks 15th in the nation with 11.5 steals per game as a team while also leading the conference in turnover margin (-4.33) and turnovers forced per game (20.6).

ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
Abilene Christian (9-11, 5-6) is currently in sixth place in the WAC standings after a win on Thursday over Seattle U to snap a four-game losing streak. The Wildcats boast the top rebound margin (+5.1) in the conference and are also among the national leaders in 3-point attempts (29.0) and 3-pointers made per game (8.9). ACU is second in the WAC in both, but is fifth and 16th nationally in the two categories.

Payton Hull is averaging 15.0 points per game while Bella Earle averages 12.0 points an 7.8 rebounds per contest. ACU is 3-0 all-time against Utah Valley, including 2-0 at home. The Wolverines will also host the Wildcats in the final conference game of the season, on March 9 in Orem. 

UP NEXT
The Wolverines are home next week to host California Baptist (Thurs.) and Southern Utah (Sat.). Both games will be played in Lockhart Arena.