OREM, Utah — Amanda Barcello had an almost perfect night while leading Utah Valley University to a 74-51 win over Utah Tech University on Wednesday night in the UCCU Center. The game was part of the Old Hammer Rivalry between the former junior college foes.
 
Barcello scored a career-high 22 points on 7-for-7 shooting, including 6-for-6 from the 3-point line and 2-for-3 from the free-throw line. Tahlia White and Halle Nelson both added 10 points apiece for the Wolverines (14-10, 6-6), who had 21 steals and forced 31 turnovers. Nelson had six steals while Kylee Mabry had four and Ally Criddle and Cambree Blackham had three each.
 
"Tonight was a good response to last week. I thought we were a little bit more aggressive offensively, against both man and zone. Our overall effort, rotations and adjustments, and zone were really good," said UVU head coach Dan Nielson. "Tonight, we played with a little more purpose and it was a good response but we've got to get ready for another big game on the road at Seattle on Saturday."
 
Playing without the WAC's leading rebounder, Danja Stafford Collins, Utah Valley got contributions on the glass from Tessa Chaney and Nelson, who finished with eight and seven rebounds, respectively. UVU had a slight 39-37 edge in rebounding. Paige Cofer led Utah Tech (5-19, 1-10) with 13 points while Emily Isaacson added 11.
 
Both teams got to the line eight times in the opening quarter, with both hitting all eight, as the first quarter was slowed down by a combined 15 fouls between the teams. Barcello scored Utah Valley's first seven points on a pair of 3-pointers, with the second capped by a free-throw to complete a 4-point-play.
 
Mylee Graham hit a 3-pointer to open the second quarter for Utah Tech before Utah Valley embarked on a 17-2 run over the next six minutes. Barcello had five points while White, Chaney, and Nelson each had four points. That gave UVU a 39-22 lead with just under two minutes left in the quarter. Cofer scored the last five points of the half for the Trailblazers to make it 39-27 at the break. Barcello had 12 at halftime.
 
After outscoring Utah Tech 17-10 in the second, the Wolverines extended the lead with a third quarter that saw them outscore the Trailblazers 20-6 to carry a 59-33 advantage into the fourth. Barcello hit both 3-pointers she attempted and had six points in the quarter. Utah Tech was just 2-for-13 from the field in the third and had nine turnovers in the third.
 
Utah Valley will now travel to Seattle for a Saturday afternoon contest against the Redhawks. Tip is set for 1 p.m. PT/noon MT after being moved up one hour from the original tip time.