OPENING TIP
Utah Valley University will be the No. 5 seed and face No. 4 Abilene Christian in the team's opening game of the 2025 WAC Basketball Tournament at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday at 12 p.m. PT. 

The Wolverines (17-11) closed out their 17th win of the season against Tarleton State on Saturday, marking a new high for wins in a season under sixth-year head coach Dan Nielson. UVU was 13-7 during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season and won 16 games the year following under Nielson. 

Utah Valley is in its 12th season as members of the WAC and this week will mark the 11th conference tournament the Wolverines will compete in. UVU is 4-10 all-time in the tournament with Thursday marking the first time UVU and ACU will meet in the postseason. 

Thursday's winner will draw the regular season champions Grand Canyon. The Lopes were a perfect 16-0 in league play and won their nation-leading 28th straight game on Wednesday over Utah Tech in the first quarterfinal contest. GCU defeated ACU, 70-57, in the regular season finale last Saturday in Phoenix, snapping the Wildcats' four-game win streak. 

Utah Valley and Abilene Christian split the season series, with each team winning a road game. The Wolverines won 64-63 in double-overtime to begin the conference slate in January, before falling 71-62 after the Wildcats used a big fourth quarter to top UVU on March 6 in Orem. ACU outscored the Wolverines 24-11 in the fourth quarter to win by nine. It was the first and only time this season that the Wolverines lost after leading after three quarters of play. 

LAST TIME OUT
Halle Nelson scored a career-high 22 points to lead Utah Valley to a 75-58 win over Tarleton State in the regular-season finale of the WAC season on Saturday in the UCCU Center. Nelson was 9-for-12 from the field and also hauled in eight rebounds while Danja Stafford Collins added 16 points and six boards. Tahlia White also reached double figures in scoring with 10 along with six assists, and Ally Criddle had a pair of assists and three points as the quartet was also honored on Senior Day, following the game.

The Wolverines were 25-for-48 (52.1%) overall from the field and also went 9-for-13 (69.2%) from three and 16-of-18 (88.9%) from the line. Utah Valley got off to a torrid start offensively, making 8-of-11 from the field in the opening quarter. Nelson started a 10-0 run that gave UVU a 19-10 lead with just under three minutes to go in the first.

ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
Abilene Christian enters the WAC Tournament as winners of four of its last five games including the road win in Orem on March 6. In that game, first-team All-WAC selection Bella Earle had a monster game with 26 points, 11 rebounds, eight steals, and four assists. Earle is averaging 14.5 points per game this season and was joined by second-team All-WAC selection Meredith Mayes, who averaged 10.8 points and 7.3 rebounds. Payton Hull, the reigning WAC Freshman of the Year, averaged a team-high 18.6 points but has not played since Jan. 16 against Grand Canyon. 

WHERE UVU RANKS
Entering play on Wednesday, Utah Valley leads the WAC and ranks second in the country with 13.9 steals per game. The Wolverines are also eighth nationally with 23.68 turnovers forced per game, 38th in offensive rebounds per game (13.9), and 41st with 23.6 bench points per game. Individually, Danja Stafford Collins leads the WAC in both rebounds per game (9.1) and offensive rebounds per game (4.0), and is 18th in the country in that category.

NELSON THRIVING AS STARTER
Halle Nelson has flourished as a starter, averaging 10.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per while starting the past 11 games for the Wolverines. She's shooting 51.1% from the field and 48 of her 97 rebounds in that time have come on the offensive glass. She second on the team in scoring and in minutes played during the stretch. Nelson was named the WAC Player of the Week on Sunday after her career-high against Tarleton State.

SHARPSHOOTING BARCELLO 
Amanda Barcello is having one of the best seasons in program history from the 3-point line. Entering the WAC Tournament, Barcello is 46-103, making 44.7%, which is the highest percentage of the NCAA Division I era for UVU. That percentage would rank 11th in the country, but she's below the minimum of 2.0 made per game.