OREM, Utah – Utah Valley women's basketball defeated Southern Utah, 74–53, on Thursday night inside the UCCU Center. UVU (15-13, 8-9) forced 34 turnovers by SUU (19-10, 11-6), which is the fourth most all-time and the third most against a Division I opponent. Kaylee Headrick finished with 17 points, six rebounds, and five assists, while her teammates Amanda Barcello, Cambree Blackham, and Halle Nelson each recorded five or more steals.
 
The Wolverines recorded 25 steals in the contest, the third-most in program history and the most against a Division I opponent. Utah Valley scored 34 of its 74 points off Thunderbirds' turnovers. Blackham recorded her 79th steal of the season, passing Taylor Christensen for the most steals in a single season with a steal in the third quarter.
 
"I really liked our discipline on defense tonight," said UVU head coach Dan Nielson. "To create 34 turnovers and 25 steals against a good team is impressive. I thought we were balanced, and Kaylee was especially aggressive. It's always great to win in-state games, and hopefully, this helps us build some momentum for Vegas next week.
 
The Wolverines responded to SUU's early 7–2 lead and chipped away with four points from Gracie Sorenson on a pair of hook shots to cut the deficit to 9–7 with 5:08 left in the first quarter, capping a quick 4–0 spurt for Utah Valley. The UVU defense locked in against Southern Utah with under four minutes left in the quarter, but the Thunderbirds ended the period on a 5–0 run to take a seven-point lead after the opening quarter.
 
Headrick provided a spark early in the second quarter, scoring four of UVU's first six points, with a driving layup from Saige Gibb mixed in to cut the SUU lead to 16–15. After the Thunderbirds pushed the lead to 20–15, Utah Valley went on a 7–0 run sparked by a 3-pointer from Kylee Mabry in the corner. A UVU steal then led to a transition layup as Blackham found Mabry to give the Wolverines their first lead of the game at 21–20.
 
Southern Utah turned the ball over 12 times in the second quarter, with UVU converting those into 12 points, helping the Wolverines overcome a slow start shooting. Utah Valley ended the half on a 15–3 run to take a 30–23 lead into the locker room. Headrick attacked the basket with back-to-back layups to give UVU a three-point lead at 26–23 before Blackham closed the half with driving layups for the Wolverines.
 
The Thunderbirds chipped into the halftime lead in the third quarter and limited UVU to just 5-of-17 shooting. The Wolverines, however, extended their lead to 13 at 38–25 with 4:30 left in the period after a 3-pointer from Barcello and a jumper from Nelson. Sorenson added a layup and a pair of free throws inside to help keep Utah Valley ahead by double digits. She finished with eight points and four rebounds in eight minutes of action.
 
Leading 46–36 at the start of the fourth quarter, Utah Valley opened on a 10–3 run with two more 3-pointers from Barcello and a transition layup from Mabry to push the lead to 17 with 7:55 left to play. The Wolverines extended the lead to as many as 20 with 5:00 remaining after Nelson made a pair of free throws.
 
Utah Valley earned its first victory over Southern Utah this season and has now beaten each team in conference play at least once this year.
 
The Wolverines have won five of their last six games heading into Saturday's regular-season finale, when they welcome Utah Tech to the UCCU Center for the Old Hammer Rivalry. Utah Valley defeated the Trailblazers 58–55 in February at Lockhart Arena but dropped the first meeting in Burns Arena. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. MT.