Amanda Barcello, coming off a game that saw her connect on five 3-pointers, led all scorers with 14 points, making all four of her attempts from three and two free throws. In two decisive wins this week, Barcello averaged 14.5 points and was 9-for-12 from three. As a team, the Wolverines made 10 shots from three, with seven different players hitting at least one.

Danja Stafford Collins had 11 points and six boards and Halle Nelson snagged 10 rebounds, matching her career-high, along with seven points and four assists. Tessa Chaney had eight points and seven boards, and Tahlia White added five points and six rebounds. Ally Criddle dished out six assists with the Wolverines assisting on 22 of 25 made field goals.

“Amanda took the lid off and really sparked us with those makes. I thought at the beginning against their zone, as much as we prepared for it, we were a little stagnant, which is a credit to CSUB,” head coach Dan Nielson said. “Once we saw a couple of shots go in, we played a lot looser. To get another 20-plus point victory at home and to get everyone on the court, it’s a positive step, and now we’ve got to prepare for a big week next week.”

The Wolverines hit on 25-for-53 overall (47.2%) and were over the 50% threshold until late in the contest. The Roadrunners (0-4) shot just 29% (18-for-62). Alli Dioli led CSUB with 11 points while Trinity Slocum added eight points and eight rebounds.

The Roadrunners were without a field goal for over six minutes to start the game, but UVU began just 1-for-7 from the floor and led 7-3 before a Gracie Sorenson bucket pushed it to 9-3. Both offenses sputtered in the first and both teams were hampered by six turnovers each. UVU held a 10-8 lead after one despite making just 2-for-9 from the floor.

The game was 17-17 when Barcello, who leads the team in 3-pointers made this season, knocked down the team’s third triple of the game to spur a 15-2 run to end the half. That included the final 10 points of the half, with four coming from Stafford Collins. Her layup right before the break gave her a game-high eight points and UVU a 32-20 lead at halftime.

Stafford Collins and Barcello connected on consecutive 3-pointers to extend Utah Valley’s lead to 20, 42-22, at the 5:43 mark of the third. Barcello hit another three and was fouled after the play, putting her at the line for two to turn it into a 5-point possession and 49-24 lead. She buried her fourth triple to go on her own 8-0 run, part of a bigger 18-2 run that gave the Wolverine a 30-point lead, where it stood after three, 57-27.

Utah Valley had 11 different players get in the scoring column, including five points — including a 3-pointer — from Kennedy Carlyle. Sorenson had five points and three blocks, and Cambree Blackham scored six points.

The Wolverines will play back-to-back days next week when they host LMU on Friday night in the UCCU Center before hosting Bethesda on Saturday afternoon in Lockhart Arena.

UVU volleyball sweeps SUU in regular-season finale

Utah Valley women’s volleyball swept Southern Utah (25-16, 25-17, 25-22) on Saturday afternoon inside Lockhart Arena in Orem.

UVU (19-9, 10-6) recorded 13 blocks in the match led by Freshman Alyvia Jaffa, who had eight in the match. Eliza Hakes, Avery Shewell, and Bella Wooden added five. The Wolverines limited SUU (10-17, 6-10) to a .069 hitting percentage, the season’s second-best opponent hitting percentage.

The Wolverines are close to some exciting milestones heading to the postseason. Wooden has now tallied 174 total blocks this season and is tied for third all-time with Madison Dennison (2016). The school record is 191, set by Dennison in 2017. Blackett is now third all-time in the most points scored in a season with 483.5.

The Wolverines will head to Arlington for next week’s WAC Volleyball Tournament hosted by UT Arlington. The schedule and bracket will be announced following play on Saturday.

Wolverine men’s basketball signs two new players

Utah Valley University head coach Todd Phillips has announced the signing of John Southwick, a standout shooting guard and team captain for Utah Prep (one of the top prep schools in the nation.) and Isaac Hawkins, a standout power forward from the College of Southern Idaho.

“Isaac is a 6-foot-10 freak athlete who will add size and athleticism to the Wolverines,” Phillips said. “I love his motor and the way he flies around on both ends of the floor. He tries to dunk everything. Isaac’s energy is contagious, and he will make us better the first day he steps on campus.”

Hawkins, a 6-foot-10, 195-pound forward from Fort Mill, South Carolina, is currently putting up impressive numbers at CSI, averaging 16.4 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game this season. Last season, he averaged 5.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per contest, demonstrating significant growth in his game.

A graduate of Legion Collegiate Academy in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Hawkins excelled during his prep career, earning Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Region honors.

While Hawkins will join the Wolverines for the 2025-26 season, Southwick plans to serve a two-year church mission before beginning his collegiate career with the Wolverines.

“John (Southwick) is a sniper,” Phillips said. “He’s a big, strong, physical player whose body is ready for the Division I level right now. He has deep range from three and is ranked as one of the top three-point shooters in the country. We’re excited to welcome him to the Wolverine family.”

Southwick, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound guard from Richfield, Utah has led Utah Prep to a top-five national ranking. As Utah Prep’s captain, he has displayed exceptional leadership and elite shooting ability.

He also starred for the Utah Prospects, leading the team to the AAU Adidas 3SSB Championship. Southwick attracted significant interest from college programs, receiving offers from Washington, USF, and Southern Utah before committing and signing with Utah Valley.

UVU wrestling gets big performance from Barraclough in front of record crowd

Friday night’s marquee matchup at 165 pounds did not disappoint, with No. 6 Terrell Barraclough bringing the record-setting crowd of 5,053 to its feet with a 5-4 win over No. 5 Cameron Amine. He improves to 7-0 on the year and 3-0 in duals. The win is his second top-five win of the season. No. 26 Haiden Drury moved to 7-1 with a 5-0 decision over Kolter Burton.

Utah Valley (1-3) wrestled some tough bouts tonight against the No. 3 Cowboys, who were in their season debuts for most of the wrestlers. 157-pounder Ryker Fullmer debuted in front of the Orem crowd and held a 1-0 lead before No. 8 Teague Travis rallied for a late win. Bridger Ricks and Drury battled tonight in their matches, but OSU’s stacked lineup picked up six bonus point victories in the 38-6 win over the Wolverines.

“First, I’m very grateful to the over 5000 fans who came tonight. It was an amazing atmosphere to compete in front of. The expectations we set for ourselves were very high, so I was disappointed in our outcome tonight. However, we won’t know where we are without truly testing ourselves. We did that, wrestling the number three team in the country. Our effort will be better moving forward. We will be prepared for the test we have next weekend,” said UVU head coach Adam Hall.

No. 6 Barraclough took a 1-0 lead after an escape, but Amine took a 3-1 lead in the third period with the bout’s only takedown and looked to pull out a late victory, but after a replay review, the Penn State transfer answered with an escape and held on for riding time to force sudden victory. The third escape of the bout for Barraclough gave him a late lead, but late in the third overtime, he was called for locked hands with nine seconds left to tie it up, but his riding time secured the win.

Bridger Ricks had a strong showing in his Orem debut after last week taking No. 3 Kaleb Smith of Nebraska to sudden victory; he turned in another outstanding performance against No. 6 Troy Spratley. He went up 2-0 after a pair of penalty points before holding a 3-0 lead going to the third period against the 2024 NCAA qualifier. The lead was cut to 3-2 after a pair of points was awarded to OSU for stalling, but a last-second takedown swung the bout to Spratley.

The Wolverines looked for their first points of the night with Drury on the mat against Idaho native Kolter Burton. It was scoreless following one period, but the UVU 141-pounder took a 1-0 lead after escaping from the bottom position before adding a takedown to go up 4-0. Riding time became a factor in the 5-0 decision. He earned his 49th win at UVU and improves now to 18-7 against Big 12 foes.

The Wolverines will head to North Carolina for three duals next week, starting first at the Duke Quad Duals. There, they will face Presbyterian on Saturday, Nov. 23, at 8:00 a.m. MT before facing Duke at 10:00 a.m. MT at Seaforth High School. The day will end with a matchup against No. 7 NC State in Raleigh at 5:00 p.m. MT.