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. Nelson was named the Jersey Mike’s A Sub Above WAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week, winning the final honor of the regular season, the league announced on Sunday.

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 (17-11, 9-7) 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 third. Ally Criddle backed that up with another triple during the run and UVU led by as much as nine in the first. Elise Turrubiates beat the buzzer with a three to get the Texans back to within six, 22-16, after one.

Both offenses continued to shoot the ball well into the second quarter. Nelson, who had seven in the first, hit all five of her attempts from the field in the half and had 12 points as the team was 16-for-25 (64%) overall and 6-for-8 (75%) from three. Nelson and Danja Stafford Collins hit two triples each in the opening 20 minutes of play.

The Texans hit 50% overall (13-for-26) in the half and were led by 10 Faith Acker points. Stafford Collins and Cambree Blackham hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push a 30-25 lead to 11, 36-24, midway through the quarter. The lead was nine, 38-29, before Nelson hit her second from long distance and Kylee Mabry added the final bucket of the half to put the Wolverines in front at the half, 43-29.

Utah Valley maintained the double-digit advantage through most of the third. Tarleton State got within nine, 52-43, after six straight points, three coming from Acker. The Wolverines got to the line on the next three possessions and converted all six, pushing the lead back to 12, 58-46, after three quarters.

In the fourth, the Texans scored the first four points to get it back to within eight, but Stafford Collins connected on her third 3-pointer before Nelson got back-to-back buckets down low to extend it to 65-50. Stafford Collins would hit another triple, finishing 4-for-4 from distance and also going 4-for-4 from the line.

Acker led the Texans (19-10, 10-6) with 23 points and nine rebounds.

UVU secured the No. 5 seed in the WAC Tournament and will face No. 4 Abilene Christian (20-11, 9-7 WAC) in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 13, at 12 p.m. PT / 1 p.m. MT at the Orleans Arena.

The two teams split the season series, with UVU earning a thrilling double-overtime road win at ACU, while Abilene Christian won the rematch in Orem last week, 71-62.

A win in the quarterfinals would send UVU to the semifinals on Friday, March 14, at 12 p.m. PT (ESPN+), with the championship game set for Saturday, March 15, at 12:30 p.m. PT on ESPNU.

UVU’s Barraclough finishes third at Big 12 Wrestling Championships

Utah Valley wrestling had two place on Sunday at the 2025 Big 12 Wrestling Championships. 165-pounder Terrell Barraclough took third after winning a pair of matches and is UVU’s history finisher at the Big 12 Championships since Demetrius Romero placed fourth in 2023. Kael Bennie also made the podium with an eighth-place finish.

“I’m happy that Terrell came back to get the next best thing after a tough loss in the semifinals last night,” said UVU head coach Adam Hall. “He had some gritty wins today to finish third that helps his momentum going into NCAAs. His goal remains the same: win a national title. We look forward to fine-tuning a couple of spots in our preparation. I also am hopeful that Haiden Drury will receive an at-large bid at 141 lbs.”

Barraclough started his day with a rematch against No. 3 Cameron Amine (Oklahoma State). The two battled into sudden victory in November in the UCCU Center. The second showdown did not disappoint after a scoreless first period; Barraclough took the lead with a reversal to go up 2-0. Amine got on the board after a penalty point was awarded to cut the deficit to 2-1. He continued to take shots but was unsuccessful.

In the third-place match for Barraclough, he met No. 8 Aiden Riggins (Iowa State); it was a rematch of Saturday’s quarterfinal bout that favored the UVU redshirt senior. This was another tough and hard-fought match that remained scoreless after one. After choosing to start the second period from the bottom, Barraclough went up 1-0 with an escape just seconds into the period and was able to hold on for the victory.

Bennie dropped his seventh-place match on Sunday by a 9-4 decision to Iowa State’s No. 6 Nathan Schon. A 6-1 point difference during the second period was enough to put Schon over the top. The redshirt freshman, Bennie, did everything he could in the final period, coming up with a reversal early in the period. In his first Big 12 Championships, he finished 2-3 with an upset victory over No. 8 seeded Bradley Hill of Oklahoma and later defeated CBU’s Eli Sheeren.

Barraclough has secured his spot in the 2025 NCAA Championships coming up on Mar. 20-22 in Philadelphia. The full field will be announced on Wednesday, Mar. 12, with the brackets and seedings being announced on NCAA.com on Thursday, Mar. 13.

Wolverine softball tops Cal-Baptist

Emma Haygood continued her hot streak at the plate with three hits and two RBIs and Cam Davis pitched four shutout innings of relief to lead Utah Valley to a 6-1 win over the California Baptist Lancers in Riverside, Calif., on Saturday afternoon.

Haygood finished the weekend with seven hits in eight at-bats, including three doubles and six RBIs. Haygood’s lone out made was a line drive to left.

Davis capped off a strong series in the circle with four shutout innings in relief of Avery Sapp, who herself allowed just one run in three innings of work. Davis’ final line score for the weekend included 6.2 innings with eight strikeouts and four hits allowed across three appearances.

Utah Valley will return home to Utah for its first games in their home state. The Wolverines will travel up to Logan on Wednesday, March 12, to play Utah State before opening the home season — if the weather cooperates — with a three game set against the Grand Canyon Lopes starting Friday, March 14. Follow @UVUSoftball on X, Instagram, and Facebook for any schedule updates.

UVU baseball continues win streak at Northern Colorado

Utah Valley baseball swept their second doubleheader in two weekends with 16-6 and 7-3 wins over Northern Colorado at Jackson Field in Greeley, Colo., on Saturday, then eked out the narrow 14-13 win on Sunday to get their fourth win of the five-game series.

The series in Greeley will conclude on Monday at noon. on Monday, Mar. 10, with a noon first pitch. The Wolverines are scheduled to return home to UCCU Ballpark to play NAIA’s Embry-Riddle on Friday, Mar. 14.