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Utah Valley guard Kylee Mabry (1) rises to shoot over Weber State's Dakota Nap (5) on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

Abram Iman, Utah Valley Athletics

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Utah Valley's Ally Criddle, center left, pressures Weber State's Amanda Edwards (22) into a turnover on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

Robert Casey, WSU Athletics

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Weber State forward Antoniette Emma-Nnopu, right, looks to score against Utah Valley on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

Robert Casey, WSU Athletics

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Utah Valley's Tessa Chaney, left, guards Weber State's Taylor Smith on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

Robert Casey, WSU Athletics

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Weber State forward Mata Peaua looks up after hitting the deck against Utah Valley on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

Robert Casey, WSU Athletics

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Weber State forward Taylor Smith rises to shoot against Utah Valley on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

Robert Casey, WSU Athletics

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OGDEN — Weber State women’s basketball led for two straight quarters — from the middle of the first frame to the midway point of the third — hosting Utah Valley for its first home game in nearly six weeks.

But the Wolverines dialed up a variety of pressures and the Wildcats crumbled.

Using a string of live-ball turnovers that led directly to layups, Utah Valley outlasted Weber State 57-55 on Friday night at the Dee Events Center.

Utah Valley (8-4) turned Weber State (3-7) over 28 times, including 11 leading to a whopping 18 points in the third quarter alone for the visitors — a 21-12 frame that gave UVU a 39-33 lead.

Three Utah preps — Davis High alum Kylee Mabry (five steals), American Fork product Halle Nelson (seven steals) and Mountain View alum Tahlia White (five steals) — caused most of the third-quarter havoc in man-to-man and 1-3-1 pressures.

In a 12-0 run that took UVU from down 25-18 to up 30-25, four times the Wolverines took steals from WSU guards directly for layups to score eight quick points. The 12-0 run came in a short 2:25 of game time.

“(Mabry) is really the catalyst for the zone defense we run, the 1-3-1,” UVU coach Dan Nielson said.

Early in the fourth quarter, Rose Bubakar hit a 3-pointer and Lanae Billy drained two to help Weber State close the gap. A Taylor Smith driving and-one made it 46-45, a putback from Antoniette Emma-Nnopu made UVU’s lead 51-49 with 1:30 left, and the two teams traded points from there.

In the final sequence, WSU had the ball just once with a chance to tie or take the lead, a possession that ended with Billy throwing the ball away trying to find Emma-Nnopu under the basket with 11 seconds left — the last of Weber State’s 28 giveaways.

It’s a common thread in Weber State’s four one-possession losses to fellow mid-major teams.

“It’s what’s lost us those four close games,” WSU head coach Jenteal Jackson said. “We clean that one category up and we’re 7-3 right now … that’s been a blinding number on the stat sheet.”

Compounding matters: senior point guard Rita Satini tore her ACL two weeks ago at North Dakota and is done for the season.

“It’s part of it but, at the end of the day, we’ve got kids who are capable and can get it done, and should get it done,” Jackson said. “So it’s definitely something we’ve got to figure out.

“We weren’t very sharp mentally tonight.”

With a group of supporters making the short drive from Davis County, Mabry followed that turnover with two free throws to help ice the game. The defensive savant said it took her a few years to translate that skill from high school to the college game but feels she’s found solid footing in her junior season.

“I take a lot of pride in being the top of the (1-3-1 defense),” Mabry said. “And our wings do a great job in it … it helps me be able to pressure a lot outside the half court and in that front court.”

For Weber State, Emma-Nnopu led the way with 13 points and 16 rebounds (eight offensive), shooting 5 of 10 from the field.

“She’s tough as nails, she’s relentless,” Jackson said of her junior forward. “She does so many good things for us and she’s somebody you know is going to be there every night to compete.”

Bubakar finished with 13 points, and Smith totaled nine points, five assists, four steals and two blocks.

Skyridge High alum Ally Criddle led Utah Valley with 16 points, making two of her team’s four 3-pointers. White scored 14 points and another Mountain View alum, Danja Stafford-Collins, hauled down 18 rebounds (nine offensive) for the Wolverines.

UVU shot lower percentages overall and from behind the arc but outscored WSU 25-8 off turnovers and 32-20 in the paint.

“I think it just shows our resilience and toughness,” Mabry said. “We’ve been focusing on our energy — when our energy’s good, our hustle’s there, and just our fight is there … we just have such a fight for each other that we’re able to … have that grit just to keep going.”

Both teams break for the holidays. Utah Valley returns to WAC play on Jan. 4, 2025, at Abilene Christian while Weber State remains at home for three more games, hosting Northern Colorado to start its Big Sky schedule on Jan. 2.