The Wildcats improved to 17-6 overall and 8-2 in Western Athletic Conference play Thursday night with a 70-50 victory over Utah Valley.

While WAC Preseason player of the year Payton Hull, junior guard from Peaster, led the Wildcats with 28 points on 10 of 13 shooting from the floor, it was Erin Woodson, junior guard from Richmond, Virginia, who set a career high with 24 points. Head Coach Julie Goodenough said Hull and Woodson are “two of the best three-point shooters in the conference.”

“They need to try and shoot about 10 threes a night,” Goodenough said. “If they don’t, it’s because they’re able to drive and get layups. We work on three-pointers way too much for us not to take them just because we’ve had a poor shooting night or two. I’m just proud of them for continuing to shoot.”

In the two games the Wildcats have played and won so far this week, Hull has scored 27 points in each while shooting 63% from the floor. Hull has also recorded eight rebounds and seven assists across the two games.

“I love playing with her,” Woodson said about her current roommate. “She draws a lot of defense, so I always have to be ready to get passes from her. I do the same. Just being able to work together is so much fun.”

The Wildcats victory over the Wolverines improved the school’s all-time record to 7-3 head-to-head. The most recent game was a 69-67 loss on Jan. 3 in Orem, Utah. The Wildcats have now won 16 consecutive games in Moody Coliseum, dating back to Jan. 30, 2025, when the Wildcats lost to California Baptist 87-84, who the ‘Cats welcome back to Abilene on Saturday.

The Wolverines entered Thursday’s contest with seven days of rest, six more than the Wildcats, who defeated rival Tarleton State on Tuesday. Despite the rest, the Wolverines were unable to keep up with the ‘Cats, turning the ball over 23 times, which led to 26 points for the hosts.

“We were ready to go from the jump,” Woodson said. “We were ready to run. We knew that was something we could take advantage of. Having the mindset of going in transition and turning defense into offense worked really well.”

The Wildcats held a 17 to 16 lead after the first quarter of play. In what Goodenough said has been one of the teams worst quarters lately, the Wildcats outscored UVU 28-10 to head into halftime with a 19-point lead.

“A big point of emphasis for us was the second quarter,” Goodenough said. “Our last three games, our second quarter has not been good. I’m really proud of our starters for locking in in the second quarter.”

From there, the Wildcats never looked back. Scoring 14 points in quarter No. 3 was good for double the Wolverines, who ended the night without a double-digit scorer. WAC leading three-point shooter Amanda Barcello hit her first attempted three-point shot in the first quarter, but was held to just seven points in the game and missed her next six threes.

“She is statistically the best three-point shooter in our conference,” Goodenough said. “We let her go off on us at their place. We preached that in our prep, and just did not understand what a great shooter she is. You’ve got to be there on the catch, and she took plenty of threes tonight, but statistically, she’s the best that you’ll see in the WAC. It was important for us to be there and provide some resistance.”

The Wildcats boasted a true team effort in the victory. With each starter ending the night in the positives in point differential, Jazmyn Stone, redshirt junior guard from Federal Way, Washington, ended +20 despite being held to zero points, having missed the only shot she attempted.

“Jazz is a great player,” Hull said. “She’s a great distributor for our team. She sees the ball really well. Her on-ball defense is really good, and she’s just a great player.”

In addition to Stone’s productivity, Emma Troxell, junior forward from Bushland, helped the team with smart and selfless play, according to Goodenough. She ended the night with four points, four assists, four steals, five rebounds, and four fouls drawn while committing just one turnover.

“She just played really smart tonight,” Goodenough said. “She played really hard. We’re trying to get her to go harder on defense and force turnovers, and I think that was a real point of emphasis in her mind today.”

With their eyes set on a perfect 3-0 week, the Wildcats will turn their attention to WAC leader California Baptist on Saturday. The Lancers enter Abilene riding a four-game winning streak after a 77-67 win in Stephenville over the Texans Thursday night.

“They’re a really tough opponent,” Hull said. “We talk about how they’re really similar to us. I think we just need to go out there strong like we did tonight and stop their offense, play great defense, and go out there and get that dub.”

In the only head-to-head meeting between the ‘Cats and Lancers this season, the Wildcats shot 43.5 percent from behind the arc in Riverside, California, handing CBU its first and only loss in conference play so far. Woodson led the purple and white with 23 points while Natalia Chavez, senior guard from Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico, added 20 points on 7/10 shooting from the floor.

The Lancers winning streak has improved their conference record to 9-1 on the back of Lauren Olsen’s 17.5 points per game, and Filipa Barros 42 assists in WAC contests. The 9-1 WAC record has pushed the team to a +11.9 point differential as it averages 77.4 points per game. Barros has also grabbed 208 total rebounds, good for 9.45 per game, which ranks second in the conference behind Southern Utah’s Ava Uhrich.

The 1 p.m. Saturday contest between the current WAC leader and runner-up will determine who enters the second week of February atop the conference standings. With a Wildcat victory, the team would hold the series win and tie-breaker with the third game of the series set to be played in Abilene on March 5, the final home game of the season. The ‘Cats will play four of their last eight games at home starting on Saturday.

The Saturday home game will feature the Wildcats Diaper Derby, Hoops for a Hope presented by Hendrick Health, alumni game, and the team’s pink-out uniforms.

“Oh, heck yes,” Goodenough said about wearing the uniforms. “Saturday is a big game for us. We’re expecting a big crowd and we’re looking forward to that as we host CBU.”