Jan. 5, 2004

ARLINGTON, Texas - In only her junior season, point guard Krystal Buchanan has tied the Texas-Arlington women's basketball record for career assists and is poised to break the record when the Lady Mavs open up Southland Conference play Wednesday evening, Jan. 7, against Louisiana-Monroe. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Texas Hall.

Buchanan currently has 332 career assists and has tied the record of Gale Haynes set during the 1993-97 seasons.

The DeSoto product made a name for herself in her freshman campaign as she established a new single-season assist record with 149 assists. She broke the old record of 139 set by Theresa White during the 1981-82 season. Buchanan's 5.1 average per game ranks as the best single season performance in school history.

Buchanan's biggest highlight during her freshman year may have come at home against Sam Houston State when she recorded the first triple-double in school history with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Buchanan has four double-figure assist games in her career with all four coming against SHSU.

Buchanan continued her sophomore year the same way she ended her freshman season by again leading the team and ranking second in the Southland Conference in assists with 125. She also tied the single-game record when she dished out 13 helpers in a victory over SHSU.

The floor leader's abilities are not just limited to setting up her teammates as she is also a thief in her own right by accumulating 140 steals in her short career. She currently needs only five more steals to crack the school's Top 10 list. She has amassed five steals on five different occasions with most recent coming this season when she tied the Denver University Wells Fargo Classic record with five steals in a victory over Lafayette.

The Lady Mavs close out their three-game homestand when they host Texas-San Antonio on Jan. 10. Tip-off is set for 1:30 p.m. and is part of a doubleheader with the UTA men.