Dec. 3, 2009
Norman, Okla. - The UT Arlington Mavericks knew that Thursday night's contest against No. 18 Oklahoma would be difficult. They knew that they would be physical and bigger. UTA did all they could to pull out an upset victory but were outmatched by the Sooners, falling 100- 67 at the Lloyd Noble Center. The Mavericks fell to 3-4 on the season.
UT Arlington opened the first half with lots of energy and with all cylinders clicking. Tamara Simmons gave the Mavs their first lead of the half after hitting a pull up jumper from the wing. Shalyn Martin added to the Mavericks lead with a wide open layup, giving UTA a 9-5 advantage with 15:45 on the clock.
Prior to the first media timeout, the Mavericks struggled to find an open shot which lead to a steal by Amanda Thompson. Thompson was sent to the line following a Martin foul and converted the three-point play which tied the game at 9-9.
After a missed layup by the Sooners, UTA used its speed to their advantage pushing the ball up the court where Kiarra Shofner connected with Martin for a wide open three, tying the game at 12-12 at the 14:13 mark.
The Sooners retook the lead, leading by six but back-to-back three's by LaTosha Duffey and Simmons tied the game at 26-26 at the 9:06 mark. After a 7-0 run by Oklahoma, the Mavericks regained control and went on a 10-0 run, taking a 36-33 advantage.
With the Mavericks on the Sooner's tail, OU managed to head into the locker rooms with a 42-41 lead.
UT Arlington opened the second half as a totally different team and seemed to be out of sync. Oklahoma's inside and outside game was too much for the Mavericks to handle as Abi Olajuwon overpowered the Mavs in the inside and Carlee Roethlisberger couldn't miss from behind the arc.
Roethlisberger poured in 19 of her 29 points in the second half while Olajuwon added 12. The Sooners dominated the boards collecting 29 compared to the UTA's nine.
For the game, UTA shot 35.3 percent from the field, 47.8 percent from three-point range and 72.7 percent from the free throw line.
Simmons led the Mavericks with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-7 from behind the arc. Meghan Nelson finished with 16 points and Martin added 10 points. Up next for the Mavericks is a meeting with Southeast Missouri against Cape Girardeau, MO on Saturday, December 12 at 5:30 p.m.
