Mavs Fall In Overtime 77-75
1/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 23, 2010
Huntsville, Texas - It was a battle for the entire 45 minutes of action between the Mavs and the Bearkats which consisted of 12 lead changes, 18 ties 54 fouls and 52 turnovers. When turnovers and free throws were crucial in overtime the Mavericks couldn't get the job done, falling 77-75 to Sam Houston State at the Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum in Huntsville, Texas.
The setback dropped UT Arlington to 7-11 overall and 2-3 in league play while SHSU improved to 5-11, 1-3 in conference.
Despite eight quick turnovers in the opening minutes of the first half, the Mavericks managed to pull out to an 18-11 advantage thanks to Shalyn Martin's aggressiveness on the offensive end.
Several miscues by the Mavericks led to a run for the Kats which tied the game eight times. UTA went ahead 37-36 after a great pass from Martin to Meghan Nelson on a fast break layup.
Led by Brittany Brooks, the Bearkats pulled away to a 42-37 lead with 1:04 remaining but a pair of free throws by Nelson with 50 seconds left in the first stanza sent the Mavericks into the locker rooms down 42-39.
The Mavs finished the first half shooting 40 percent from the field compared to the Kats 50 percent.
Nelson gave the Mavs their first lead of the second half after a swooping layup between two defenders at the 15:35 mark, 45-44.Tamara Simmons increased UTA's lead by three after hitting a jumper in the paint.
The Bearkats kept the surge coming tying the game for the ninth time at 49 with 10:32 left in the game. Martin and Simmons added a bit of cushion by hitting three consecutive three's but Sam Houston State followed with a 7-0 run to lead 59-58 with 5:58 left to play.
After six more ties, Martin fouled out of the game and the score tied at 67, the Mavs put the ball in the hands of Simmons who pulled up for a jumper in the paint and knocked it down with 20 seconds remaining.
The Kats then quickly pushed the ball up the court to Ray Alexander who missed a layup but teammate Bre Agnew was fouled by Nelson who collected her fifth foul and sent to the charity stripe where she went one-for-two.
Up by one with 13 ticks on the clock, the Mavs inbounded the ball to Kiara Shofner who was bumped and sent to the line, going one-for-two.
With nine seconds remaining, Whitney Smith took the ball to the hole for an easy layup sending the game into overtime.
UTA turned the ball over on their first three possessions which led to a 72-70 lead for the Bearkats. LaNell Taylor tied the game at 72 after a rebound and put back but then committed a foul on the other end, sending Alexander who gave SHSU a one-point advantage.
With 35 seconds remaining, Simmons knocked down a jumper and Shofner connected on one of two free throws, giving UTA a two-point advantage but Alexander ran pasted the Mavericks, tying and closing out the game with back-to-back layups.
Simmons led UT Arlington with a career high 27 points on 9-of-24 shooting from the field, including 4-of-9 from three-point range and 5-of-5 from the line.
Martin finished with her sixth double-double of the season with a 16-point, 10-rebound performance while Nelson finished with 14 and Veronica Mergerson brought down 16 boards.
Up next for the Mavericks is a meeting with Texas State Saturday, January 23 at Texas Hall. Game time is set for 4 p.m.
