Jan. 9, 2010
San Marcos, Texas - UT Arlington opened conference action with a 66-60 victory over Texas State Saturday afternoon at the Strahan Coliseum in San Marcos, Texas. The Mavs improved to 6-8 overall.
Meghan Nelson started the game perfect, scoring UTA's six of 10 points. Texas State cut into the Mavericks lead to come within two after Lacey Klause hit a jumper, making the score 12-10.
UT Arlington used its speed to their advantage pushing the ball up the court, to go back on top 15-10 after Kiara Parker hit a three at the 12:01 mark.
Bad shot selection and turnovers by the Mavs led to a 8-2 run by the Bobcats as they came within two at 19-17 with 5:09 remaining in the first half. With Nelson forced to sit out with foul trouble, UTA continued to struggle offensively as Texas State went ahead 25-19 with 3:17 on the clock.
UT Arlington fought back in the final two minutes of the first half as Veronica Mergerson tied the game at 25 with a layup. With the clock winding down and the Bobcats in control of the last possession, Victoria Davis hit a pull up jumper from the free throw line over two defenders, giving Texas State a 27-25 lead heading into the locker rooms.
With Nelson well rested from sitting on the sideline in the first half, she came out of the locker rooms fired up, guiding the Mavericks to a 35-29 advantage in the opening minutes. As the Mavs relaxed with their lead, the Bobcats came right back with a 6-0 run cutting the lead 39-36.
It was the Mavs the rest of the way as they rolled to a 15 point advantage after a pair of free throws by Shalyn Martin with 1:19 left in regulation.
The Mavericks bench came alive as they finished the game scoring 23 of the Mavs 66 points, a season-high.
UT Arlington finished the game shooting 42.3 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from the three-point line and 64.3 percent from the charity stripe.
Nelson led the Mavericks with a game high 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field, including 1-of-3 from the free throw line. Kiarra Shofner finished with 10 points, collecting all her points from the free throw line.
Mergerson and Martin did the work defensively for UTA collecting 11 and 12 rebounds.
The Mavericks finally return to Texas Hall after an 11-game road trip for a meeting against Lamar University Wednesday, January 13. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
