Dec. 30, 2010

Final Stats

Lawrence, KS - UT Arlington at Kansas Photo Gallery

UT Arlington closed out its non-conference schedule with a 80-57 loss to Kansas Thursday night at the Allen Field House in Lawrence, KS. The loss dropped the Mavs to 3-9 on the year while the Jayhawks improved to 12-1.

"I thought we played much better in the second half," said head coach Samantha Morrow. "We cut our turnovers down but they killed us in the paint. I thought we battled but we just played a really good team tonight."

UTA struggled with the Jayhawks inside game as the Mavericks registered 13 team fouls in the first half. Four of the five Mavs starters had two or more fouls. Kansas connected on 14-of-18 of their shots at the line.

Shalyn Martin's defense came out strong, recording a block and steal in the opening minutes but the senior was forced to sit on the bench after picking up two quick fouls. Martin returned at the 7:44 mark and brought the Mavericks back at 49-32 at halftime. The senior from Arlington finished the first half with nine points.

Kansas sophomore Carolyn Davis posed the biggest threat for the Mavs in the paint as she recorded 16 points and eight boards in the first 20 minutes. Davis finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds in 32 minutes.

The Mavericks finished the half shooting 35.3 (12-of-34) percent from the floor to the Jayhawks 48.5 (16-of-33) percent from the field.

The second half was similar to the first as the Jayhawks dominated with their inside game. UTA's offense also didn't help as the Mavericks went cold, shooting just 30.3 percent. Martin and Tamara Simmons were the only Mavs to finish in double-figures.

Simmons led the Mavericks with 15 points on 5-of-18 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 from the line. Simmons came out cold in the second half connecting only on five of her 15 points.

Martin added 13 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals in 26 minutes.

Freshman Briana Walker returned to the lineup after missing the Mavs last three games. Walker suffered an injurer on December 4 against Texas-Pan American. Walker fouled out after playing 26 minutes and finished with six points and eight rebounds.

UTA finished the game shooting 32.8 (22-of-67) percent from the floor compared to KU's 48.2 (27-of-56) percent. The Mavs were out-rebounded by a 48-36 margin and were outscored 36-24 in the paint.

The Mavericks open 2011 with the start of conference action. UT Arlington hosts Nicholls State on Saturday, January 8 at 2 p.m.

Nicholls State enters Saturday's match up with a 5-8 overall mark and currently is fifth in the Southland Conference East Division. The Colonels are 1-5 on the road and are led by Ricshanda Bickham's 14.8 points per game.