Nov. 10, 2011
ARLINGTON, Tex. -
By Randy McVay for UTAMAvs.com
North Texas at UT Arlington Game Notes 
The UT Arlington women's basketball team hosts North Texas Friday evening at Texas Hall, and they're looking to secure a victory in the first official game of the season.
"We want to win. I want to see us play better, cut down on turnovers, shoot the ball better and be aggressive on the defensive end," head coach Samantha Morrow said. "Midwestern State was an exhibition game, and we played a lot of kids to get some jitters out and get them prepared for the game Friday night."
The Mavericks hosted Midwestern State in an exhibition game earlier this week, losing 67-56 to the Mustangs. The game was competitive, but fouls and turnovers proved to be the difference maker in defeat.
The team is returning from an 8-20 season, and they play a North Texas squad that went 5-25 last season. This will be their third meeting since 1997, with the last contest being a 59-55 UT Arlington victory on Dec. 30, 2004. The Mavericks lead the all-time series 20-19.
The Mavericks averaged 59.1 points per game last year, putting them in last place in the SLC. Their defense gave up 69.9 points per game, good for 8th place, and they held opponents to a .385 field goal percentage.
However, the statistics don't necessarily reflect the current team because there are so many new players. For many of them, this will be their first official college game.
They will be competing against a North Texas team that ranked third place in the Sun Belt last season with 64.3 points per game. However, on defense they allowed 73.3 points per game, worst in the Sun Belt conference.
Top performers against Midwestern State were Kiara Parker, who recorded nine points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Bianca Sauls added 13 rebounds and six points in her first college game.
North Texas will be led by forward Jasmine Godbolt, who averaged 13.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game last season.
Coach Morrow said she wants the team to pull out a victory, but that's not the only purpose of this game.
"Everybody's trying to get ready for conference. We want to win, but I'm more concerned about us getting better," Morrow said. "I want to see improvement each and every time we step on the court on the way to conference. This is the first official game of the season, so it's a measuring stick for us."
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
