Feb. 23, 2011

Final Stats

Lake Charles, LA - Game 25
UT Arlington at McNeese State
Wednesday, February 23, 2011 - 7 p.m.
Lake Charles, LA - Burton Coliseum

Turnovers have been a huge part of the Mavericks struggles this season and against McNeese State it was no different. UTA suffered a 60-51 setback to the Cowgirls at the Burton Coliseum Wednesday.

The Mavericks fell to 7-18 overall and 4-9 in Southland play.

UTA finished the game shooting 43.5 percent from the field but committed 26 turnovers. Despite a 27.9 shooting percentage for the Cowgirls, Ashlyn Baggett led the team with 26 points on 8-of-22 from the field, including 3-of-10 from 3-point range and 7-of-9 from the free throw line.

UT Arlington struggled against McNeese State's full court defense, committing nine turnovers in the first eight minutes of the game.

Both teams had trouble finding their shots but the Mavericks miscues led to a 17-13 advantage for the Cowgirls with 6:05 on the clock. Jasmine Smith made it a three point game following a fast break layup, making it 18-15.

With 18 first half turnovers, McNeese State jumped out to a 27-16 lead but the Mavs managed to cut the deficit 27-22 right before halftime following a 3-pointer by Sabreena DeNure

Kiara Johnson of McNeese State connected on a pair of free throws to increase the Cowgirls lead to nine at 31-22 with 17:50 remaining.

UTA went on a 7-0 run to come within two at 31-29 at the 14:53 mark but free throws helped McNeese State back to a 12 point lead.

Freshman Desherra Nwanguma gave the Mavericks some offensive support in the second half and put the Mavs within seven points at the 3:04 mark but UTA could not stop fouling.

The Cowgirls finished the second half connecting on 15-of-19 of their free throws and for the game 22-of-27.

Tamara Simmons led the Mavericks with 12 points while Smith added 10.

The Mavericks return to Texas Hall on Saturday, February 26 for a match up against Northwestern State. Game time is set for 2 p.m.