Nov. 16, 2012

Final Stats

Photo Gallery

By Michael Eldridge | UTAMavs.com

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The UT Arlington women's basketball team fell 73-41 to Oral Roberts on Friday afternoon in its home opener at College Park Center.

"When you turn the ball over and don't shoot the ball very well you are not going to win ball games," UT Arlington women's basketball coach Samantha Morrow said. "We came out and played a little bit timid. We needed to come in and be a bit aggressive."

UTA shot 38.5 percent in the first half, but went 5 for 33 in the second to shoot just 15.2 percent in the half and 25.4 percent overall. The Mavericks also turned the ball over 25 times.

The Mavericks (0-3) had a rough go trying to defend Golden Eagles leading scorer Kevi Luper, last year's runner up in points per game across NCAA Division I play at 23.8 PPG. Luper finished with game-high 32-points.

"The girl can score in a multitude of ways," Morrow said. "We gave her too many open look but she is pretty crafty. But that is why she is the No. 2 scorer in the country last year."

The first half started off in spurts for the Mavericks offense. The team was able to bounce back from multiple 10-point deficits to bring the game to within one or two points on multiple occasions. Kelsey Wilson led UTA in the first half with 15-points, including four 3-pointers on five attempts and 5-of-7 shooting overall. UTA trailed by just 1-point with 4:58 left to play in the half before Oral Roberts (2-0) began to pull away and ended the half up 35-28.

The lead expanded to 14 points just four minutes into the second half. The Mavericks were able to put its first points of the half in after four minutes of play when Malaika Green converted on a layup in transition. Luper would expand the ORU lead to 26 points with a 3-pointer to put herself over 30 points.

UTA continued to struggle offensively in the second half and the 3-pointers that fell for the Mavs in the first half went dry. as UTA went 1 of 11 from behind the arc in the second. UTA is back in action Wednesday, Nov. 21 at College Park Center against the Memphis Tigers at 7 p.m.

"Memphis is a very good basketball team," Morrow said. "We have to have a short memory. We're off tomorrow and come back Sunday to practice. They have got to shoot my shots to become more confident in their shot. We're just going to keep plugging away."