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ARLINGTON, Texas - A new season begins for UTA women's basketball with the opening of Sun Belt play on Thursday against Appalachian State at 7 p.m.

The SBC-leading Lady Mavericks (7-3) open a two-game homestand against the Mountaineers (5-6) that concludes on Saturday against Coastal Carolina (2 p.m.). Tickets are available for all UTA games at UTATickets.com. All Lady Mavericks games are broadcast on Mavs All-Access with Amanda Kent calling the action. The subscription based service starts at $9.99 per month and gives fans access to all Lady Mavs games.

UTA had a historic start to its nonconference schedule that has it well prepared for conference competition. The 5-0 opening to the season garnered the program's first-ever USA Today Coaches' Poll vote and was the best opening since 1977. UTA's record is also its best nonconference since the 2008-09 season.

"Nonconference really prepared us for conference and I think we played really well," UTA coach Krista Gerlich said. "We learned from our losses and got better because of them and know where we really need to work on some of our weaknesses. At the same time, we gained some confidence and got our rotations down, we got some kids a lot of minutes and we just have some confidence heading into conference and are really excited to start our next season."

The Lady Mavs also enter the conference slate with one of the top defenses in the Sun Belt, as well as in the nation. UTA has forced its opponent into 22.8 turnovers per game, a mark that is 10th in NCAA Division I and tops in the conference.

A large part of the early success has come from the depth of the roster, especially in talent that is new to the squad. Five of the top seven scorers are newcomers, including junior transfer Christina Devers, who is one of three players averaging double digits at 12.4 points per game. Aysia Evans and Shelby Richards have both earned spots in UTA's rotating starting lineup, and a balanced attack has Gerlich excited for what's to come.

"We have a lot of depth and can play a lot of different people," Gerlich said. "What I like about it is that we have a lot of internal competition. Every day we have to compete and they have to earn their spot and I think that is good. We are super athletic and quick and can use that to our advantage but we have to keep getting smart with the ball and remember that we have the best player in the conference in my eyes so we have to keep getting her the ball."

Glancing at the opponent, Appalachian State comes into College Park Center hoping to build off a win over UNC-Ashville in its final tune-up. Joi Jones leads the attack with 15.7 points per game and is knocking down shots at a 41.6 percent clip from the field. UTA is 4-0 all-time against ASU, with junior center Rebekah VanDijk leadings the way with 12.8 points per game against Thursday's opponent in the four meetings.

Angel is doing a great job in building that program and has five starters that understand what she is trying to build there," Gerlich said. "Those five kids are playing really well. They will guard well and get to the rim. They are very aggressive. There are areas where I think we can attack them, but we are going to have to know our game plan and stick to it and be disciplined. I do expect a great game."

With opening the conference schedule with the first two games at home, Gerlich stated the importance of being able to protect the home court to get off to a good start.

We want to protect our home court for sure," Gerlich said. "We also need people to be here in the stands and fill it out for us. We hope to have a really good crowd so that we have an advantage on our home court. Any time you play at home you need to protect home court and then hopefully steal a few on the road."