UT Arlington (15-14, 10-9 SBC) vs. Troy (16-12, 11-8)
Saturday | 5 p.m. | College Park Center

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By Michael Eldridge | @DFWSportsMike

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Stepping onto the court for their junior seasons for the first time in 2014, five Lady Mavericks embarked on a journey that has helped lay the foundation for the future.

On Saturday night at College Park Center, UT Arlington women's basketball will honor Amara Wainwright, Morgan Holly, Morgan Hunt, LaShanda Green and Toma Zaleckaite prior to its regular-season finale against Troy. The quintet helped turn around a program that had won just four games the year prior. After a 13-win improvement last year, the group of two-year Lady Mavericks say goodbye to CPC with hopes that the motto they came to know, "Change 4 Championships," is still the goal for this season and beyond.

"This senior class is our first graduating class that we recruited and brought to UTA to help us rejuvenate this program," UT Arlington coach Krista Gerlich said. "They were the first to believe in our vision and our first to set the standards for success. They are very special to me and even though each of them have only played two years at UTA, they all feel like four-year program kids because they bought in from the word go.

"They created the largest turn around in all Division I last season and they have carried on this season with many firsts for this program. I will always be indebted to them for their hard work, loyalty and trust. Our goal is to win championships, and even though this class didn't get that done in the regular season, they laid the foundation for future Lady Mav teams and they will always know they played a part when the Lady Mavs do win it. What a special group of young ladies. It's been an honor to be their coach."

The Lady Mavericks still have a lot to play for on Senior Night. A win would mean the team's second consecutive fourth-place finish in the Sun Belt, as well as the momentum of a three-game winning streak heading into next week's SBC Championship tournament.

"It is going to be a mixture of emotions," Zaleckaite said. "It is the last home game and then I don't know. I am going to be nervous and just happy to be a part of this. All of the relationships and memories we have had, we had a great two years together. I will miss that a lot and them just being there for me."

Milestones and achievements will be a part of Saturday's contest. With just eight minutes played on Saturday, Green will become UTA's second-ever player to record multiple 1,000-minute seasons.

Wainwright, who knocked down six 3-pointers on Thursday night, is chasing the programs all-time 3-point percentage mark, as well as the single-season record. Wainwright is currently third in both categories going into the finale.

A win would also achieve the program's first back-to-back winning regular seasons since 2008-09.

UTA opens the 2016 Sun Belt Championship on Wednesday with tipoff time and opponent still yet to be determined. UTA is either the fifth or sixth seed in the tournament due to tiebreakers with Troy and South Alabama.