ARLINGTON, Texas - Junior guard Cierra Johnson earned her second Sun Belt Player of the Week award and fifth overall for the Lady Mavericks, announced by the league office on Monday.

Johnson had one of her best pair of her games in her storied UTA career when the Lady Mavericks (19-7, 12-4 SBC) needed it most. The Bedford, Texas native averaged 15.0 points per game and grabbed nine steals in games against Troy and South Alabama to push UTA into second place in the league going into the final weekend of the year.

"Cierra is putting together some of her best basketball as of late and was incredible last week," UTA coach Krista Gerlich said. "She's known as a defensive player but has really shown how well rounded she is this season in scoring, rebounding and distributing the basketball. I'm excited for Cierra to get this recognition."

Johnson's week started with a battle with the former second place team in Troy as she was near perfect in an up-and-down battle with the Trojans. Johnson finished with a game-high 22 points - third most of her career - on 9-of-11 shooting. She came just a rebound short of her second double-double of the season with nine boards, dished four assists and grabbed three steals.

She followed things up with an eight-point game against South Alabama that was highlighted by a six-steal effort and totaled three assists.

With her overall total of nine assists, Johnson jumped into the conference's record books with 232, good for 22nd in SBC's all-time charts. She also put her name into the UTA single-season marks for the third time, besting her total last year with now 78 for the season, fifth in program history and just three behind her 81 achieved in her freshman season.

The Lady Mavericks look to solidify their second-place seed when they travel to ULM on Thursday and a trip to Louisiana on Saturday. A win in either contest would clinch at least a bye in the SBC's Championship's first round next week.