ARLINGTON – UT Arlington opened its campaign with the most its ever scored in a season opener, as well as the sixth most ever scored in a game in topping Jackson State 99-63 on Saturday at College Park Center.
All 13 active Lady Mavericks posted points, with freshman
Claire Chastain shining bright in her debut with a team-high 16 points, knocking down three 3-pointers, all during the third quarter. Needing just one point for its first 100-point game since 1998, the Lady Mavs needed five with two minutes to play, but couldn't get over the top late. UTA shot 59.9 percent from the field, including a 68.4 percent third on the way to a 33-point quarter. The 58 points in the second half were the most in a half in program history, besting the 54 points scored against Sam Houston State in 2002.
Jackson State (0-2) turned the ball over 27 times, giving away four steals to
Cierra Johnson, who returned from knee injury after missing most of the 2017-18 season. Johnson finished with nine points on 4-of-7 shooting.
Sophomore
Kelsey Johnson tallied a career-high 12 points, grabbing four boards.
Brooke Alexander joined in on the double-digit party with 10 points. UTA's ball work shined as the pass-friendly offense led to a pair of Lady Mavs dishing off seven assists.
Terryn Milton and
Katie Ferrell led with the seven, while
Laurynn McGowen and Chastain each had three.
The Lady Mavs continue action on Wednesday night when they welcome SEC foe Arkansas to College Park Center for a 7 p.m. tip. Arkansas is the first Power 5 opponent to play at CPC since Oklahoma State in 2012.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After a slow-paced opening quarter that saw UTA up 16-12, it was a 10-0 run early in the second quarter that broke the game open.
Kelsey Johnson converted on a hoop inside and knocked down the free throw after the foul to push the lead to 11.
UTA shot 83.3 percent on 10-of-12 shooting in the second as Alexander's 3-pointers padded the advantage. UTA went into the break up 41-25.
As hot as UTA ended the first half, it exceeded it in the second with Chastain catching fire from beyond the arc. The freshman knocked down all three of her 3-pointers in the second half, including a spurt of back-to-back trips down the floor and an and-1. UTA's 33 points in the third quarter tie for the most for the team in a quarter, last achieved against Louisiana in 2017.
The Lady Mavs calmed down from deep in the fourth, but connected on 10 free throws to keep the Lady Tigers at bay.
QUOTABLE:
UTA coach Krista Gerlich…
"That was a huge win for us today to open the season in front of our home crowd on Homecoming weekend to get things start off right. I was really proud of the girls effort and focus on our game plan and how we wanted to attack Jackson State. They did a good job of keeping their foot on the pedal the entire time.
"I was really concerned about this game going in because they had just played Memphis to one point and they are scrappy. They play hard and they gave us a lot of different looks that we had to get used to. Overall, I am proud of our effort and enthusiasm and I am really excited about the future of this team."
Freshman Claire Chastain…
"I was just getting a bunch of shots off quick. They weren't covering out on me as much as I was expecting them to.
"It feels amazing to be out there and is a blessing. I really get chills and goosebumps when I do something good and you have the crowd and everyone cheering for you and I've never experienced that.
QUICK NOTES:
Kelsey Johnson grabbed the first points of the 2018-19 season with a lay in in the first minute… UTA has reached 100 points five times previously, with today's effort ranking sixth all-time in scoring history for the team… Meeting for the first time since 1996, UTA took the lead in the all-time series at 2-1, winning both matchups at home… UTA has won its last five home openers… UTA is 25-5 at College Park Center since 2016-17, as well as 11-1 in the month of November during the same span.
