HOUSTON – Cierra Johnson put UT Arlington on her back down the stretch to propel the Lady Mavericks to a 65-61 overtime thriller over Houston on Monday night at the Feritta Center. 

The Lady Mavericks, closing their five-game road trip with a 4-1 record, erased a four-point deficit with two minutes left in regulation, and saw Johnson push UTA in the overtime period to send the winning streak to four games and a 6-2 overall record. UTA ended a drought against its in-state rival, taking its first matchup with the Cougars after dropping the previous 10 matchups, including a heartbreaker at College Park Center in 2017. The matchup was just the second for the Lady Cougars (4-7) in the newly renovated arena.  

The win lifted UTA to match its best five-game road trip in program history, matching a league run in 2016, as well as marking the most wins during a true five-game run away from home in nonconference play. Overtimes also proved to continue to be kind to UTA. UTA pushed its streak to five in a row in games decided in the extra period, four of wish coming on the road.
 
Johnson, coming off a milestone night in which she scored her 1,000th point in the last time out, put on a show with a game-high 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting. The Bedford, Texas native grabbed five rebounds, dished two assists, and was 8-of-9 at the charity stripe, including four coming in the fourth period and beyond. Johnson's point total moved her up the all-time scoring charts to 18th in program history with 1,023 in her career. 

Laurynn McGowen, tying the game late in the fourth, finished with 11 points, six coming from the line, while Terryn Milton finished with 10 points. Katie Ferrell grabbed nine boards and picked up a team season-high five steals.
 
The Lady Mavs, ending more than a month away from home, return back to College Park Center for a pair to end the week. UTA hosts in-state rival UTSA on Thursday at 2 p.m., then closing the brief two-game stand against Pac-12 foe USC on Saturday at 2 p.m.  
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The high-paced Cougars started the game with a flurry of long range shots to open the day, hitting three of their seven treys taken in the first five minutes, however, it was the shot from Brooke Alexander that kept UTA within three at the first media timeout as her shot from the corner swished in.
 
Both defenses came to life to clamp down scoring. UTA went scoreless for the final three minutes of the period, while just one shot fell in for Houston in the final four, but it was the Cougars on top by three after the opening 10 minutes.
 
The UTA defense got to work in the second period, locking down the host for more than four minutes in turning the Cougars open 10 times in the span of six minutes. The defensive work sparked an 9-0 run and UTA's biggest lead since going up 2-0 with the opening points.
 
UTA forced turnovers on the final three trips down the floor for Houston to lead 31-27 at the break. Houston was without a point for the final 5:32 of the half.
 
A slow start from the UTA offense enabled the Cougars to quickly get back into the game. After Johnson put in a lay in in the first two minutes of the third, Houston went on a 6-0 run  to erase its deficit, holding UTA without points for more than three and a half minutes midway through the stanza.
 
The cold spell went more than eight minutes in the period, but with UTA's defensive answering the call of its foe, neither team could pull ahead. Five from the charity stripe kept UTA in it it before Misty Dossey ended a string of 14 consecutive field goals missed to give UTA a brief lead, but Houston answering with a 3-pointer with two seconds on the clock to lead by two going to the final 10 minutes.
 
UTA's sloppiness ran into the fourth with a slow start allowing Houston to expand on its lead. The Lady Mavs couldn't take advantage of early turnovers, while Houston used its changed to build up a 4-0 run and a six-point lead to force a timeout just three minutes in. The timeout was just what the doctor ordered with Terryn Milton converted on back-to-back trips down the floor to trim the deficit back to two, sending Houston to a timeout with five minutes to play.
 
McGowen tied the game up to make it a 6-0 run, but Houston answered with a 3-pointer at the other end, pushing the lead out to four after a UTA missed opportunity at the other end. The Lady Mavs punched right back with the help of Johnson tying the game up on a great dish from McGowen, knocking down a pair of free throws in the next possession and send the game to a 55-55 tie.
 
Johnson had another chance, but her tough runner didn't fall with Houston flying to the other side, laying in to lead with under 50 seconds on the clock. With redemption on her mind, she took control to tie the game up and forced a turnover at the other end, but UTA couldn't come up with a shot attempt at the buzzer to head into overtime.
 
 
NOTABLE:
UTA used its fourth starting lineup of the season with Cierra Johnson, Katie Ferrell, Terryn Milton, Brooke Alexander and Laurynn McGowen taking the floor… Houston won the tip, while McGowen opened scoring with a lay in… Kelsey Johnson was the first substitution at the 5:23 mark, entering for Alexander… UTA is 15-18 all-time in overtime games, 9-11 on the road and have won its last five extra-time contests... The 36.2 percent shooting marked a season low in a win this season, ending a streak of three consecutive above 50 percent... UTA is 4-0 when wearing blue... UTA trailed for just the second time this season when entering the final period (last at Fresno State).