ARLINGTON, Texas – The UTA women's basketball team hosts crosstown rival SMU (5-4) in the second game of a five-game homestand on Sunday afternoon (Dec. 22). Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. at College Park Center.

Matchup: UTA (5-5) vs. SMU (5-4)
When: Sunday, December 22 | 2:00 p.m.
Where: College Park Center | Arlington, Texas
Live Stats | Live Video (ESPN+) | Tickets

UTA PROBABLE STARTERS
#12 Marie Benson | F
#20 Claire Chastain | G
#21 Terryn Milton | G
#24 Aysia Evans | G
#41 Katie Ferrell | G

STARTING 5 QUICK HITS
#12 Marie Benson (F)
- Leads the Sun Belt Conference in scoring (17.7 ppg)
- Ranked t-9th in the league in rebounding (6.6 rpg)
- Named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Wk for the 2nd time this season (Dec. 10)
- Scored a season-high 27 points at Grambling on Nov. 18
- Shooting .540 from the field this season
- Waiver to play immediately approved by the NCAA prior to the Nov. 15 UNT game
#20 Claire Chastain (G)
- Scored 22 points vs. #8 Louisville in the Paradise Jam
- Ranks 10th in the Sun Belt in 3pt FG made per game (1.5)
#21 Terryn Milton (G)
- Scored a career-high 18 points at Kansas State
- Shooting .381 from behind the arc this season
- Ranks t-6th in the Sun Belt in assists per game (3.2)
#24 Aysia Evans (G)
- Ranks t-5th in the conference in steals (2.0/gm)
- Tied her career-high with 19 points vs. Oklahoma State in the Paradise Jam
- Knocked down a trey in 16 of the 31 games she appeared in as a junior
#41 Katie Ferrell (F)
- Ranks in the top 20 in the conference in rebounds (16th; 5.9), assists (2nd; 4.2) and assist/turnover ratio (4th; 1.4)
- Ranked in the top 100 nationally in total steals (48th), steals per game (54th), assist-to-turnover ratio (56th), total assists (88th) and assists per game (92nd) last season

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | SMU
- SMU averages 45.2 rebounds per game, 11th in the NCAA and first in The American.
- SMU 20th in the NCAA and first in The American in field-goal defense, holding opponents 33.9 percent from the field.
- SMU has held its opponent to 60 points or less five times, with a 5-0 record in those games. SMU is 77th in the NCAA and fourth in The American in scoring defense, allowing 59.1 points per game.

COLLEGEINSIDER.COM MID-MAJOR TOP 25
The UTA women's basketball team took the No. 23 spot in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll that was released on Tuesday, December 17.

UTA is one of three Sun Belt Conference schools to appear in the Mid-Major Poll along with Coastal Carolina (RV, 24) and Troy (RV, 6).

Gonzaga held down the top spot in the poll (29 first-place votes; 772 points), while Missouri State took the No. 2 position. South Dakota (718 points), Princeton (662 points) and FGCU (648 points) rounded out the top-five.

The CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top-25 is now in its 10th season of existence. The poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast, Western Athletic and is voted on by a panel of 31 coaches.

NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Lady Mavericks are limiting opponents to just 37.4-percent shooting, which ranks 109th in the country. UTA also ranks in the top 100 nationally in Assists (75th; 15.3) and field goal percentage (87th; 42.7%).

WE'LL TAKE THE COMPLIMENT
Despite going 0-3 at the 2019 Paradise Jam, the Lady Mavs played hard and left an impression on fans and opponents during the event.

Louisville head coach Jeff Walz was very complimentary of UTA in his postgame interview..."I expected this. I told our kids that UTA played a physical brand of basketball. I was very impressed with watching them in film study."

He followed those comments up with a tweet to Coach Gerlich following the Lady Mavs' matchup with the Cardinals..."I will be following your team all season long! Love the spirit and passion they play with. It's good for our game and something that fans will come watch."

UTA'S BIG 3
Marie Benson, Claire Chastain and Misty Dossey have combined to account for 57.3 percent (36.5 points per game) of UTA's scoring. The trio is also shooting .500 (135-of-270) from the floor.

DYNAMIC DUO
Senior Marie Benson and sophomore Claire Chastain give UTA the top scoring tandem in the Sun Belt Conference. The duo is averaging a combined 28.7 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.

Sun Belt Top Scoring Tandems
M. Benson/Chastain (UTA) - 28.7 ppg
Kines/Jones (South Ala.) - 28.2 ppg
Blount/Williams (Coastal Carolina) - 28.1 ppg
Collier/Battle (Little Rock) - 27.9 ppg
Stanley/Polacek (App State) - 26.9 ppg

- UTA's duo has reached double figures in same game 6x with Lady Mavs going 3-3.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Minus the three games against a pair of top-10 opponents (#1 Oregon, #8 Louisville) and a Big XII opponent (Okla. St.) at the 2019 Paradise Jam, UTA has allowed 345 total points this season, holding the opposition to just 59.7 points per game, which would rank t-90th nationally.

The Lady Mavs have held opponents below 65 points five times this season, while also holding this year's opposition below 55 points or fewer on four occasions.
UTA has also limited four opponents to less than 31 percent shooting from the floor, while forcing seven of their first 10 opponents into 14+ turnovers.

WHEN PREPARATION MEETS OPPORTUNITY
After averaging just 2.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 6.6 minutes of action as a freshman in 2018-19, Misty Dossey put in a lot of work on her game over the summer and has become a much improved player for the Lady Mavs.

This season, Dossey is the team's third-leading scorer averaging 7.8 points. She also ranks tied-third on the squad in rebounds (4.4 rpg) in 19.6 minutes of action. The Comanche, Okla., native is also leading UTA and the Sun Belt Conference with her .696 shooting percentage.