ARLINGTON, Texas – In front of over 5,700 screaming kids, the Lady Mavs handled Louisiana 79-52 Thursday afternoon on Kids Day at College Park Center.   

With the win, the Lady Mavs improve to 10-7 overall and 4-1 in the league, while the Ragin' Cajuns fall to 10-6 on the season and 3-2 in the SBC.

UTA shot 52.6 percent (30-of-57) on the day, while Louisiana was held to just 30.2 percent on the afternoon (16-of-53). The Lady Mavs dominated the battle of the boards 42-28 and racked up 23 assists on 30 made baskets.

Marie Benson finished with a career-high 30 points on 10-of-11 shooting from the field and 10-of-11 from the charity stripe. The senior from Waco also added seven boards in the win. Terryn Milton added nine points, five rebounds and five assists, while Bre Wickware recorded nine points, three boards and three assists. Misty Dossey chipped in with six points, two blocks and a game-high nine rebounds and Barbara Benson had her best outing as a Lady Mav, totaling seven points, four rebounds and a pair of steals. Michaela Wright finished with a career-high seven points in four minutes. Katie Ferrell dished out four assists and now sits alone in 9th place (217 assists) on UTA's Career Assists list.

Leading 15-8 after 10 minutes of play, UTA pushed their lead to 10 points (20-10) after Wickware knocked down a triple. Louisiana pulled within 5 points (22-17) with 6:23 remaining in the half, but the Lady Mavs responded by not allowing a Ragin' Cajun field goal over the remainder of the half and got a layup from M. Benson at the buzzer to take a 32-22 lead into the locker room at the break.

The Lady Mavericks opened the second half with 6-0 run to go ahead 38-22 early in the second half. UTA's defense continued to slow down Louisiana and held the Ragin' Cajuns to just 26.7 percent (4-of-15) from the floor and the Lady Mavs held a 53-36 lead after three quarters.
 
UTA opened the fourth quarter with an 11-4 run (64-40) and went on to outscore Louisiana, 26-16, in the final period to secure the 79-52 victory.

The Lady Mavs return to College Park Center on Saturday, Jan. 18 when they host ULM on Dallas Wings Day/Nat'l Girls & Women In Sports Day. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m.

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