ARLINGTON – Claire Chastain scored a game-high 18 points to lead the Lady Mavs to a 71-44 win over Arkansas State in the Sun Belt Conference opener on Thursday night (Jan. 2) at College Park Center.

With the win, UTA improves to 7-6 overall (1-0 SBC), while the Red Wolves fall to 3-9 on the season (0-1 SBC).

Chastain shot 7-of-13 from the floor, including 4-of-9 from long distance, to finish with her game-high 18 points. She also added three boards in the win. Sun Belt leading scorer Marie Benson knocked down 6-of-8 shots and finished with 12 points, while Misty Dossey added 12 points and three blocks. Terryn Milton chipped in with six points and six assists, while Aysia Evans added six points, two steals and a pair of assists. Katie Ferrell dished out a game-high nine assists to go with her game-high eight boards.

A-State was held to just 32 percent from the field (16-of-50) while going 4-of-14 from beyond the arc (28.6 percent). The Lady Mavs knocked down 29-of-66 shots from the floor (43.9 percent) and won the rebounding battle 42-33. UTA also forced Arkansas State into 23 turnovers and scored 23 points off of A-State's miscues.

UTA opened the night on a 7-0 run, forcing the Red Wolves to call a timeout with 7:39 left in the first. The Lady Mavs went on to dominate the quarter and held a 16-3 lead after 10 minutes of play. UTA held Arkansas State scoreless over the final 6:13 of the opening quarter and held the Red Wolves to just 7.7% (1-of-13) shooting from the field in the period.

A-State responded in a big way in the second quarter, using a 17-3 run to cut the UTA lead down to three points (23-20) with 4:28 left in the first half. The Lady Mavs went on to hold the Red Wolves scoreless the rest of the period and closed the half on an 11-0 run to take a 34-20 lead at the intermission.

UTA opened the second half on a 10-2 run to increase its lead to 22 points after Ferrell knocked down her first bucket with 7:13 remaining in the third quarter to put the Lady Mavs on top at 44-22. Arkansas State went on an 11-4 run over the next 5 minutes and 41 seconds to cut UTA's lead back down to 15 at 48-33 (1:32). The Lady Mavs would lead 52-35 heading into the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, UTA stretched their lead to as many 27 and picked up the 71-44 win.

The Lady Mavs wrap up their five-game homestand at 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon (Jan. 4), when they welcome defending Sun Belt tournament champion and Sun Belt preseason favorite Little Rock to College Park Center.

UTA GAME NOTES
- UTA is now 5-2 all-time in SBC home openers.
- The Lady Mavs forced Arkansas State into 22 turnovers making it the 10th time in UTA's first thirteen games they have forced their opponent into 14+ turnovers.
- Arkansas State's 44 points marks the sixth time this season UTA has held its opponent to under 55 points in a game.
- The Sun Belt's top scoring duo (Chastain and Benson), combined to score 30 points on the night.

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