ARLINGTON – The UT Arlington Lady Mavs will open the 2020-21 season with a matchup against the Lions of Texas A&M-Commerce on Wednesday morning (Nov. 25). Tip-off for the contest is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.

Matchup: UTA (0-0) vs. Texas A&M-Commerce (0-0)
When: Wednesday, November 25 | 11:00 a.m.
Where: College Park Center | Arlington, Texas
Live Video (ESPN+) [Josh Sours (Play-by-Play), Fred Williams (Analyst)] | Live Stats

UTA PROBABLE STARTERS
#20 Claire Chastain | G
#21 Terryn Milton | G
#31 Bre Wickware | F
#34 Shyia Smith | F
#41 Katie Ferrell | G

UP NEXT
UTA will host a pair of home games at College Park Center before hitting the road for their first road contest of the season. The Lady Mavs host Midwestern State (Nov. 29) and Rice (Dec. 2) and then travel to Manhattan, Kan. to face Kansas State on Dec. 6.

SCOUTING TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE
- Last season, the Lions went 28-3, tying the program's record for most wins in a single season.
- The team qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row, the first time in program history the team had made back-to-back tournament appearances.
- The Lions' 28 wins tied with Baylor and Lubbock Christian for the most victories by a women's team in the state of Texas in 2019-20.
- The Lions set program records for wins in a season (28), wins in a regular season (26), conference wins (20), most wins in a row (25), best scoring margin (+18.4), lowest scoring defense (56.8) and highest national ranking (3rd).
- Head Coach Jason Burton, the 2019-20 TABC Small College Coach of the Year, saw five of his players earn All-LSC awards, including Dyani Robinson being named LSC Freshman of the Year and Chania Wright earning Second Team All-Conference and WBCA Honorable Mention All-American honors. Robinson played in all 31 games as a true freshman, averaging 10.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from three. Wright averaged 12.5 points per game during the season, while shooting 34.2 percent from three and 40.7 percent from the field.

NEW HEAD COACH, NEW STAFF
Former WNBA player and Vanderbilt Associate Head Coach Shereka Wright was named UTA's 10th head women's basketball coach on Sept. 4.

Wright – a Texas High School Hall of Fame member and former longtime assistant coach at Texas Tech – brings her impressive resume to the Lady Mavericks after spending two seasons (2018-20) with Vanderbilt, five years at Alabama (2013-18) and seven campaigns in Lubbock (2006-13).

A native of Copperas Cove just west of Fort Hood, Wright was the 2000 National Player of the Year her senior season at Copperas Cove High School after averaging 25 points and 10 rebounds per game.

A few weeks after taking the job, Wright assembled and announced her coaching staff. Assistant Coaches Gerald Ewing and Rosalyn Tindel come to UTA from the JUCO ranks, while Sean Ehlbeck joins the Lady Mavs after spending six of the last seven seasons at Maryland. Director of Basketball Operations Dee Davis joins the staff after serving in the same position at Tennessee State last season.

NO NEED FOR A RECOUNT...2020-21 LADY MAVS CAPTAINS
Junior Terryn Milton, senior Bre Wickware and redshirt senior Jordynn Hernandez were named UTA Lady Mavs captains for the 2020-21 season. The trio was voted on by teammates with oversight from head coach Shereka Wright and the Lady Mavs coaching staff.

"Bre, Terryn and JoJo being chosen by their teammates to be captains this year speaks volumes on how much their teammates respect them as leaders," said head coach Shereka Wright. "Each one of them has a responsibility to take care of their business on and off the floor, but more importantly hold themselves and their teammates accountable to meet the standards we have set for our program. I know without doubt they we will do a tremendous job and set great examples of what it means to be a captain."

CONFERENCE SLATE
The Sun Belt Conference announced moving from a 16-game league slate to an 18-game women's basketball conference in late October.

In the new format, the league will be split into divisions (East, West) and teams will only square off against division foes, facing each other in a two-game series on the same weekend playing Friday and Saturday. The format change will also eliminate league doubleheaders with the UTA men's basketball squad. The Women's basketball conference slate starts on New Year's Day and wraps up on Feb. 27.

SBC West Division
Arkansas State
Little Rock
Louisiana
Texas State
ULM
UTA

SBC East Division
Appalachian State
Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern
Georgia State
South Alabama
Troy

SUN BELT PRESEASON POLL
The 2020-21 Sun Belt Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll was released on Nov. 5, with the UT Arlington women's basketball team being picked to finish first in the west division by the league's head coaches.

The Lady Mavs, 2018-19 SBC Regular Season Co-Champions, earned one first place vote and received 115 total points to lead all West Division teams. Louisiana followed with 111 points and one first place vote, while Little Rock came in third with 99 points. Rounding out the West Division is Arkansas State (78), Texas State (37) and ULM (20).

In the East, the 2019-20 Sun Belt Regular Season Champs Troy emerged as the favorite to win the division, as they received nine first place votes and totaled 140 points. Following behind the Trojans in the East Division was South Alabama, who received one first place vote and accumulated 112 points. Coastal Carolina came in third with 83 points, followed by App State (56), Georgia State (44) and Georgia Southern (41).

Women's Basketball 2020-21 Preseason Coaches Poll
East Division
1. Troy (9) - 140
2. South Alabama (1) - 112
3. Coastal Carolina - 83
4. Appalachian State - 56
5. Georgia State - 44
6. Georgia Southern - 41

West
1. UTA (1) - 115
2. Louisiana (1) - 111
3. Little Rock - 99
4. Arkansas State - 78
5. Texas State - 37
6. ULM - 20

PRESEASON SBC HONORS
UTA women's basketball landed a pair of representatives on the 2020-21 Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference Teams it was announced by the league office. Juniors Claire Chastain and Katie Ferrell earned spots on the Third Team, as voted on by the conference's head coaches.

Chastain appeared in 32 games, making 30 starts last season. She ranked second on the team in scoring (10.9 points) and averaged 3.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. The Shawnee, Okla. native shot .400 from the field and .325 from behind the arc and also ranked 8th in the Sun Belt in 3-point field goals made per game (1.52). During SBC play, Chastain increased her scoring average to 11.1 points per game. She led the team in scoring 20 times and scored in double figures on 20 occasions, including registering a career-high 22 points on two occasions (vs. Louisville - Nov. 28, vs. Georgia Southern - Feb. 29).

Ferrell appeared in 32 games, making 30 starts in 2019-20. She averaged 3.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.7 steals per contest. The Plano native ranked in the top 150 nationally in total assists (86th; 130), assists per game (4.1; 123rd) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.69; 106th) and also ranked in the top 15 in the conference in rebounds (11th; 6.5), assists (4th; 4.0), steals (7th; 1.7), blocks (15th; 0.5) and assist/turnover ratio (4th; 1.6). Ferrell was a swiss army knife for the Lady Mavs last season leading the team in rebounds 14 times, assists 13 times, steals eight times and blocks on seven occasions.

THE 2020-21 LADY MAVS
The Lady Mavs finished the 2019-20 season with a 21-11 overall record (14-4 Sun Belt), marking the 11th overall 20+ win season for the program. UTA returns three of its top-5 scorers from a season ago in Claire Chastain (10.9 ppg), Terryn Milton (7.6 ppg) and Misty Dossey (6.9 ppg). New head coach Shereka Wright, a Texas High School Hall of Fame member and former Associate Head Coach at Vanderbilt and Assistant Coach at Texas Tech and Alabama, inherits a squad that returns 10 letterwinners from last season. UTA also welcomes Wichita State transfer Shyia Smith and welcomes back Jordynn Hernandez, who missed the entire 2019-20 season due to injury.

SMITH RULED IMMEDIATELY ELIGIBLE
UTA women's basketball junior and Wichita State transfer Shyia Smith was ruled immediately eligible to play for the 2020-21 season by the NCAA.

The Idabel, Okla. native played two season at Wichita State before transferring to UT Arlington this summer. Smith appeared in 56 games for the Shockers, making 31 starts, during her time in Wichita. She averaged 5.0 points and 4.0 rebounds and shot .414 from the field during her two seasons with the Shockers. As a sophomore, she started 25 of the 27 games she appeared in and averaged 6.1 points and 5.1 boards.

SIGNING DAY
UT Arlington women's basketball first-year head coach Shereka Wright inked her first class at the helm of the Lady Mavs on Day 1 of the early signing period. Olympia Chaney, Taylor Hutchins, Reniya Jones, Cassidee Kinslow, Aaliyah McMillan, Stephanie Mosley and Jordyn Turner all signed National Letters of Intent to continue their academic and athletic careers at UTA. The signing class, which includes six high school seniors and a JUCO transfer, is set to join the team for the 2021-22 season.

"I'm extremely excited about our first recruiting class," Wright said. "We targeted players who fit with who we are and how we want to play. All seven of these young women, who during the recruiting process saw our vision, understood the culture we wanted to create, and believed in it, will help fill a need and give us more depth. Their versatility, athleticism and drive to win will be a great addition to our roster."

TIX ON SALE
A limited amount of season tickets are now on sale for the 2020-21 UT Arlington men's and women's basketball seasons. Single-game tickets to the first few home games are also available for purchase.

UTA Athletics officials plan to allow approximately 600 spectators at each home game this season. Tickets can be purchased by visiting UTATickets.com, or by calling the UTA Box Office at 817-272-9595 Monday-Friday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

All seating will be located in the lower bowl of the College Park Center, and will be socially-distanced in pods of two (2) or four (4) seats.

FOLLOW THE LADY MAVS
For the latest news on UTA Women's Basketball, log on to UTAMavs.com or stay connected to the Lady Mavs on social media. Follow the Lady Mavericks on Twitter @UTAMavsWBB, on Instagram @UTAMavsWBB and on Facebook at Facebook.com/UTAMavsWBB.