ARLINGTON – The UTA women's basketball team opens 2021 and Sun Belt Conference play this weekend when they when they welcome Little Rock (4-3) to College Park Center. UTA and Little Rock meet in a 1:00 p.m. matchup on New Year's Day, followed by a 4:00 p.m. contest on Jan. 2.

Matchup: Little Rock (4-3) vs. UTA (2-2)
When: Friday, January 1 | 1:00 p.m.
Where: College Park Center | Arlington, Texas
Live Stats | Live Video (ESPN+ - Ron Thulin (Play-by-play) & Mike Petersen)

Matchup: Little Rock (4-3) vs. UTA (2-2)
When: Saturday, January 2 | 4:00 p.m.
Where: College Park Center | Arlington, Texas
Live Stats | Live Video (ESPN+ - Ron Thulin (Play-by-play) & Mike Petersen)

UP NEXT
UTA will host ULM in a 2-game Sun Belt Conference series at College Park Center next weekend. The Lady Mavs and Warhawks will face-off Jan. 8 (6:00 pm) and Jan. 9 (4:00 PM).
 
CONFERENCE OPENERS
The Lady Mavs are 5-2 all-time in SBC home openers. UTA is also 3-4 all-time in Sun Belt openers.
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Lady Mavericks averaging 17.0 assists per game, which ranks 41st in the country. UTA is making free-throws at a 73.9% clip, leading the conference and ranking 61st in the nation.
 
The Lady Mavs also rank in the top 100 nationally in field goal percentage defense (60th; .363), rebound margin (59th; 7.8) and rebounds per game (59th; 43.0).
 
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
So far this season, UTA has allowed 262 total points, holding the opposition to just 65.5 points per game, which ranks 152nd nationally.
 
The Lady Mavs have held opponents below 65 points twice this season. UTA has also limited two opponents 35 percent shooting or less from the floor, while forcing two of their four opponents into 14+ turnovers.
 
WHEN PREPARATION MEETS OPPORTUNITY
After averaging no more than six points per game in their collegiate careers, Shyia Smith and Bre Wickware have been asked to take on bigger offensive roles for the Lady Mavs this season and they have answered the call.
 
A transfer from Wichita State, Smith's best season came last year when she averaged 6.1 points and 5.1 rebounds on 41.4 percent shooting. The Idabel, Okla. native in her first season in the Blue and Orange is leading the team in scoring (15.3 ppg) and is shooting .600 from the floor and pulling down 6.8 rebounds per game.
 
Wickware, who turned in the best season of her collegiate career in 2019-20 after averaging 3.1 points and 2.2 rebounds, is UTA's second leading scorer (12.8) and tied for second on the team in rebounding (6.8).
 
THANKS COVID
Due to the program's positive COVID test result (Nov. 25) and not being cleared by medical professionals in time, the Lady Mavericks were forced to cancel four games, including contests against Midwestern State (Nov. 29) and Rice (Dec. 2), at Kansas State (Dec. 6) and versus Houston (Dec. 8).
 
The program was also forced to pause all team activities after a member of its Tier 1 personnel tested positive for COVID-19. UTA was notified of the positive result within the program's Tier 1 personnel following the Nov. 25 season-opener versus Texas A&M-Commerce. Tier 1 members include student-athletes, coaches, team managers and support staff.
 
WELCOME TO THE STAFF
UT Arlington head women's basketball coach Shereka Wright named KaeLynn Boyd as the new Graduate Assistant Manager with the program.
 
Before coming to UTA, Boyd served as an Assistant Coach at Jacksonville Junior College (2019-20) in Jacksonville, Texas and Arkansas-Fort Smith (2018-19). She also led the St. Helena High School program from 2016-18, where she led the team to its first playoff season in decades.
 
Boyd played basketball for three seasons for NCAA Division I University of Rio Grande Valley (former Texas-Pan American) before finishing her collegiate playing career and graduating from NCAA Division I Southeastern Louisiana State. She started 60 games and racked up 778 points, 305 boards, 297 assists, 132 steals and knocked down 81 triples during her collegiate career. Boyd spent the 2018 season playing professionally overseas for K.B. Tirana, which is based in Tirana, Albania.
 
Boyd, a native of New Orleans, La., graduated with a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Psychology with a minor in Kinesiology from Southeastern Louisiana State in 2016. She will pursue her master's in social work at UTA.
 
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 DIVISION
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.