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WBB Senior Day

Women's Basketball Michael Hill (@Mike_Hill84)

Senior Day On Deck For @UTAMavsWBB

ARLINGTON - The UT Arlington women's basketball team, riding a 4-game winning streak, will host Georgia Southern in the final regular season home game at College Park Center on Saturday, Feb. 29. The matchup, which is set to tip-off at 2:00 p.m., will also be Senior Day for the Lady Mavs. Seniors Aysia Evans and Marie Benson will be honored in a ceremony prior to tip-off (approx. 1:45 p.m.).

The contest will be televised on ESPN+ with Ron Thulin (play-by-play) and Mike Petersen (analyst) calling the action.

SENIOR DAY
Matchup:
UTA (17-10, 11-4 SBC) vs. Georgia Southern (9-18, 6-10 SBC)
When: Saturday, February 29 | 2:00 p.m.
Where: College Park Center | Arlington, Texas
Live Stats | 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)
- 2nd in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring (16.8 ppg)
- Ranked 6th in the league in rebounding (7.7 rpg)
- Named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week 4x this season
- Scored a career-high 30 points vs. Louisiana on Jan. 16
- Shooting .527 from the field this season, to rank 4th in the SBC
#20 Claire Chastain (G)
- Ranks 22nd in the Sun Belt in scoring (10.3)
- Ranks 11th in the SBC in 3pt FG made per game (1.4)
#21 Terryn Milton (G)
- Ranks 1st in the Sun Belt in assists/turnover ratio (2.2)
- Ranks 3rd in the Sun Belt in assists per game (4.0)
- Dished out a career-high 10 assists at App State on Jan. 9
#24 Aysia Evans (G)
- Scored a career-high 24 points vs. Coastal Carolina on Feb. 8
- Ranks 4th in the SBC in steals (1.9)
- Shooting .333 from 3-pt range to rank 14th in the SBC
#41 Katie Ferrell (F)
- Ranks in the top 20 in the conference in rebounds (16th; 6.2), assists (4th; 4.0), steals (12th; 1.5) and assist/turnover ratio (4th; 1.5)

SUN BELT TOURNAMENT HOSTING SCENARIOS AND DATES
With three regular-season games remaining for the UT Arlington women's basketball team, Sun Belt Tournament seeding and scenarios are beginning to take shape. The Lady Mavs have already secured a berth to the tournament and control their own destiny to lock up the No. 3 or No. 4 seed.
 
UTA, if a No. 3 or No. 4 seed, will host two 1st round games and also the Quarterfinals, with the winner of the Quarterfinal matchup advancing to play in the Semifinals at the Smoothie King Center, which is the home of the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans.

Below is a detailed outline of the potential seeding breakdown:
UTA 3rd Seed (Site Host)
- Host 1st-round game vs. No. 10 on Tuesday, Mar. 10, at 6:00 p.m.
- Host a No. 6 vs. No. 7 neutral-site matchup on Tuesday, Mar. 10, at 8:20 p.m.
- Host a Quarterfinal round game on Wednesday, Mar. 11, at 7:00 p.m.
UTA 4th Seed (Site Host)
- Host 1st-round game vs. No. 9 on Tuesday, Mar. 10, at 6:00 p.m.
- Host a No. 5 vs. No. 8 neutral-site matchup on Tuesday, Mar. 10, at 8:20 p.m.
- Host a Quarterfinal round game on Wednesday, Mar. 11, at 7:00 p.m.

COLLEGEINSIDER.COM MID-MAJOR TOP 25
The UTA women's basketball team earned 4 votes in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll that was released on Tuesday, February 25. UTA is one of three Sun Belt Conference squads to appear in the poll, as Troy was ranked No. 16 and Coastal Carolina was ranked No. 10 this week.

South Dakota held down the top spot in the poll (16 first-place votes; 759 points), while Princeton took the No. 2 position. Gonzaga (717 points), FGCU (673 points) and Missouri State (662 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 35.7 percent shooting, which ranks 23rd in the country. UTA also ranks in the top 100 nationally in Assists (22nd; 16.7), field goal percentage (52nd; 43.4%), assist/turnover ratio (65th; 1.03) and scoring defense (53rd; 58.9).

Individually, Terryn Milton ranks 36th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (2.18), while Marie Benson ranks in the top 100 in field goals made (45th; 177), field goal percentage (45th; 52.7%) and points per game (82nd; 16.8 ppg).

DROPPIN' DIMES AND MAKING HISTORY
Katie Ferrell currently has 249 career assists, which ranks her No. 9 in program history. She has done this in less than two seasons with the Lady Mavs.

UTA Career Assists List
1. Krystal Buchanan (2001-05) – 562
2. Terra Wallace (2003-07) – 408
3. Tamara Simmons (2007-11) – 341
4. Shalyn Martin (2007-11) – 334
5. Gale Haynes (1993-97) – 332
6. Cierra Johnson (2014-2019) – 315
7. Stacie Terry (1994-98) – 250
Allison Gray (1980-84) – 250
9. Katie Ferrell (2018-Pres) – 249
10. Melissa Nix (1989-92) – 215

DYNAMIC DUO
Senior Marie Benson and sophomore Claire Chastain give UTA a top-5 top scoring tandem in the Sun Belt Conference. The duo is averaging a combined 27.1 points and 11.6 rebounds per game.

Sun Belt Top Scoring Tandems
Blount/Williams (Coastal Carolina) – 33.6 ppg
Kines/Jones (South Ala.) - 29.4 ppg
Collier/Battle (Little Rock) - 28.5 ppg
M. Benson/Chastain (UTA) – 27.1 ppg
Stanley/Polacek (App State) - 25.4 ppg

UTA'S BIG 3
Marie Benson, Claire Chastain and Aysia Evans have combined to account for 54.9 percent (36.0 points per game) of UTA's scoring. The trio is also combining to shoot .440 (365-of-830) from the floor.

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 1,363 total points this season, holding the opposition to just 56.8 points per game, which would rank t-29th nationally.

The Lady Mavs have held opponents below 65 points 19 times this season, while also holding this year's opposition below 55 points or fewer on 13 occasions.

UTA has also limited 11 opponents to less than 31 percent shooting from the floor, while forcing 21 of their 27 opponents into 14+ turnovers.

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."

FOLLOW THE LADY MAVS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
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 @LadyMavHoops, on Instagram @UTALadyMavs and on Facebook at Facebook.com/LadyMavHoops.
 
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Players Mentioned

Cierra Johnson

#0 Cierra Johnson

G
5' 9"
Redshirt Senior
Claire Chastain

#20 Claire Chastain

G
6' 0"
Sophomore
Aysia Evans

#24 Aysia Evans

G
5' 6"
Senior
Katie Ferrell

#41 Katie Ferrell

G
6' 1"
Sophomore
Terryn Milton

#21 Terryn Milton

G
5' 9"
Sophomore
Marie Benson

#12 Marie Benson

F
6' 1"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Cierra Johnson

#0 Cierra Johnson

5' 9"
Redshirt Senior
G
Claire Chastain

#20 Claire Chastain

6' 0"
Sophomore
G
Aysia Evans

#24 Aysia Evans

5' 6"
Senior
G
Katie Ferrell

#41 Katie Ferrell

6' 1"
Sophomore
G
Terryn Milton

#21 Terryn Milton

5' 9"
Sophomore
G
Marie Benson

#12 Marie Benson

6' 1"
Senior
F