ARLINGTON – The UT Arlington women's basketball used a big fourth quarter to close out to roll to a 72-54 win over Sam Houston on Homecoming afternoon at the College Park Center.

Junior Starr Jacobs put together a masterful performance as she scored 26 points on 11 of 16 shooting, including 20 points in the second half. She added four steals on the defensive end and added three boarda and a blocked shot.

Senior Claire Chastain poured in 14 points and four boards, while senior Shyia Smith scored 12 points in 14 minutes. Senior Terryn MIlton filled up the box score yet again with seven points, nine assists, four boards, and three steals, while senior Katie Ferrell added five points, six boards, and three assists. 

Faith Cook led the Bearkats with 19 points, while Madelyn Batista added 14 points and nine boards.

Sam Houston started fast as they opened up a 10-4 lead behind a pair of 3-pointers from Cook, but UTA narrowed the gap behind a 3-pointer from Chastain and a running lay-in from Jacobs to cut the deficit to 11-9 at the media break.

The Lady Mavs clamped down the Bearkats, outscoring them 10-3 to finish the quarter and take a 19-14 lead behind six points from Chastain and five from Ferrell.

Sam Houston took advantage of 11 first-half turnovers from UTA and stayed within reach throughout the half. With the Lady Mavs holding a 23-22 lead, freshman Jordyn Turner knocked down a deep three, while freshman Olympia Chaney connected on three of four free throws. That was part of a key 8-0 late in the half and gave UTA a 33-25 lead at the break.

The high octane Sam Houston offense came out firing in the second half as they cut their deficit to two with 5:52 to play in the third quarter. However, UTA responded with a big lay-in from Jacobs followed by a 3-pointer from Chastain to push the lead back out to 43-36.

Jacobs would dominate the quarter as the lead grew as high as 11 and UTA took a 51-42 lead going into the fourth

Sam Houston put together one final push in the fourth, getting as close as four early in the quarter, but UTA put the game away for good with a massive 13-0 run to move ahead 66-48 and put the game out of reach. The Lady Mavs cruised from that to take the 72-54 win.

BOX SCORE NUGGETS

• After scoring 11 points in the first five minutes of play, the Lady Mavs only allowed 43 points the rest of the way and held Sam Houston to 15 made field goals.
• Claire Chastain's 14 points is her highest point total since Feb. 9, 2020, in a win over Georgia Southern, where she scored 22.
• Two nights after going 1 of 17 (6%) from deep, the Lady Mavs responded with a respectable 4 of 13 (31%) from beyond the arc behind two 3-pointers from Chastain.
• After turning the ball over 11 times in the first half, UTA nearly cut that in half in the second half, only turning it over six times.
• Jacobs is off to an unbelievable start in her Lady Mav career, averaging 20 points per game in two contests and shooting 17 of 25 (68%) from the field.
• Against Baylor, Smith was 1 of 4 from the line. She flipped that around tonight as she went a perfect 8 of 8 at the line; just one free throw made off her career-high of nine.
• UTA controlled the boards on the night as they outrebounded Sam Houston 39-32 while pulling down 10 offensive rebounds.
• It was a huge third quarter for the Lady Mavs as they went 6 of 10 (60%) from the field to push their lead to nine and set up the knockout blow in the fourth. UTA was a red hot 14 of 27 (52%) in the second half while holding Sam Houston to 10 of 28 (36%).
• The Lady Mavs had a dominant 38 points in the paint.
• UTA led for over 33 minutes of the contest.

NOTES

• Terryn Milton became the ninth Lady Mav in school history to eclipse 300 assists. Milton is 14 away from moving to eighth all-time in school history in assists.
• Milton is up to 7.0 assists per game in the early portion of the season.
• In their last 24 games, Sam Houston has only been held under 60 points two times. Additionally, they had only shot worse than 35 percent three times.
• UTA snaps a four-game skid against Sam Houston and moves to 42-16 overall against the Bearkats
• After only nine team assists on Thursday, UTA responded with 18 team assists on Saturday afternoon.
• UTA only had six made field goals in the second half against Baylor. They came out hot in the first quarter against Sam Houston, knocking down seven jumpers.

QUOTABLES
"We didn't get off to a great start, and I expected that off an emotional game on Thursday. I thought our kids responded in the second half. I'm pleased to get into the win column, and I like what I see. We'll continue to improve on some little things." - Head Coach Shereka Wright

"I feel good. It's good to be back with my team. I think we played better towards the end. I am just happy to be back and with my girls." - Claire Chastain

"I just want the ball. I thought I could clear the chairs" - Starr Jacobs on diving into the stands

NEXT UP
UTA will be back in the CPC for a huge match up against Houston on Wednesday, Nov. 17. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m., and tickets are still available at UTATickets.com.

FOLLOW ALONG
For updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more engaging and personal content, be sure to follow the women's basketball program on Twitter (@UTAMavsWBB), Instagram (@UTAMavsWBB) and Facebook (/UTAMavsWBB).