ARLINGTON – The UT Arlington women's basketball team closes up a three-game homestand inside the College Park Center as they welcome in Houston on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m.
3-POINTERS
- UTA and Houston will meet for the 12th time on the hardwood as the Cougars have mostly dominated the series, holding a commanding 10-1 advantage. However, UTA snapped a 10-game losing streak in their last match-up, defeating Houston on the road 65-61 in overtime on December 17, 2018.
- Two freshmen who are now seniors saw time in that game as Terryn Milton earned the start and scored 10 points with four boards while Katie Ferrell added four points off the bench to go with nine rebounds, five assists, and five steals.
- Another current Lady Mav has a connection with that evening as Starr Jacobs began her career with the Cougars in 2018-19. She was redshirted that season before moving on to Temple College, where she became a JUCO All-American.
SAM HOUSTON NOTABLES
- After Sam Houston scored 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.
- 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 Claire 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.
- Against Baylor, Shyia 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.
- 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%).
- 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. They were held to 54 points and .345 from the field last Saturday.
- UTA snapped 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.
SCOUTING HOUSTON
- Houston comes into the season at 1-1 including an 80-48 win over Howard at home before falling to Stephen F. Austin on the road by the score of 73-52.
- Eight different Cougars average six or more points per game this season including five that average eight points or more.
- Turnovers have been a massive issue for the Cougars so far this season as they average 23.0 per game. They do force their share of turnovers though, picking up 20.5 per game.
- In the loss to Stephen F. Austin, Tatyana Hill set a new career-high with 17 rebounds. She filled up the stat sheet as she added nine points, three blocks, and two steals.
- Houston has been incredible on the boards so far this season as they average 45.5 boards per game with a +8.0 rebounding margin. Houston is 28th in the country in offensive rebounds, averaging 17.5 per game.
- The Cougars are the top team in the AAC in three point field goal defense thus far, holding opponents to .211 from deep.
- Houston returned six starting players, including last year's leading scorer in Lalia Blair, who averaged 10.5 points per game off the bench. Dymond Gladney, Britney Onyeje, Julia Blackshell-Fair and Jazmaine Lewis are other key contributors for the Cougars.
- Last season, Houston put together a 17-8 overall record and a 12-5 AAC mark including a semifinal appearance in the AAC Tournament. The Cougars made the WNIT where they won their consolation battle with Arizona State, 50-48.
TERRYN SURPASSES 300
Senior
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.
She has gotten off to an incredible start this season, averaging 7.0 assists per game including a season-high nine against Sam Houston last Saturday.
Milton is only 14 behind Cierra Johnson for eighth and 31 behind Gale Haynes for seventh. Milton is 65 assists away from moving as high as fourth all-time.
Senior
Katie Ferrell continue to make her mark in the record book as she also in the Top 10 in career assists. Ferrell moved into third all-time in career assists after dishing out three in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament loss to App State, passing Paige Smith-Wojciak.
Ferrell inches closer thus far in the 2021-22 season as she is only 36 behind Terra Wallace.
Ferrell will have an outside chance to become the all-time leader in assists as she is 188 behind all-time leader Krystal Buchanan.
Milton and Ferrell become the second duo in school history from the same recruiting class to each have 300 or more assists in a career. Tamara Simmons and Shalyn Martin accomplished this feat in 2011.
Milton and Ferrell can pass Simmons and Martin for the most assists by a duo in school history. Milton and Ferrell come in at 673 while Simmons and Martin sit at 675.
INSTANT IMPACT
No player has quite made an impact quite like
Starr Jacobs has in her first two games with the Lady Mavs.
After scoring 14 in the first half of her opening game against #7/8 Baylor, Jacobs exploded with 26 points in the win over Sam Houston on 11 of 16 shooting while also adding four steals, three boards, and a blocked shot. Jacobs scored 20 points in the second half alone as the Lady Mavs pulled away from the Bearkats in the second half.
Jacobs 20.0 points per game is believed to be a school record for best scoring start in school history for a newcomer. Records dating back to 2001-02 shows no other newcomer putting on a better scoring performance.
Other notable newcomer starts include 18.0 points per game from teammate
Shyia Smith just a year ago, 17.5 points per game from Rebekah Vandijk in 2014-15, 17.5 points per game from Tamara Simmons in 2007-08, and 17.0 points per game from Christina Devers in 2016-17.
Additionally, it is believed Jacobs has put together one of the best starts in school history, as records dating back to 2001-02 only show Briana Walker getting off to a better start. The senior started her 2013-14 season with 31 points against Houston Baptist and 11 against Oklahoma State, averaging 21.0 points per game to start the year.
HOME SWEET HOME
The UTA women have called the College Park Center home since February 1, 2012 when they defeated UTSA in their first contest in their new home arena, 51-40. Since then, the Lady Mavs have complied a home record of 80-51 including five seasons with 10 or more wins.
Since the 2016-17 season, the Lady Mavs have been remarkable at home as they have put together an impressive 57-14 record including a 37-6 reocrd in Sun Belt play as they have not lost more than two games inside their home arena.
Lady Mavs Home Record
2021-22: 1-1
2020-21: 8-1
2019-20: 12-4
2018-19: 12-3
2017-18: 13-2
2016-17: 11-3
2015-16: 7-8
2014-15: 10-5
2013-14: 3-11
2012-13: 3-10
2011-12: 1-4
Total: 81-52
CLAIRE RETURNS
After only playing in three games last season and opting out due to COVID-19 concerns, senior
Claire Chastain returns to the floor for her final season and looks to make an impact on a talented squad.
Chastain was terrific on Saturday as she scored 14 points on four made field goals including a pair of 3-pointers. She added four rebounds. Her 14 points was her highest point total since Feb. 9, 2020, in a win over Georgia Southern, where she scored 22.
Chastain is a two-time Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selection, earning third team honors in 2020-21 and second team honors in 2019-20.
During her sophomore campaign in 2019-20, Chastain was second on the team in points with 10.9 per game to go with .400 shooting from the field and .325 from behind the arc. She was eighth in the Sun Belt in 3-point field goals made per contest at 1.52 and upped her point total to 11.1 points in conference play. She led the team in scoring 20 times that season.
AMONG THE ELITE
UTA has been one of the top teams in the Sun Belt Conference year in and year out since joining the league in 2013-14. The Lady Mavs have been .500 or better every year except their very first season and have currently won 10 or more conference games in seven straight seasons, a conference-leading mark they hold with Troy.
1. Little Rock: 113
2. Troy: 103
3. UTA: 90
4. Arkansas State: 82
5. Louisiana: 79
6. Texas State: 77
7. South Alabama: 62
8. Georgia State: 58
9. App State: 55
10. Coastal Carolina: 41
11. Georgia Southern: 31
ULM: 31
NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
UT Arlington built up a tough non-conference schedule in 2020-21 as 10 team docket includes three teams who made the NCAA Tournament last season, two teams who competed in the WNIT, and eight total teams who had a winning record in 2020-21.
All opponents are NCAA Division I teams, including two teams that won their conference championship and the WNIT Champion from a season ago. Two NCAA Tournament participants and both WNIT participants will visit the College Park Center.
SIGNING CLASS ANNOUNCED
Head Coach Shereka Wright announced five talented newcomers to join the UT Arlington women's basketball team next season as part of signing day last Wednesday.
The class includes four talented guards in Nicole Sanfilippo, Alexsyah Goudeau, Nya Threatt, and Taleyah Jones as well as post player Bella Ringenberg.
"I am so excited to welcome these five young ladies to the Maverick Family," said Wright. "We really took our time to get the know them and their families and we feel they will be great additions. This class will add depth and size to all positions. More importantly, they love the game and understand the expectations when they arrive on campus."
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).
