ARLINGTON – Call it gritty, call it physical, call it whatever you want. On Wednesday evening, the UT Arlington women's basketball team went into the half trailing 38-23 and walked out of their home arena on the final buzzer a 69-66 winner in OT.

Senior Terryn Milton scored a career-high 26 points to go with three steals and three assists, while junior Starr Jacobs poured in 14 points, five steals, and two blocks.

Seniors Claire Chastain and De'Sha Benjamin scored eight, while senior Camryn Hawkins has six, including a game-tying 3-pointer late in the second half. Senior Katie Ferrell added seven rebounds, seven assists, and two steals.

Tiara Young led Houston with 15 points while Laila Blair added 14, both scored off the bench for the Cougars. Tatyana Hill poured in 13 while Bria Patterson had 12.

It was a terrific start for UTA as they dominated the first quarter as Milton and Jacobs built a slight lead before a 3-pointer from Hawkins pushed the lead to 9-4. Jacobs added another bucket to get the lead to seven before Houston responded with the next four points.

UTA closed the quarter with a pair of free throws Milton before she stole the inbounds pass and found Ferrell under the basket for a 15-8 lead after one.

As good as the first quarter was, the second quarter was a nightmare.

Houston used a 17-1 run to close the half and held UTA scoreless for the final 4:07 as they outscored the Lady Mavs 30-8 to take a commanding 38-23 lead, holding all the momentum.

The Lady Mavs came out firing in the third quarter as a 10-2 run aided by four points from senior De'Sha Benjamin cut the deficit to 40-33. The Lady Mavs hung around that seven-point barrier for most of the quarter until they struck for a 7-2 run to end the quarter capped by a Chastain three-ball to tie the game at 47.

Milton then started the fourth with a lay-in for the lead, and the battle began as both teams traded buckets throughout a fourth that saw four lead changes and six ties. 

Houston's Bria Patterson knocked down a three to give UH the lead with under two to play before Hawkins buried a massive deep ball with under a minute to play to knot it back up at 59. After Young gave Houston the lead back, Milton drew the foul with eight seconds to play and calmly knocked down two free throws to tie it at 61 and force overtime.

Blaire started the OT period with a three before five straight points from UTA put them back ahead. Chastain drew a foul plus the bucket to tie it while Milton drove past her defender for the lay-in to take the lead back.

The Cougars tied the game again with 1:13 to go on a Hill lay in, but it was three straight free throws from the aggressive Milton, including the game-winners with 39 seconds to play, and stingy defense that gave UTA the come-from-behind victory.


BOX SCORE NUGGETS

• Along with her career-high 26 points, Milton set career-high marks in field goals attempted (14), free throws made (10), and tied her career-best in free throws attempted (12).
• After starting the season 0 of 6 from deep, Hawkins responded tonight by going 2 of 3 from beyond the arc.
• Emma Halverson played key minutes late in the game after injury forced some bigs out. Halverson pulled three of her four rebounds down in the overtime period and also had a blocked shot.
• Jacobs finished with four steals in the second half alone as UTA turned Houston over 13 times in the second half.
• The Lady Mavs only made nine field goals in the first half. They knocked down nine fields in the third quarter alone.
• The game saw eight lead changes and 12 times.
• UTA allowed 30 points in the second quarter but only 36 points throughout the rest of the game, including overtime.
• The Lady Mavs held Houston to 9 of 27 (33%) shooting in the second half.
• UTA forced a season-high 23 turnovers.
• The Lady Mavs had a dominant 38 points in the paint.

NOTABLES

• UTA moves to 18-18 all-time in overtime games.
• The Lady Mavs have now won eight straight OT match-ups.
• The Lady Mavs have now won two straight over Houston after dropping their first 10 to the Cougars. Both wins came in overtime for UTA.
• It is the first win in Arlington for the Lady Mavs over the Cougars
• It is UTA's first double-digit comeback since March 9, 2020, when UTA erased an 11-point second quarter deficit to defeat Texas State 44-41.
• It is the largest come-from-behind victory for UTA since Jan. 19, 2017 when UTA erased a 15-point first half deficit against Louisiana to earn a 79-66 win.
• The Lady Mavs hit a season-high in assists as a team with 19.
• The win ends a three-game homestand as the Lady Mavs will spend the next three games on the road.
• Milton now averages 18.0 points per game in her career against Houston, while Ferrell adds 6.0 assists per game.
• Milton and Ferrell become the all-time leaders in assists by a duo in the same recruiting class, passing Tamara Simmons and Shalyn Martin with 683.

QUOTABLES
"I am so, so proud of my kids. I thought they responded to my challenge at halftime. We did some things uncharacteristic at halftime. It was growth. It was them responding to the challenge I gave them and we fought. That was the step." - Shereka Wright

"I think I just took it upon myself to keep driving and creating opportunities. That's what my teammates wanted me to do, that's what my coaches told me to do. I felt good tonight being aggressive so I wanted to keep doing that because it was working for us." - Terryn Milton

"What coach always talk about is the bench to be ready and to keep our energy up. Not only myself but my teammates like Emma (Halverson) really came in as key bench players and really helped us. It was a really great group win.:  - Camryn Hawkins

NEXT UP
UTA will hit the road for the first time this season as they head north to Denton to battle North Texas. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m.

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).