DENTON, Texas – For the second straight game, the UT Arlington women's basketball team needed a double-digit comeback, an extra five minutes, and big performances down the stretch.

No problem.

The Lady Mavs overcame a controversial traveling violation at the end of regulation and used a Claire Chastain free throw with 0.7 seconds to knock off North Texas on the road, 75-74 in overtime.

Senior De'Sha Benjamin scored a career-high 20 points, including four 3-pointers, while junior Starr Jacobs added 19 points and seven boards. Chastain scored 15, including the go-ahead free throw, while senior Terryn Milton has eight points and four rebounds. Senior Katie Ferrell added seven points, six boards, and six assists, while senior Emma Halverson scored six off the bench.

Quincy Noble led UNT with 18 points, while Aly Gamez had 17. Jazion Jackson had 15 points and a pair of steals, while Madi Townley had nine points and a game-leading 13 rebounds.

After an early 2-0 lead to start the contest, UTA found themselves down 8-2 before that deficit ballooned to 11-4. The Lady Mavs charged back to tie the game at 11 behind five points from Benjamin, but UNT held a 20-14 lead at the end of the first.

They would push that lead as high as 11 at 28-17 early in the second quarter before UTA settled in and began to get stops. The Lady Mavs would close the second quarter on a 12-2 behind points from Jacobs, Benjamin, and Chastain to go into half trailing 30-29.

Both teams would explode in the third quarter as UTA was 8 of 12, including four 3-pointers, while UNT was 7 of 11 with three 3-pointers. Milton knocked down a pair of threes while Ferrell and Benjamin each had one. However, the Mean Green got to the line five times and converted to take a 52-49 lead going into the fourth.

A wild fourth quarter saw four lead changes and two ties. UTA would push a lead as large as 62-58 midway through the fourth, but UNT would battle back and eventually tie the game at 66 apiece with two minutes to play. 

A tough Aly Gamez lay-in with 39 seconds to play gave UNT a two points lead. However, Jacobs responded with seven seconds on the clock with a driving lay-in as the shot clock expired to tie the game at 68.

After an offensive foul by the Mean Green with two seconds to play, Jacobs found a streaking Milton ahead of the defense. Milton hop stepped and laid it in for what looked like the game-winning basket, but it was waved off on a controversial traveling violation. A stunned UTA bench watched the clock run out and the game went into overtime.

The two teams exchanged buckets back-and-forth until a Jazion Jackson layup gave UNT a 74-72 lead with 2:37 to play.

UTA would get a tough lay-in from Chastain with 54 seconds to play to even the score.

After a Lady Mavs stop, UTA got two looks at the basket in the final 10 seconds from Ferrell and Jacobs, but it was knocked out-of-bounds and stayed UTA ball. Chastain got a look at the buzzer but was fouled before the red light went off and went to the line for two with 0.7 remaining.

Chastain missed the first shot, but remained cool and sunk the second shot to give UTA the one point lead.

The ensuing inbounds play from the Mean Green was knocked away, and the Lady Mavs celebrated a thrilling 75-74 win.

BOX SCORE NUGGETS

• Benjamin's previous career-high of 16 came twice while she was at Alabama. Her four made 3-pointers is also a career-high as well as field goals made (7) and attempted (14). 
• UNT came into the contest averaging 50 rebounds per game. After pulling down 29 in the first half, UTA outrebounded UNT in the second half, 13-10 and held them to only five in the overtime period.
• UTA shot 64 percent in the third quarter, a season-high and a sizzling 54 percent in the second half, which was also a season-high, along with five 3-pointers.
• The eight made 3-pointers is a season-high.
• Halverson continues to put in key minutes as she finished +10 on the night.
• The game saw 14 lead changes and 11 ties.
• Tommisha Lampkin came in 18th in the nation in free throw attempts with 23, averaging almost eight trips per game. She only went to the line twice on Saturday.
• This is the highest field goal percentage UNT has allowed this season (.438) and the highest since Mar. 4, 2021, against Rice. UTA is the first team to shoot over 40 percent against the Mean Green.

NOTABLES

• In their last three games, UTA is averaging 38.6 points in the second half and shooting .518 from the field.
• The Lady Mavs move to 3-1, their best start since beginning 4-0 in 2019-20.
• UTA wins their first road game of the season for the first time since 2019-20 when the Lady Mavs defeated UNT in Denton, 68-49.
• UTA moves to 19-18 all-time in overtime games.
• The Lady Mavs have now won nine straight OT match-ups.
• It is the first time in school history UTA has played back-to-back overtime games.
• The Lady Mavs have now won five straight in Denton.
• The all-time series between UTA and UNT now moved back to even at 30 games apiece.
• It is the second straight game that UTA has erased a double-digit deficit.

QUOTABLES
"I am so proud again of our players. We talked about how resilient we've been in this position before. Just another gritty, gritty performance from our bench all the way to our starters. We battled." - Shereka Wright

"I just had to let go of everything I was feeling. I have to thank my teammates for finding me and giving me confidence." - De'Sha Benjamin

NEXT UP
UTA will get a little time to recover after four games in nine days, but will hit the road west to Las Vegas where they will compete in the UNLV Thanksgiving Classic. They open up on Saturday, Nov. 27 as they take on host UNLV at 2 p.m. CT.

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).