ARLINGTON – The UT Arlington women's basketball team used a huge third quarter to propel themselves to a 73-65 win over Rice on Saturday afternoon inside the College Park Center.

The win moves the Lady Mavs to 6-2 overall and 4-1 inside the CPC.

Junior Starr Jacobs scored 20 to go with eight rebounds and three steals, while senior De'Sha Benjamin added 11 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Senior Terryn Milton scored 10, while senior Katie Ferrell had a "do-it-all" game with six points, seven assists, four rebounds, a steal, and two blocks.

A pair of freshmen made huge contributions off the bench as Jordyn Turner and Reniya Jones each scored eight. Turner added five boards, while Jones had an assist and a steal.

Ashlee Austin led Rice with 19 points, while Malia Fisher had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Destiny Jackson added 11 points, eight assists, and six boards, while Maya Bokunewicz had 14 points on four triples.

Two days after the biggest win in program history, the Lady Mavs had to regroup and focus while also fighting through fatigue and emotions.

It showed in the early stages of the game as Rice raced out to an 8-3 lead in an ugly first six minutes. However, UTA began to find a rhythm, thanks to some energy off their bench from the likes of Jones, Turner, Camryn Hawkins, Emma Halverson, and Olympia Chaney.

Down 10-6, UTA scored six straight points to close the quarter behind Turner, Ferrell, and Jacobs and took a 12-10 lead.

A 3-pointer from Benjamin turned that run to a 9-0 run to start the second quarter, but Rice fought back with five straight points to even it at 15. Jacobs followed with a lay-in, a steal, and then a finish on the other end from Ferrell to move the lead back to 19-15.

The Owls bounced back and grabbed the lead midway through the second quarter. 

Down 26-25, Milton got a free throw to even the game and then came away with a steal with under 40 seconds to play, finishing strong on the other end for the lay-in and the foul, giving UTA a 29-26 lead at the break.

The Lady Mavs turned the game on its head in the third quarter as an 8-0 run behind four points from Jacobs gave the Lady Mavs a double-digit lead for the first time in the game at 39-28. 

The Owls tried to hang around as the game hung in that range, but a three from Jones, a jumper from Halverson, and a three from Benjamin got the lead out to 55-39.

UTA followed by scoring the first six points of the fourth quarter, including a basket plus the bucket from Benjamin and a three from Hawkins to open up a 22 point lead.

The Lady Mavs used the final quarter as an opportunity for playing time for younger players. Rice made a run in the latter half of the period, but the result was never in doubt as UTA squandered any threat for the 73-65 win.

BOX SCORE NUGGETS

• The Lady Mavs were excellent in the third quarter, scoring 26 points on 11 of 16 (69%) shooting and two 3-pointers.
• Two nights after finishing with no 3-pointers, UTA knocked down five on Saturday afternoon from three different players.
• UTA held a commanding 40-30 edge inside the paint.
• The Lady Mavs have scored 40 or more points in the paint in four straight games and in five total games this season. 
• UTA's 44 second-half points are a season-high.
• UTA was 17/25 (68%) at the basket while holding Rice to 8/22 at the rim (36%).

NOTABLES

• Katie Ferrell had seven assists on the night and tied Terra Wallace for second all-time in career assists with 409.
• It was Jacobs fourth 20 points performance of the season.
• Benjamin has now scored in double-digits in five straight games.
• UTA has won five straight over the Owls.
• The Lady Mavs have won four straight inside the CPC and move their record to 4-1 at home.
• UTA is 62-15 since 2016-17 inside the CPC.
• UTA has held their opponents under 36% shooting from the field and under 30% from behind the in arc in back-to-back games.

QUOTABLES
"Gutsy win for us. It wasn't pretty, but our biggest thing was fighting through when we are tired. I wanted to get our reserves some time. Playing experience matters. We tried to get our young kids time. Overall, I am proud of where our kids are going into finals." - Shereka Wright

"It's a great honor. I am not a big accolade person. Yes I pass the ball, but my teammates got to knock the shot down so I give props to all my teammates for that. It's cool to have, but I'm here to win." - Katie Ferrell on moving into second all-time in assists

"We did well coming off a hard win Thursday night. We're all kind of tired and it was big for our bench to come in and handle things. We could've finished better, but it was a good win that we needed." - Starr Jacobs

NEXT UP
UTA will take the week off for finals and recovery and return to action on Friday, Dec. 17 as the Lady Mavs will begin a four-game road trip beginning in Stillwater against Oklahoma State. Tip-off is set for 6:30 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).