PENSACOLA, Fla. - The #2W UT Arlington women's basketball team, riding a 3-game winning streak and winners of 7 of their last 9 games, will open Sun Belt Conference Tournament play against #3E App State in the Quarterfinal round on Saturday morning (March 6). Tip-off for the SBC Tourney matchup at Hartsell Arena on the campus of Pensacola State College is set for 11:30 a.m.

Quarterfinal Matchup: #2W UTA (13-6, 11-4 SBC) vs. #3E App State (14-11, 10-8 SBC)
When: Saturday, March 6 | 11:30 a.m.
Where: Hartsell Arena | Pensacola, Fla.
Live Stats | Live Video (ESPN+) | Tickets | Tournament Central

UTA PROBABLE STARTERS
#21 Terryn Milton | G
#23 Camryn Hawkins | G
#31 Bre Wickware | F
#34 Shyia Smith | F
#41 Katie Ferrell | G

MARCH MADNESS BEGINS
The 2021 Sun Belt Women's Basketball Championship in Pensacola, Fla. is on deck for the Lady Mavs.

The 2021 Sun Belt Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are scheduled for March 5-8 with first-round and second-round games played simultaneously at the Pensacola Bay Center and Hartsell Arena on the campus of Pensacola State College. Semifinal and championship games will be played at the Bay Center and both championship games are slated for live coverage with the women's final on ESPNU and the men's final on ESPN or ESPN2.

The UT Arlington women's basketball team received the West Division's #2 Seed in the 2021 Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Thanks to securing the SBC West's #2 Seed, the Lady Mavs will receive a first round bye and will open postseason action in the quarterfinal round on Saturday, March 6 (11:30 a.m.) against No. 3 (East) App State at Pensacola State College's Hartsell Arena.

With a win, the Lady Mavericks would move on to face the winner of #1E Troy vs. #4W Texas State in the semifinal round on Sunday, Mar. 7, at 11 a.m. at the Pensacola Bay Center. The 2021 SBC Championship game is slated for Monday, March 8 at 1:00 p.m.

Games at Pensacola Bay Center are open to the general public, and tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster (note: games are sold by the session; a pass to the session allows access to UTA's game and also the other game in that session). UTA's quarterfinal game at Hartsell Arena is closed to the general public due to space constraints associated with COVID-19; however, each Sun Belt institution has been provided a ticket allotment for that venue.

SHORTHANDED
UTA will be without three players (Claire Chastain, Misty Dossey and Jordynn Hernandez for the remainder of the season.

Chastain and Dossey opted out of the remainder of the season due to COVID-19 concerns and Hernandez suffered an injury that will keep her off the floor the remainder of the year.

UTA IN THE SBC TOURNEY
The Lady Mavs are making their 7th appearance in the SBC Tournament.

UTA has an all-time record of 2-6 in the Sun Belt Tourney and have made it to the semifinals on two occasions, falling to Troy (2017) and South Alabama (2019), respectively, in their quest for a trip to the championship game.

UIL's TOP 100
In celebration of 100 years of University Interscholastic League (UIL) Texas high school basketball, the UIL honored the best, the brightest and the most unforgettable icons and legends in the sport's illustrious history. With the help of some of the state's foremost experts and historians, the UIL honored 100 of the greatest players to ever suit up in Texas, 100 of the finest teams to grace the hardwood, and 100 of the top coaches to walk the sidelines in UIL History.

Lady Mavs first year head coach Shereka Wright was named to that list, thanks to her impressive prep career in Texas. Wright – a Texas High School Hall of Fame member – is a native of Copperas Cove. She was the 2000 Miss Texas Basketball and 2000 National Player of the Year her senior season at Copperas Cove High School after averaging 25 points and 10 rebounds per game. As a high school player, Wright set Copperas Cove records with 3,269 points, 1,148 rebounds and 220 blocks. At the time of her graduation, she was just the 36th player in the country and only the 4th Texan to record 3,000 points in a high school career.

MILESTONES AND RECORDS
Katie Ferrell is currently t-3rd on UTA's all-time assists list with 366 career assists, while Terryn Milton is sitting in 9th place with 284 career assists. Ferrell is also 6 boards shy of tying Tanya Strong (539; 1995-98) for 21st place on UTA's all-time rebounding list.

NATIONAL RANKINGS
UTA ranks in the top 100 nationally in the following categories (thru games played on March 2):

- Assist to Turnover Ratio (92nd; 0.98)
- Total Assists (89th; 290)- Assists Per Game (55th; 15.3)
- FG Percentage Defense (16th; 35.2%)
- Scoring Defense (14th; 54.1)
- Scoring Margin (74th; 7.8)
- Steals Per Game (93rd; 8.6
- 3PT FG Defense (43rd; 27.6%)
- Turnover Margin (92nd; 1.95)
- Turnovers Forced (85th; 17.53)
- Win-Loss Percentage (74th; 68.4)

Individually, Katie Ferrell ranks 47th nationally in assists to turnover ratio (2.24), 56th in total assists (94), 44th in assists per game (4.9). 96th in steals per game (2.16) and 100th in total steals (41).

DURING SBC PLAY
In league play, the Lady Mavs are holding opponents to just 51.0 points per game, which is leads the conference. UTA also ranks in the top-3 in the SBC in the following categories:

- Scoring Margin (2nd; +9.7)
- FG% Defense (1st; 34.9%)
- 3PT FG% Defense (1st; 25.2%)
- Assists (2nd; 14.8)
- Steals (2nd; 9.3)
- Turnover Margin (2nd; +4.20)
- Assist/Turnover Ratio (1st; 1.0)

LET IT FLY
Camryn Hawkins and Katie Ferrell rank among the best 3-point shooters in the Sun Belt. Hawkins is hitting 3-pointers at a 37.2% clip this season, which ranks 6th in the SBC. The junior is also making 1.7 triples per contest to rank 6th in the conference. Ferrell is 3rd in the conference, shooting 39.6% from deep.
 
In league play, Hawkins has increased her efficiency from behind the arc. The Albuquerque, N.M. native is shooting 39% and knocking down 1.8 treys per outing. Classmate Katie Ferrell is making 39.5% of her attempts from behind the arc during SBC Play.

DEFENSE WINS GAMES
So far this season, UTA has allowed 1,027 total points, holding the opposition to just 54.1 points per game, which ranks 14th nationally.

The Lady Mavs have held opponents below 65 points 15 times this season. UTA has also limited 10 opponents to 35 percent shooting or less from the floor, while forcing 15 of their 19 opponents into 14+ turnovers.

SBC PLAY
The Lady Mavs went 11-4 in league play and held the opposition to just 51.0 points per game. UTA also limited opponents to 34.9 percent shooting from the floor and 25.2 percent from behind the arc.

In 15 SBC games, UTA has held 11 opponents to 57 points or less.

WHEN PREPARATION MEETS OPPORTUNITY
After averaging no more than six points per game in their collegiate career, Shyia Smith and Bre Wickware have been asked to take on bigger offensive roles for the Lady Mavs this season and they have answered the call.

A transfer from Wichita State, Smith's best season came last year when she averaged 6.1 points and 5.1 rebounds on 41.4 percent shooting. The Idabel, Okla. native in her first season in the Blue and Orange is leading the team in scoring (11.7 ppg) and rebounding (6.2 rpg). Smith is also shooting .509 from the floor.

Wickware, who turned in the best season of her collegiate career in 2019-20 after averaging 3.1 points and 2.2 rebounds, is UTA's second leading scorer (11.6) and second on the team in rebounding (5.3).