ARLINGTON – Junior
Starr Jacobs scored 22 points while senior
Terryn Milton added 15 points as the UT Arlington women's basketball team used an explosive first half to roll past Georgia State, 82-68, on Saturday afternoon inside the GSU Sports Arena.
The Lady Mavs go to 9-4 overall and 3-1 in the Sun Belt, while the Panthers go to 6-8 overall and 0-2 in the SBC.
Jacobs was 8 of 11 from the field and 6 of 7 at the free throw line to go with three rebounds and a steal, while Milton added four rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Senior
Shyia Smith scored eight points on 4 of 5 from the field, while senior
Katie Ferrell had seven points to go with four assists.
Senior
Claire Chastain, senior
De'Sha Benjamin, and freshman
Reniya Jones all had six points, with Chastain adding five boards and two assists. Senior Camryn Hawkis had four points and two steals, while freshman
Jordyn Turner had four points and freshman
Olympia Chaney added three points.
Hannah Sadler led Georgia State with 14 points and four rebounds off the bench, while Kamryn Dziak and Nyla Jean each had 12 points on the night.
UTA caught fire early and never looked back as they opened up a 13-0 lead in the first three minutes of play. Jacobs scored five during the run, while Benjamin added four. Ferrell and Milton also added points in the early going.
GSU got on the board with a 3-pointer, but UTA continued to press forward. The Lady Mavs got a massive 3-pointer from Hawkins to go with the foul. The Lady led by as much as 19 in the first quarter as they were the aggressor throughout the period, leading 29-11 at the end of the period.
Milton opened up the second quarter with a 3-pointer to get the lead over 20, but the Lady Mavs were still not done as Jacobs and Smith continued to dominate the paint to get the lead to 40-14 at the second quarter media timeout.
The Lady Mavs cooled down finally but maintained their massive lead as they took a 47-26 lead into the break.
Any dreams of a comeback were dashed in the first five minutes of the second half as the combo of Jacobs and Milton as UTA outscored GSU 19-8 to take their biggest lead of the game at 66-34.
The Lady Mavs began to empty their bench as everyone saw action on this night. Georgia State chipped away at the deficit in the fourth quarter but never threatened the end result as UTA left Atlanta with the 14-point win.
BOX SCORE NUGGETS
- It is the seventh 20+ point game from Starr Jacobs this season. She has scored in double digits in every game this season.
- Both Jacobs and Terryn Milton were +28 tonight. Claire Chastain was +27, while De'Sha Benjamin was +25.
- UTA had an impressive 44 points in the paint and 17 points off 14 GSU turnovers.
- In the first quarter, UTA shot 9 of 16 (56%) from the field including a pair of 3-pointers.
- UTA knocked down six 3-pointers as a team, the most since Nov. 20, 2021, when they knocked down eight against North Texas.
- Five different Lady Mavs knocked down a triple led by a pair from Reniya Jones.
- The Lady Mavs got to the free throw line 14 times in the first period, converting nine of them.
- 11 different Lady Mavs got in the scoring column tonight.
NOTABLES
- Terryn Milton made two notable jumps as she went from eighth to sixth all-time in career assists as she now sits at 335.
- Milton moved to seventh with her first assist with 7:52 to play in the first quarter, and then moved to sixth with her third assist at 7:06 to go in the second quarter.
- Jacobs had scored 20 or more points in all three Sun Belt Conference road games.
- The Lady Mavs have won three straight over Georgia State and now lead the series 10-3 overall.
- UTA is now 4-0 in games coming off of a loss and 8-2 in the Shereka Wright era.
- The Lady Mavs led wire-to-wire for only the second time this season. The last time they did was against Sam Houston on Nov. 13.
- The 32 point lead was the largest lead UTA has opened up this season.
- UTA had 10 steals on the night, their fourth straight game with double-digit steals.
QUOTABLES
"I thought our kids were in a different mindset. The word was revamped and I thought we did a good job of that. We focused on us and on the things we needed to do. We got some contributions from a lot of players. I am pleased with how we played tonight." -
Shereka Wright
"It's a great feeling. Everyone knows I love to assist. I am proud of myself, but more important I am proud of my teammates for finished the pass." - Terryn Milton on moving to sixth all-time in career assists
NEXT UP
UTA is back on the road as they head south to battle Georgia Southern in SBC play. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. CT in Statesboro.
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).
