ARLINGTON – On a night the UT Arlington women's basketball team celebrated a legend, senior
De'Sha Benjamin put in a legendary performance.
UTA outscored Texas State 8-1 in the final 27 seconds and senior
De'Sha Benjamin scored five points in five seconds as the Lady Mavs came from behind to knock off in-state rival Texas State by the score of 69-67 on Thursday evening inside the College Park Center.
Benjamin knocked down a 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds to play and then senior
Terryn Milton forced a turnover on the inbounds pass. Moments later, Benjamin was fouled on the inbounds play and knocked down two free throws with 0.9 seconds to play to ice the game away and give UTA the thrilling win.
After one of her worst performances a week ago against Georgia Southern, Benjamin responded with a career-high 21 points on 9 of 12 shooting to go with two steals and a block. Junior
Starr Jacobs added 19 points, seven rebounds, four steals, and three assists, while senior
Katie Ferrell poured in 12 points, six boards, three assists, and three steals.
Senior
Terryn Milton flirted with a double-double with nine points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Senior
Shyia Smith added four points, while senior
Emma Halverson scored three.
Da'Nasia Hood led Texas State with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Jo'Nah Johnson scored 16. Kennedy Taylor added 13 points and five assists.
It was a slow start for the Lady Mavs in the first quarter as the offense could not find any rhythm in the opening period. UTA shot 3 of 12 from the field but did get to the free throw line five times as Jacobs scored five to keep pace as UTA trailed 15-11 after one.
The Lady Mavs began to find their groove in the second quarter as they scored five straight behind points from Benjamin, Smith, and Jacobs to take their first lead at 16-15. Texas State pulled back ahead at 19-16 before back-to-back buckets off turnovers from Jacobs and Smith gave UTA the lead back.
UTA maintained a lead throughout much of the period, thanks in part to an eight point scoring spurt from Benjamin to push their lead 29-25. However, the Bobcats closed the half on a 7-0 run to move ahead and take a 32-29 lead into the break.
At halftime, UTA honored former great Rebekah VanDijk as they retired her number 44 into the rafters.
Texas State opened the second half with a basket to push their lead to five, but UTA erased it almost immediately on a 3-pointer from Ferrell and a layup from Jacobs. That run became a 7-0 run for UTA as Ferrell knocked down her second bucket of the half to give UTA a 36-34 lead.
The Bobcats battled back and retook the lead later in the period and slowly built a lead out to seven throughout the period. UTA closed the quarter with back-to-back layups from Jacobs and Benjamin to cut it to 52-49 going into the final frame.
Texas State remained in control and built their lead out as high as nine. As the UTA offense grew stagnant, it used stingy defense to stay within range.
A Taylor layup with 3:12 to play pushed the Texas State lead to seven as it looked as though the Bobcats were cruising to their third straight road victory.
However, UTA hung around and kept within striking distance on points from Ferrell and Milton. Trailing 64-59, Benjamin found an opening and laid it in with under 40 seconds to play. However, the Bobcats responded with a layup with under 30 seconds left in the game.
After a Ferrell miss on a 3-pointer, Milton stole the ball in her own backcourt and pitched it back out to Ferrell, who buried a 3-pointer and cut it to two.
After Texas State went 1 of 2 at the line with seven seconds to play, the Lady Mavs dumped it inside to Jacobs who kicked it out to Benjamin for game-tying 3-pointer. Milton forced another turnover in the chaos, setting up the foul on Benjamin and the game-winning free throws.
Texas State attempted one final heave down the floor, but Milton intercepted the pass to give the Lady Mavs the victory.
With the win, UTA improves to 10-5 overall and 4-2 in the Sun Belt. With losses from Troy, Louisiana, and Arkansas State, the Lady Mavs move back to the top of the conference standings along with Troy.
BOX SCORE NUGGETS
- After scoring no points in the first half, Ferrell scored all 12 of her points in the second half, including seven in the third quarter.
- Milton's three steals all came in the final 40 seconds of the contest.
- UTA finished with 17 assists as a team on the evening.
- The Lady Mavs were a red-hot 16 of 32 (50%) in the second half including three 3-pointers.
- UTA had a season high 17 steals on the evening as they forced Texas State into 26 turnovers.
- The Lady Mavs had a commanding 22-5 advantage in fast break points and a 24-8 advantage in bench points.
- The lead changed 11 times and saw nine ties.
NOTABLES
- Benjamin's 21 points set a new career-high and is her third 20 point game of the season. Her nine field goals made was also a season-high.
- Benjamin came off the bench in this contest, as Shyia Smith got her third start of the season.
- Milton moved into fifth all-time in career assists at the 4:05 mark in the third quarter, passing Tamara Simmons for 342.
- It was the third starting lineup used this season for the Lady Mavs as they started Milton, Claire Chastain, Ferrell, Smith, and Jacobs.
- The Lady Mavs have won four of the last five over Texas State and six in a row in the College Park Center.
- It is UTA's third victory when trailing by nine or more points in the second half this season.
- UTA improves to 5-2 inside the CPC this season.
QUOTABLES
"First off, give credit to Texas State. I thought they come out and punched us. One thing about this team is they didn't quit. We could've folded, but we didn't. Kat hit a big shot and I thought De'Sha responded to my challenge this week. It wasn't pretty, but it was exciting for the fans. We'll take this and learn from it." -
Shereka Wright
"When it comes to shooting, I take what the defense gets me. I know I didn't half a great (first) half in doing what I do. I just know whatever my team needs, I'm willing to give. And today, that was hitting some shots." -
Katie Ferrell
"Coach Wright challenged me. I had to either fold or step up and actually do what she brought me here to do. Credit to my teammates for still giving me the confidence to shoot." - De'sha Benjamin
NEXT UP
It was a short trip home as UTA will now head down to San Marcos for a rematch against Texas State on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. It will begin a three-game road stretch.
Gallery: (1-20-2022) Women's Basketball vs. Texas State
