LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The UT Arlington women's basketball team used a huge first half to build a lead as high as 20 as they closed their massive road trip with an impressive 64-53 win over Little Rock on Saturday afternoon inside the Jack Stephens Center.
The win moves UTA to 13-5 overall and 7-2 in the Sun Belt to set up a huge match-up with first place App State next weekend inside the College Park Center.
Junior
Starr Jacobs capped a stellar weekend with 24 points on 7 of 13 shooting and an impressive 10 of 12 at the free throw line while adding five boards and a steal. Senior
Claire Chastain scored nine with three boards and three assists, while senior
De'Sha Benjamin and freshman
Reniya Jones each scored seven.
Senior
Shyia Smith added six points and three boards, while senior
Terryn Milton added four points and four rebounds. Senior
Katie Ferrell added three points, five boards, and two assists.
Raziya Potter led Little Rock with 23 points, while Sali Kourouma scored 15 with nine boards.
UTA used six quick points from Jacobs to open a 10-4 lead in the first five minutes of the contest. The Lady Mavs defense was swarming in the early going, holding the Trojans in check and forcing them into four turnovers in that time span.
The Lady Mavs caught fire in the first five of the first period as Jones and Ferrell knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead to 16-6 followed by buckets from Jacobs and senior
Camryn Hawkins to give UTA a commanding 20-6 lead after one.
UTA maintained that lead in the second period, though the scoring slowed down. Benjamin scored five in the second to help push the lead as high as 16 midway through the second. UTA maintained that lead, but Little Rock knocked down a three before the break to cut it to 34-21 at halftime.
The Lady Mavs kept their foot on the gas pedal to start the third quarter, scoring the first seven points to push the lead to 20 including back-to-back drive-by layups from Chastain, one resulting in a foul plus the basket.
However, Little Rock responded in a big way, going on a massive 20-2 run throughout the quarter to cut the deficit all the way down to two at 43-41. Jacobs responded in a big way of her own as she got a massive layup to fall, plus the foul, to move the lead back to five entering the final period.
Little Rock remained on the attack, pushing it back down to two in the first three minutes, but five straight points pushed it back to seven thanks to huge makes from senior
Emma Halverson and Jones.
That mini-run kept the Trojans away for good. Little Rock tried to piece together one final run when dow five, but Jacobs put the game on ice with another driving lay-up, plus the foul, to get the lead back to eight. UTA did the rest at the free throw line to leave the capital city with a 64-53 win.
BOX SCORE NUGGETS
- UTA was 8 of 13 (.615) from the field in the first half and 2 of 2 from deep.
- The Lady Mavs got to the free throw line a season-high 28 times and knocked down a season-high 22 (.786).
- For the second straight game, UTA outrebounded its opponent, 30-28. It is the first time this season they have won the rebounding battle in back-to-back games.
- The Lady Mavs led from wire-to-wire. It is the third time they have done so this season.
- UTA forced 15 turnovers and only turned it over 12 times on the offensive end against one of the best defenses in the nation.
- Jacobs went 10 of 12 from the line, matching a season-high in 2021-22 among the team. Terryn Milton also went 10 of 12 in the win over Houston on Nov. 17.
- The starting lineup of Milton, Chastain, Ferrell, Smith, and Jacobs is now 4-0 on the season.
NOTABLES
- UTA wraps a roadtrip that saw five of its last six on the road in conference and eight of its last 10 on the road overall.
- During the roadtrip, UTA went 6-2 overall, including a staggering 6-1 mark in SBC play on the road. They are 8-2 overall away from the CPC this season.
- UTA has won three of the last four over Little Rock.
- Starr Jacobs has scored 24 or more points in three straight games. Jacobs now has 10 games with 20 or more points, including six in conference alone.
- Katie Ferrell knocked down another 3-pointer on Saturday afternoon to go 10 of 15 (.667) in her last six games.
- Chastain and Benjamin stepped up in a big role tonight as they led the way with three assists each.
- UTA has won four straight games for the second time this season. The Lady Mavs went on a four-game winning streak in November with wins over Sam Houston, Houston, North Texas, and UNLV.
QUOTABLES
"I thought our kids came out, knowing what the assignment was tonight. I thought we did a good job guarding their motion offense and I thought we really did a good job executing in our halfcourt and off their turnovers." -
Shereka Wright
"It was hard. I know teams are gunning from me every game and I have to figure out how to help my team. It was a challenge, but I was able to find a way to get some offense going in the second half." -
Starr Jacobs
NEXT UP
UTA will return home and play five of their final six inside the CPC. It all begins next Saturday as UTA will host App State in doubleheader with the men, beginning at 2 p.m. Tickets are still available at
UTATickets.com.
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).
