ARLINGTON, Texas – The UT Arlington women's basketball team will begin the 51st season in program history on Monday when the Lady Mavs host Texas Southern inside the College Park Center (CPC) at 7 p.m.
The matchup will represent the 18th all-time meeting between the two programs in a series that began in 1976. Texas Southern is on a four-game winning streak in the series and won the most recent game, 74-63, on Dec. 30, 2019 inside the CPC. Overall, the Tigers are 10-7 against the Lady Mavs, including a 5-4 record in Arlington.
Monday's tilt will also represent the seventh-consecutive season in which UT Arlington has opened the season inside the College Park Center. During that stretch, they are 5-1 with the only loss coming in last year's opener against No. 7 Baylor. Digging a little deeper, the program has won seven of the past eight home openers.
In 50 seasons of Lady Mavs basketball, the program is 24-26 all-time in season openers, as well as 36-14 in home openers. One of those victories, a 99-63 triumph over Jackson State in on Nov. 10, 2018, represented the most points they've scored in a season opener, which was quite a bit more than they produced in a 36-20 win in the program's first-ever game on Feb. 12, 1973.
UT ARLINGTON BY THE NUMBERS
Milestone Wins
100th win - 65-50 vs Texas Woman's on Nov. 13, 1979
200th win - 64-51 vs Texas Wesleyan on Feb. 2, 1987 (in Fort Worth, Texas)
300th win - 73-55 vs Nicholls State on Feb. 15, 1996
400th win - 67-63 at Louisiana Monroe on Feb. 1, 2003
500th win - 54-41 vs Texas A&M - Corpus Christi on Jan. 26, 2008
600th win - 65-58 vs Appalachian State on Feb. 13, 2016
700th win - 60-40 at Arkansas State on Feb. 26, 2021
By The Decade
1972-82: 147-135 (.521)
1982-92: 109-165 (.398)
1992-02: 135-141 (.489)
2002-12: 169-132 (.562)
2012-22: 161-131 (.551)
Overall: 721-704 (.506)
RESTOCKING THE PANTRY
While UT Arlington returns seven players from last year's roster (six that saw action), the Lady Mavs will have to replace six players, highlighted by three key transfers - Terryn Milton (Oklahoma State), Claire Chastain (Oklahoma State) and Katie Ferrell (Texas Tech).
Milton, Chastain and Ferrell comprised UTA's second, fourth and sixth leading scorers while Ferrell, Milton and Chastain were the second, third and fourth top rebounders, respectively. If that isn't enough, Milton, Ferrell and Chastain - in that order - were the top three assist producers on the team.
In total, UT Arlington will have to replace over 40 percent of its contributions in five key categories:
Scoring - 44.5 percent
Rebounding - 60.5 percent
Assists - 75.2 percent
Steals - 52.5 percent
Blocks - 66.7 percent
STARR LEADS THE WAY
Among the six players the Lady Mavs return who saw action last year,
Starr Jacobs leads the pack. The fifth-year senior not only broke the program's single-season scoring record, but she became the only player in the nation to average at least 21 points, two steals and 1.5 assists per game while shooting at least 50 percent from the field. On top of that, she joined Aneesah Morrow (DePaul) as the only two players nationally to average at least 21 points and two steals per game while shooting at least 50 percent from the field. Furthermore, Jacobs and Naz Hillmon (Michigan) were the only two players to average 21 points and 1.5 assists per game while shooting at least 50 percent. She is the top returning mid-major scorer in the nation.
With that resume, Jacobs became the first player in program history to be named to the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award's preseason watch list recently. She was selected as the WAC's Preseason Player of the Year by the media and ESPN.com's Charlie Crème while being tabbed Preseason First Team All-WAC by the coaches.
DON'T FORGET ABOUT US
Two other key returners who started a combined 30 games last year are
De'Sha Benjamin and
Shyia Smith. Benjamin (9.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG) was the team's third-leading scorer and is the team's top returning 3-point shooter at .356 (32-for-90) while Smith (6.9 PPG, 4.2 RPG) shot .486 from the field last year, which was second on the team behind Jacobs (.542). Another returner,
Reniya Jones, made 9-for-25 from long distance, or .360 last year.
WE'RE HERE
With the loss of Milton, Ferrell and Chastain, UT Arlington head coach
Shereka Wright used the transfer portal to sign three key players -
Jireh Washington, a 5-9 fifth-year guard from Arkansas State,
Kayla White, a 5-10 fifth-year guard from Southern Methodist, and
Kamaria Gipson, a 6-3 junior center from San Diego State.
Washington, who earned preseason First Team All-WAC recognition from the media and Second Team All-WAC honors from the coaches, averaged a career and team-best 14.3 points as a senior in 2021-22 while shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 37.7 percent from long distance. Averaging double-digit points all four seasons, she had a pair of huge performances against the Lady Mavs last season, pouring in 28 points along with five rebounds and four assists on Jan. 27 before adding 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists on Feb. 26.
The 2019-20 Third Team All-Sun Belt selection averaged 12.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.3 APG and 1.7 SPG game in her career, which included totals of 1,171 points, 387 rebounds, 312 assists and 161 steals. After finishing her Red Wolf career with 81 points over the final three games, Washington will look to have a major role for UTA this year.
Similar to Washington, White joins the Lady Mavs as a fifth-year transfer this season after four standout years at SMU, where she averaged 13.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game last year en route to Third Team All-American Athletic Conference (AAC) recognition. On Jan. 13, she poured in a career-best 34 points against East Carolina, en route to finishing second on the team and ninth in the AAC in scoring. She tallied six 20-point performances and reached double-digit scoring 18 times. Overall, her 1,068 career points ranks 22nd all-time at SMU.
Gipson should provide a presence in the post for the Lady Mavs after leading San Diego State in blocks (19) last year while averaging 2.6 points and 2.9 rebounds. She also shot .456 from the field over 28 games (18 starts). At the prep level, she poured in 2,655 career points at A.C. Jones High School in Beeville, Texas, which is the 32nd most in the state's high school history.
EXPERIENCED LINEUP
In the Nov. 2 exhibition win over Texas Woman's University, UT Arlington used a starting lineup that consisted of
Starr Jacobs,
Jireh Washington,
Shyia Smith,
De'Sha Benjamin and
Kayla White, which is a group of players who have comprised 402 games of NCAA Division I experience.
HIGH HONORS
As a team, UT Arlington was tabbed to finish second in the WAC in a preseason vote by the league's coaches and media behind defending champion Stephen F. Austin.
2022-23 WAC Preseason Awards - Media
| Rk. |
Team (1st-Place Votes) |
Pts. |
| 1. |
Stephen F. Austin (9) |
140 |
| 2. |
UT Arlington (2) |
126 |
| 3. |
Grand Canyon (2) |
124 |
| 4. |
California Baptist |
107 |
| 5. |
Abilene Christian |
86 |
| 6. |
Southern Utah |
83 |
| 7. |
Sam Houston |
70 |
| 8. |
Utah Valley |
69 |
| 9. |
UTRGV |
56 |
| 10. |
NM State |
46 |
| 11. |
Tarleton |
44 |
|
Utah Tech |
44 |
| 13. |
Seattle U |
19 |
Preseason Player of the Year
Aiyana Johnson, Grad, F/C, Stephen F. Austin
Preseason First Team All-WAC
Trinity San Antonio, So., G, California Baptist
Aaliyah Collins, So., G, Grand Canyon
Madelyn Batista, Sr., F, Sam Houston
Tomekia Whitman, Sr., G, Southern Utah
Aiyana Johnson, Grad, F/C, Stephen F. Austin
Starr Jacobs, 5th, F, UT Arlington
Breaunna Gillen, Sr., G, Utah Tech
Emily Isaacson, Sr., G/F, Utah Tech
2022-23 Preseason All-WAC Second Team
Bella Earle, So., G, Abilene Christian
Tiarra Brown, Jr., G/F, Grand Canyon
Chyna Allen, Grad, G, Sam Houston
Cherita Daugherty, Grad, G, Southern Utah
Jireh Washington, 5th, G, UT Arlington
Kayla White, 5th, G, UT Arlington
Iyana Dorsey, So., G, UTRGV
Shay Fano, Jr., F, Utah Valley
2022-23 WAC Preseason Awards - Media
| Rk. |
Team |
| 1. |
Stephen F. Austin |
| 2. |
UT Arlington |
| 3. |
Grand Canyon |
| 4. |
California Baptist |
| 5. |
Abilene Christian |
| 6. |
Sam Houston |
| 7. |
Utah Tech |
| 8. |
Southern Utah |
| 9. |
Utah Valley |
| 10. |
Tarleton |
| 11. |
UTRGV |
| 12. |
NM State |
| 13. |
Seattle U |
Preseason Player of the Year
Starr Jacobs, 5th, F, UT Arlington
Preseason All-WAC Team
Madi Miller, Grad, G, Abilene Christian
Trinity San Antonio, So., G, California Baptist
Aaliyah Collins, So., G, Grand Canyon
Aiyana Johnson, Grad, F/C, Stephen F. Austin
Zya Nugent, Sr., G, Stephen F. Austin
Starr Jacobs, 5th, F, UT Arlington
Jireh Washington, 5th, G, UT Arlington
Breaunna Gillen, Sr., G, Utah Tech
BACK TO THE WAC
After spending the previous nine seasons (2013-22) as a Sun Belt Conference member, UT Arlington officially joined the Western Athletic Conference on July 1, 2022. UTA was a member of the WAC for one year previously in 2012-13 following 48 years in the Southland Conference (1963-2012) – of which it was a founding member.
In its lone previous campaign in the WAC in 2012-13, UTA went 4-14 in league play, which tied Texas State for ninth place in the regular season standings.
New Mexico State, UTA and Seattle U are the only three current WAC schools that were also members of the league in 2012-13.
2012-13 WAC Membership (Current Affiliation)
Denver (Summit)
Idaho (Big Sky)
Louisiana Tech (Conference USA)
New Mexico State
San Jose State (Mountain West)
Seattle U
Texas State (Sun Belt)
Utah State (Mountain West)
UT Arlington
UTSA (Conference USA)
2022-23 WAC Membership
Abilene Christian
California Baptist
Grand Canyon
New Mexico State
Sam Houston
Seattle U
Southern Utah
Stephen F. Austin
Tarleton
UT Arlington
UT Rio Grande Valley
Utah Tech
Utah Valley
In an effort to continue enhancing its at-large prospects and protecting top seeds in March, a résumé-seeding system will be used to determine how teams are placed at this year's WAC Tournament (men and women).
An algorithm will rate performance against all D-I teams faced in the regular season, not just conference play. That will rank teams for the conference postseason tournament. Using this résumé-seeding system, teams will receive more credit for scheduling and playing stronger opponents than weaker ones. This should help the WAC have higher NET rankings, a key-criteria used by the NCAA basketball selection committees.
WAC Commissioner Brian Thornton and WAC Associate Commissioner of Basketball Drew Speraw worked with Ken Pomeroy of kenpom.com to put together the formula. To read more about the system – and to see how teams would have been seeded last year as opposed to straight conference record –
click here.
Celebrating its 60th anniversary during the current 2022-23 academic year, the WAC has officially opened its conference headquarters in the city of Arlington, less than five miles from UTA's campus. It was the first such move for the league in a generation after the WAC had been anchored in Denver for all but a brief stretch of its initial 60 years of existence.
HOME SWEET HOME
The UTA women have called the College Park Center home since Feb. 1, 2012 when they defeated UTSA in their first contest in their new home arena, 51-40. Since then, the Lady Mavs have complied a home record of 88-55 including five seasons with 10 or more wins.
Since the 2016-17 season, the Lady Mavs have been remarkable at home as they have put together an impressive 64-17 record.
| 2021-22 |
8-4 |
| 2020-21 |
8-1 |
| 2019-20 |
12-4 |
| 2018-19 |
12-3 |
| 2017-18 |
13-2 |
| 2016-17 |
11-3 |
| 2015-16 |
7-8 |
| 2014-15 |
10-5 |
| 2013-14 |
3-11 |
| 2012-13 |
3-10 |
| 2011-12 |
1-4 |
| Total |
88-55 |
MID-MAJOR RANKING
The UT Arlington women's basketball team is ranked 24th in the first CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll of the season.
The Lady Mavs received 145 votes, slotting just behind South Dakota and their 152 points. South Dakota State, FGCU and Princeton are the top three ranked programs, followed by Gonzaga and Toledo, who will face UTA in Daytona Beach later this month.
Stephen F. Austin, the defending WAC champions, are ranked 15th in the poll.
NEXT UP
UTA will remain home during Homecoming Week when the Lady Mavs welcome D-I newcomer Texas A&M - Commerce to the College Park Center on Saturday, Nov. 12 for a 3:30 p.m. start. That contest will be sandwiched in the middle of a tripleheader at the CPC which begins with volleyball at 11 a.m. versus Southern Utah and concludes with a men's game against Southwestern at 7:30 p.m.
FOLLOW THE LADY MAVS
For the latest news on UTA Women's Basketball, log on to UTAMavs.com or stay connected to the Lady Mavs on social media. Follow the Lady Mavericks on Twitter @UTAMavsWBB, on Instagram @UTAMavsWBB, and on Facebook at Facebook.com/UTAMavsWBB.
