WACO, Texas --- The UT Arlington women's basketball team (5-4) will look to continue their winning ways with another tough non-conference matchup on the road Wednesday at No. 19/22 Baylor inside the Ferrell Center at 7 p.m.
The Lady Mavs are coming off an undefeated week in spite of having to juggle lineups. Playing all week without second-leading scorer
Jireh Washington, as well as freshman point guard
Nya Threatt, UTA defeated North Texas, Houston and Lamar. In the win over Lamar, the team was also without their third-leading scorer,
Kayla White, who averaged 18 points, 4.5 rebounds, three assists and two steals in the week's first two games.
The team overcame that adversity in large part due to the play of veterans
Starr Jacobs and
Shyia Smith, as well as the continued improvement of two freshmen,
Alexsyah Goudeau and
Taleyah Jones.
Jacobs averaged 16.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.9 steals and 2.9 assists over the week, including a game-high 22 points against Lamar. Meanwhile, Smith tallied her first double-double in a Lady Mav uniform against Houston and averaged 10 points, 10 rebounds and three assists for the week. Goudeau (8 PPG, 4 RPG) and Jones (7 PPG, 1.3 RPG) also combined to give the team 15 PPG for the three-game stretch.
A LOOK AT BAYLOR
Nationally-ranked Baylor is 6-2 to start the season under second-year head coach Nicki Collen, who is the former coach of the WNBA's Atlanta Dream. Their only two losses came at the hands of No. 19 Maryland (73-68) and No. 22 Michigan (84-75). On the flip side, they defeated No. 23 Villanova 75-70. The Bears have five players averaging double-figures in scoring, including: Aijha Blackwell (14.0 PPG), Sarah Andrews (13.7 PPG), Jaden Owens (12.1 PPG), Caitlin Bickle (11.6 PPG) and Bella Fontleroy (10.9 PPG). On top of that, Ja'Mee Asberry is averaging 9.6 PPG out of the starting lineup.
SERIES HISTORY
Wednesday's matchup will represent the 23rd all-time meeting between UT Arlington and Baylor. The Bears hold a 19-3 record overall against the Lady Mavs, including a 14-0 record at home. Last year, Baylor produced an 81-54 victory in Arlington in the most recent meeting of a series that began on Feb. 6, 1976 in Waco.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The UT Arlington women's basketball team is in the middle of a very strong non-conference schedule. In November, the Lady Mavs went on the road and nearly upset both Kansas and current No. 23 Oklahoma before falling late. While Kansas is also currently receiving votes in the AP poll, both teams made the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year, combined to go 46-19 and are off to a 14-1 start this year. UT Arlington also lost to Toledo on Nov. 26 in Daytona Beach. The Rockets advanced to the WNIT quarterfinals while finishing 29-6 last year, and they're off to a 6-2 start this year.
In the game against Kansas, UTA trailed by just one twice late in the fourth quarter, the second time which came on a layup from
Starr Jacobs with 3:36 left before falling 79-74. Then, in the Maggie Dixon Classic against the nationally-ranked Sooners, the Lady Mavs took a 74-73 lead with four minutes left in the game on a jumper from
Jireh Washington, but Oklahoma went on a 5-0 run and closed the game on a 16-6 spurt.
Following Wednesday's road matchup at No. 19/22 Baylor, UT Arlington will host No. 12/13 Arizona inside the College Park Center on Dec. 21 to conclude the non-conference slate.
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)
2022-present: 5-4 (.556)
Overall: 726-708 (.506)
SPEED KILLS
Kayla White, a lightning-fast fifth-year transfer guard from SMU, continued her great start to the season on Thursday with a team-best 16 points against Houston, including several key plays down the stretch. In Tuesday's win over North Texas, she poured in a season-best 20 points, and she has now recorded four straight and six games overall this year with double-digit points. She's averaging just under 17 points per game over the past four outings despite missing Sunday's game due to illness.
STARR'S ON FIRE
Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year preseason watch list member
Starr Jacobs is off to an excellent start to the season, averaging 18.1 points over the past seven games since going scoreless against Texas A&M-Commerce on Nov. 12. The fifth-year senior forward has been on fire, bumping her team-best scoring average to 15.9 per contest, which was highlighted by a season-best 29-point effort against Toledo. She has dished out three assists four times over the past six games, and she's averaging nearly three steals per game this season. Against Cincinnati, she tallied her first double-double of the season. In Tuesday's win over North Texas, she finished one rebound shy of another double-double. On Sunday, she had a game-high 22 points as the Lady Mavs were without their second (Washington) and third (White) leading scorers.
JIREH'S BIG START
Jireh Washington, a fifth-year transfer from Arkansas State who is currently game-to-game due an injury after a big start to the season, remains second on the team in scoring and leads the Lady Mavs in assists and steals through six games played as the versatile point guard is averaging 14.3 points, 6.2 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 steals over nearly 29 minutes per contest. She has reached double-digits in scoring in all but one game played, including a season-best 22 against Texas A&M – Commerce on Nov. 12. In the season opener against Texas Southern, she registered 11 assists, which was just the 12th time a player has notched that many in a game in program history.
GIPSON COMES UP BIG
Kamaria Gipson, a transfer from San Diego State, earned her first start as a Lady Mav on Nov. 12 in the 75-72 win over Texas A&M – Commerce. In 29 minutes, she shot 6-for-10 from the field and notched her first double-double with 13 points, 12 rebounds and a game-high four blocks. In Tuesday's win over North Texas, she played just nine minutes due to foul trouble, but recorded seven points and seven rebounds while making all three of her field goal attempts. Overall, Gipson has continued to make a solid impact, averaging 5.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest this year, the latter of which is third-best on the team.
ROOKIES MAKING AN IMPACT
Several true freshmen are making an early impact for UT Arlington.
Taleyah Jones, who is coming off a season-high 11 points in the win over Lamar, is seventh on the team in scoring at 4.7 per contest.
Alexsyah Goudeau has started the past three games, recording a season-best eight points in each of them, including a season-best two 3-pointers in each of the past two. She is averaging 4.0 points and 2.7 rebounds over 15.2 minutes per game overall. Prior to missing the past several games due to injury,
Nya Threatt was seventh on the team in scoring with 4.2 points and 2.1 assists (second on the team) through five games played. Another rookie,
Bella Ringenberg, scored her first collegiate points with a second-half layup against North Texas on Tuesday.
SMITH'S ALL-AROUND PLAY
Fifth-year senior
Shyia Smith tallied her first double-double in a Lady Mav uniform last week against Houston, registering 13 points and 12 rebounds. Including her time at Wichita State, it was the second one of her career, and it was her third overall double-digit rebounding effort. In her third year at UT Arlington, Smith also scored the game-winning layup with 16 seconds left in the team's 75-72 win over Texas A&M – Commerce on Nov. 12. After tallying another eight points and nine boards in Saturday's win over Lamar, she is fourth on the team in scoring at 8.8 per game while leading the team on the glass at 6.7 per contest this year.
OPENING WITH HISTORIC OFFENSE
The 102 points that UT Arlington scored in the season-opening win over Texas Southern represented the most the program has ever produced in a season opener and fell just one shy of the overall single-game record. It was the eighth time the Lady Mavs have reached the century mark in 50-plus seasons of basketball. In fact, it was the most points they've scored in a game in nearly 25 years dating back to a 102-point outing against UTRGV on Jan. 26, 1998.
The Lady Mavs are now 25-26 all-time in season openers, as well as 37-14 in home openers. It was the seventh-consecutive season they opened the season at home, and they are 8-1 over the past nine openers.
CATEGORY LEADERS
PPG
Starr Jacobs – 15.9
Jireh Washington – 14.3
Kayla White – 14.1
Shyia Smith – 8.8
De'Sha Benjamin – 6.2
RPG
Shyia Smith – 6.7
Starr Jacobs – 5.4
Kamaria Gipson – 4.4
Jireh Washington – 4.3
De'Sha Benjamin – 4.0
APG
Jireh Washington – 6.2
Starr Jacobs – 2.2
Kayla White – 1.5
Nya Threatt – 1.4
Shyia Smith – 1.3
SPG
Jireh Washington – 3.2
Starr Jacobs – 2.8
Kayla White – 1.8
Taleyah Jones – 1.1
Alexsyah Goudeau – 0.9
BPG
Kamaria Gipson – 0.9
Shyia Smith – 0.8
Bella Ringenberg – 0.7
De'Sha Benjamin – 0.3
Alexsyah Goudeau – 0.3
AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS
The Lady Mavs rank among the top 90 teams nationally in six categories: free throw attempts per game (19th, 23.78), free throws made per game (40th, 15.33), steals per game (44th, 11.0), turnovers forced per game (54th, 20.11), field goal percentage (74th, .439) and scoring offense (87th, 73.6).
EXPERIENCED LINEUP
UT Arlington has primarily used a starting lineup this year that has consisted of
Starr Jacobs,
Jireh Washington,
Shyia Smith,
De'Sha Benjamin and
Kayla White, which is a group of players who have now comprised 442 games of NCAA Division I experience. If you include the 42 games that Jacobs played at Temple College, an NJCAA Division I school, the group has 484 games of collegiate experience.
MID-MAJOR RANKINGS
The UT Arlington women's basketball team is receiving votes in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll of the season that was released Nov. 29, one week after checking in at 23rd, which was a one-spot jump from their position in the initial poll on Nov. 1. Stephen F. Austin, the defending WAC champions, is ranked 10th in the latest poll, followed by Grand Canyon at 17th.
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 91-55 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 67-17 record.
| 2022-23 |
3-0 |
| 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 |
91-55 |
RESTOCKING THE PANTRY
While UT Arlington returns seven players from last year's roster (six that saw action), the Lady Mavs are replacing six players, highlighted by three key outgoing 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
A STARR RETURNS
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. 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.
TALENTED DUO
The Lady Mavs signed two talented high school seniors to national letters of intent in early November, Miraya Perkins and Aubrey Reid. Perkins, who attends Boswell High School in Dallas, Texas, is ranked as the No. 36 overall recruit in the state of Texas, where she averaged 15 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.1 steals and two assists as a junior. One of five children, her father Sam Perkins played basketball at North Carolina from 1980-84 and in the NBA from 1984-2001 with four teams, finishing his professional career with more than 15,000 points and nearly 8,000 rebounds. Reid, a 5-11 point guard from Stephen F. Austin High School in Austin, Texas, is the No. 30 overall recruit in the state of Texas. She averaged 13 points, five rebounds and four assists as a junior.
WAC PRESEASON AWARDS
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 Coaches Poll |
| 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 Media Poll |
| 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, UTA went 4-14 in league play, tying 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.
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