CONWAY, S.C. – It was a total team effort on Saturday afternoon as the UT Arlington women's basketball team used a dominant second half to pull away and knock off Coastal Carolina on the road, 70-61, inside the HTC Center.
The win moves UTA to 16-6 overall and 10-3 in the Sun Belt with their final two contests coming up next weekend.
Junior Starr Jacobs scored 16 points with eight rebounds, while seniors Shyia Smith and Terryn Milton each added 14 points. Smith pulled down six boards, while Milton added four assists on the afternoon.
Senior Claire Chastain scored nine points with eight rebounds and three steals, while senior De'Sha Benjamin added seven points and a pair of steals. Senior Emma Halverson scored five off the bench, while senior Katie Ferrell added three points, six rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. Senior Camryn Hawkins had two points.
Aja Blount led the Chanticleers with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Jordyn Newsome had 16 points off the bench. Arin Freeman added 14 points and three assists.
The game was physical from the tip as UTA knew they had to bring it against a hard-nosed, tough rebounding Coastal team. After the Chants took the early 2-0 lead, Smith scored the next four points followed by two from Chastain to open up a 6-2 lead.
The Chants responded with the next five points to retake the lead before back-to-back buckets from Jacobs and Milton put UTA back ahead 10-7. Coastal cut it back down to one before a Halverson triple from deep pushed the Lady Mav lead to four at 13-9.
The physicality continues throughout the opening period as Coastal scored five of the next seven points to cut it to one at 15-14 at the end of the period.
Chastain opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer, while Smith continued to pad her numbers in an impressive first half showing as UTA led 22-17. However, Coastal had the first big run of the game, using a 9-2 run throughout most of the second to take a 26-24 lead and getting both Jacobs and Milton in foul trouble in the process.
The Lady Mavs responded as Benjamin knocked down a 3-pointer, while Milton returned for mid-range jumper to go back ahead 29-28. UTA closed the half with buckets from Halverson and Milton to take a 33-30 lead into the break.
UTA came out fast in the second half, getting points from Milton, Smith, and a returning Jacobs to open up their biggest lead of the game at 40-34. The Lady Mavs were aggressive in the third quarter, going right at the Chants and getting to the line 16 times in the third alone. They also used their full court press to pressure the Chants and turned it into a 20 point quarter.
The Lady Mavs got their lead to 10 with 4:20 to play, but Coastal cut the lead in half with five straight points. However, UTA finished the quarter with a momentum-shifting four points as Benjamin stepped in front of a pass and took it home for the easy lay-up and Ferrell fought for a tough offensive rebound two possessions later, finishing before the buzzer to get the lead to nine.
UTA pushed their lead to as many as 13 in the fourth quarter. Coastal got it as close as six points in the final frame but ultimately did not have enough firepower to keep pace. The Lady Mavs got to the free throw line 12 more times in the fourth and closed the game out for the 70-61 victory.
BOX SCORE NUGGETS
- After only getting to the free throw line four times in the first half, UTA got to the line 24 times in the second half, going 15 of 24.
- Though it was still not the average they were hoping for in the second half, the Lady Mavs were an impressive 10 of 12 in the third quarter alone to help build a lead.
- The Lady Mavs had 23 points off 17 Coastal turnovers.
- UTA also held a 25-12 advantage in fastbreak points on the afternoon.
- The Chants held a 27-21 in rebounds in the first half, but the Lady Mavs won the battle in the second half, outrebounding Coastal 23-22.
- Starr Jacobs scored 14 of her 16 total points in the second half as she finished 5 of 9 from the field on the afternoon.
- Halverson knocked down her first 3-pointer of the season.
NOTABLES
- UTA has won 10 or more Sun Belt Conference games for the eighth straight season.
- UTA's 9-2 record in true road contests is the best mark in school history based on win percentage (.818)
- Head Coach Shereka Wright becomes the second coach in school history to start her career with back-to-back 10 win seasons in conference play (Samantha Morrow).
- UTA won its 100th Sun Belt game, the third most since joining the league in 2013-14.
- The Lady Mavs are 6-0 this season in games following a loss. UTA is 10-2 overall in Coach Wright's two-year tenure.
- UTA snaps a 2-game losing streak to Coastal.
- Shyia Smith has begun to return to full form as she now averages 10.5 points per game in her last four contests.
- UTA's 44 rebounds in the third-most this season. The Lady Mavs have pulled down 40 or more rebounds in three of the last four games.
- The Lady Mavs 15 offensive boards are the second-most this season. They have pulled down 10 or more offensive boards in four straight games.
- UTA is now 16-2 this season when scored 60 points or more. They are 0-4 when scoring less than 60 points.
QUOTABLES
"I thought Coastal came out with a really good gameplay, but our kids were resilient. We got into some early foul trouble in the first half, but our bench gave us great contributions and gave us help going into halftime. I thought our press was very effective in the second half. I was really please with how tough our kids were in the second half." - Shereka Wright
"Those were of thoughts – we wanted to bounce back. We wanted to redeem ourselves today and we went out and did that." - Terryn Milton
NEXT UP
UTA returns for their final pair of games to close the regular season, both inside the CPC. First up comes Thursday evening against Little Rock in a critical SBC contest. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and 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).
