ARLINGTON – Four UT Arlington women's basketball players were in double figures as a second half run was enough to push the Lady Mavs to a win over Little Rock on Friday morning at the College Park Center, securing the No. 2 seed at next week's Sun Belt Tournament.
The Lady Mavs moved to 17-6 overall and 11-3 in SBC play. They can still clinch a share of the SBC Regular Season Title with a win on Saturday and a Troy loss at Coastal Carolina, but will for sure enter the conference tournament as the second seed with a first round bye.
Starr Jacobs and
De'Sha Benjamin each scored 13, while
Terryn Milton and
Shyia Smith poured in 11 points each. Milton added six boards, four assists, and three steals on the morning.
Claire Chastain had nine points and a pair of blocks, while
Katie Ferrell poured in four points, five boards, four assists, and two steals.
Jordyn Turner scored two off the bench.
Sali Kourouma recorded her second straight double-double with 14 points with 11 rebounds, while Raziya Potter had 15 points and four assists. Dariel Johnson had 10 points and two blocks.
It was a slow start for both offenses as defense dominated the morning throughout much of the first half. After early scores from each side,
Claire Chastain got the offense moving a little with a tough lay up plus the basket, giving UTA an 8-6 lead and Chastain five points in the first eight minutes.
Turner and Benjamin each added a bucket as Little Rock kept pace and kept it even at 12 apiece at the end of one.
Little Rock was the aggressor early in the second quarter, pushing their lead to 17-14, but Smith got it going on the offensive end as UTA scored five straight points, four behind Smith, to take a 19-17 lead at the five minute mark. The two sides exchanged baskets to keep it even before six straight points from the Lady Mavs pushed their largest lead of the half to 27-21.
The Trojans cut it back to two, but Milton closed the half with a jumper before the buzzer to give UTA a 29-25 lead going into the break.
Little Rock pushed it back to a one possession game early in the third, but UTA turned it on with a massive 8-0 run thanks to six straight points from Jacobs and a jumper from
Katie Ferrell. Little Rock closed it back to three at 39-36 with four minutes to play in the third, but UTA this time put together a massive 10-0 run capped by eight straight points from Benjamin, including a step-back 3-pointer to light up the CPC and make it a 49-36 game.
The Lady Mavs took that lead into the fourth quarter and held control. Little Rock made one run and got it back down to five with 4:30 to play, but a steal from Jacobs followed by an offensive board and put back got it back to seven. From there, the Trojans could never quite make that final run and UTA used free throws down the stretch for the 63-54 win.
BOX SCORE NUGGETS
- UTA was 17 of 24 from the free throw line, while Little Rock only got to the line two times, both coming on an intentional foul in the first half.
- The Lady Mavs started an abysmal 4 of 15 (.267) from the field, but went 18 of 37 (.486) the rest of the way.
- UTA only fouled nine times on the afternoon, a season-low.
- The Lady Mavs outrebounded Little Rock 34-31, including 12 offensive boards that results in 16 second chance points.
- UTA has outrebounded its opponents in six of their last seven games.
- Though the game saw seven ties and six lead changes, the Lady Mavs led for over 28 minutes of the contest.
- Four Lady Mavs scored in double figures while Jacobs finished at +16 and Benjamin finished at +10.
NOTABLES
- It will likely be the final meeting between UTA and Little Rock, barring the Sun Belt Tournament, as both teams head to a new conference next season. The Lady Mavs have won four of the last five over the Trojans.
- It was Starr Jacobs lowest point outing in conference play, but still a double digit effort, something she has done in all 23 games this season.
- De'Sha Benjamin increased her scoring average since coming off the bench to 11.9 PPG, posting double-digit performances in six of nine games.
- Benjamin has hit at least one 3-pointer in five straight games and has knocked down two in four of her last five games. She is shooting 15 of 39 (.385) in conference play.
- With two blocks on Friday, Claire Chastain hit 19 total blocks on the season, matching her previous three seasons of blocks combined.
- Shereka Wright reached 30 career head coaching wins on Friday afternoon.
QUOTABLES
"I want to give credit to my players. That's a very tough Little Rock team. They make it very difficult for any team. Both teams did a good job battling through some things considering all the circumstances. It was critical to stretch that lead out to give us a cushion. It was huge to get to the free throw lines and only keep them to two free throws. We did a good job sticking to the gameplan and fighting through adversity." -
Shereka Wright
"I just played off my teammates. I tried to run where I'm supposed to and get open. Just be a good teammate and be an extra push for them." - De'Sha Benjamin
"I think it's always good when we can put pressure. Little Rock is good in their offense so to be able to pressure them and take some time off the clock. I just try to do what I can (in getting steals) and that fuels our offense." -
Terryn Milton
NEXT UP
UTA returns for the final home game of the season on Senior Day against Arkansas State. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. with Senior Day festivities beginning at 1:40. 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).
