ARLINGTON – The UT Arlington women's basketball team begins a homestand of five of their final six games at home as they welcome in Appalachian State in a battle for first place in the Sun Belt Conference
3-POINTERS
- After moving to 6-1 on the road in Sun Belt play as well as playing eight of their last 10 games on the road, the UT Arlington Lady Mavs return home for five of their final six games inside the CPC. They start things out on Sunday with a huge match-up against App State with first place in the SBC on the line.
- It will be the 15th meeting between the Lady Mavs and the Mountaineers with UTA absolutely dominating the series, leading it 13-1. However, App State came away with their first-ever victory over UTA in the SBC Tournament, defeating the Lady Mavs 54-46 in the quarterfinals.
- UTA is 7-0 inside the CPC over App State as it will be their first meeting in Arlington since the 2019-20 season.
LAST TIME OUT: LITTLE ROCK
- UTA won their fourth straight game as they defeated Little Rock on the road thanks in part to a brilliant first half.
- UTA was 8 of 13 (.615) from the field in the first quarter 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.
- Starr 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.
- 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.
SCOUTING APP STATE
- The Mountaineers currently top the Sun Belt standings with their 5-1 league record. UTA and Troy are tied for second with a 7-2 mark.
- App State's five-game winning streak is its longest in conference play since joining the Sun Belt. Last year, the Mountaineers won their final three regular-season games before winning their first two at the Sun Belt Tournament, including a win over UTA. In their last 12 games against Sun Belt opponents dating back to last year, the Mountaineers are 10-2.
- Alexia Allesch has been excellent in conference play, averaging 16.7 points per game and 10 boards, good for fourth in the SBC in both categories. Allesch leads the team with 13.3 points and 9.0 rebounds on the season.
- Preseason All-Sun Belt third teamer Michaela Porter leads App State with 13.1 points per game, while adding 5.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and a league-best 2.6 steals.
- App State is one of the best teams in the country at forcing turnovers, forcing 21.0 turnovers per game, good for 20th in the nation. UTA comes in with the fewest turnover in the SBC, only averaging 13.9, good for 39th in the nation.
- On the other end, App State will have to protect the basketball to win inside the CPC as they average over 20 turnovers per game.
- App State will attempt plenty of 3-pointers as they are first in the SBC in attempts with 526 and second in three pointers made with 146. Despite the large volume of 3-pointers, the Mountaineers are only ninth in the SBC in percentage at .278.
- App State will also have to convert on free throws as they are in the bottom half of free throw percentage at .631 this season.
- App State went 15-12 a year ago and 10-8 in the SBC. They upset UTA in the SBC Quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion Troy, 66-63, in the Sun Belt Semifinals.
HOME SWEET HOME FOR 10 YEARS
The UTA women have called the College Park Center home since February 1, 2012 when they defeated UTSA in their first contest in their new home arena, 51-40. On Sunday, they will celebrate the 10-year anniversary since the building opened. The Lady Mavs have complied a home record of 85-52 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 63-16 record including a 38-7 record in Sun Belt play as they have not lost more than two games inside their home arena.
Lady Mavs Home Record
2021-22: 5-2
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: 85-53
3X THE FUN
Starr Jacobs has done it again as she was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week for the third time this season.
Jacobs averaged an incredible 28.0 points per game in a pair of road wins in Arkansas, shooting 20 of 34 (.588) from the field and a key 16 of 21 (.761) at the free throw line. She hit many key shots to clinch both wins this past weekend.
Against Arkansas State, Jacobs scored a season-high 32 points, her most in orange and blue, to go with seven rebounds and three assists. She followed that up with 26 points against Little Rock on 7 of 13 shooting and a season-high 10 of 12 from the charity stripe. She added five boards in the win.
Jacobs wins the award for the third time this season as she took home the honors on Dec. 7 after UTA upset nationally-ranked USF and defending WNIT Champions Rice and on Jan. 3 after a stellar opening weekend in conference in road wins over Louisiana and ULM. She is the first Lady Mav to win the award multiple times in a season since Marie Benson won the award five times during the 2019-20 season.
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS.... AND THE BALL
A key reason for the Lady Mavs' success this season has been protecting the basketball.
UT Arlington leads the SBC and is 30th in the country in fewest turnovers with 245 (13.1 per game). They have not turned it over 20 or more times this season and have only gone over 15 turnovers as a team six times.
UTA is first in the Sun Belt in assist-turnover ratio at 1.11 this season. In their 18 games played this season, UTA is 11-1 when they have a plus assists-turnover ratio and 9-0 overall when they have at least 15 assists or more as a team.
The Lady Mavs are 1-4 this season when they have a negative assist-turnover ratio, including three losses by 10 points or more. The Lady Mavs have 10 or more assists as a team in 16 of 18 games this season, including a season-high 22 against Arkansas State on Thursday night.
Two point guards have been a key factor in protecting the basketball as
Terryn Milton and
Katie Ferrell are first and second in the SBC in assist-to-turnover ratio.
Milton sits at 15th in the country with a 2.56 assist-turnover ratio, while Ferrell is 24th in the nation at 2.38. In conference play, Milton has bolstered an incredible 3.1 assist-turnover ratio in conference play.
BIG KAT RANGE
Senior
Katie Ferrell has caught fire from beyond the arc in her last seven contests.
After going 2 of 18 (.111) to start the year from deep, Ferrell has gone 12 of 20 (.600) from beyond the arc and 10 of 16 (.625) in her last six games, making at least one 3-pointer in all of those games.
Ferrell has knocked down two or more 3-pointers in four conference contests, including three 3-pointers against Georgia Southern on Jan. 15. Her recent spurt has pushed her 3-point percentage over 30% as she is 14 of 38 (.368) beyond the arc this season.
FIVE STARR
Starr Jacobs has put together an unbelievable season by every metric thus far for the Lady Mavs.
Jacobs 13th in the country in points per game (20.6) and is on pace to become the first player in school history to average 20+ points per game in a season. She is ranked 26th nationally in field goals made (148), 21st in field goal percentage (.561), 38th in total points (370), and 32nd in free throw attempts (114). She is also in the Top 100 in steals per game with 2.2.
Jacobs has scored 10 or more points in all 18 contests this season and has scored 20 or more points in 10 games this season, including a season-high 32 point game on 13 of 21 shooting against Arkansas State on Jan. 27. Additionally, Jacobs has made five or more field goals in every single contest this season and shot above 50% in 13 of 18 games.
She is averaging 22.0 points per game in conference play of 71 of 135 (.526) shooting from the field. Going into conference play, Jacobs was shooting 18 of 41 (. 439) from the free throw line. In her last five games, Jacobs has gone 56 of 73 (.767) from the line, including 6 of 6 against ULM and 10 of 12 against Little Rock.
Against Arkansas State on Jan. 27, she became the 31st player in program history to score 30 or more points, good for 14th all-time. Her 13 made field goals were the sixth-most made baskets in program history, while her 21 attempts was the eighth-most in UTA history.
In Las Vegas, Jacobs put together one of her best weekends as she combined to go 26 of 41 (63.4%) from the field while averaging 27.5 points to go with 3.5 steals. She scored 28 on 14 of 24 shooting against UNLV and followed that up with 27 on 12 of 17 from the field against Kansas City.
Jacobs added her name to the record books as her 14 made field goals against UNLV on Nov. 27 was good for the third-most all-time in a single game in UTA history. Her 12 made field goals against Kansas City on Nov. 28 tied her for ninth all-time.
SHARING THE ROCK
Two all-time great guards continue to make their mark in the history book as
Katie Ferrell and
Terryn Milton continue to climb up the all-time assist ranks.
With an assist in the third quarter against Rice on Dec. 4, 2021, Ferrell tied Terra Wallace for second all-time in career assists with 409. Ferrell moved into sole possession of second place early in the first quarter against Oklahoma State on Dec. 17, 2021.
Against #13/17 South Florida on Dec. 2, 2021, Ferrell became the third Lady Mav in school history to eclipse 400 career assists.
Ferrell will have an outside chance to become the all-time leader in assists as she is 111 behind Krystal Buchanan. She is 50 away from eclipsing 500 career assissts.
Meanwhile, with her fifth assist in the third quarter against Texas State on Thursday night, Milton moved to fifth all-time in career assists, passing Tamara Simmons. Milton now sits at 342 assists in her career.
Milton has jumped three spots in three contests, moving from eighth all the way to fifth in the month of January.
Milton is 10 assists away from passing Paige Smithers-Wojciak and moving to fourth all-time.
She had a season-high nine assists against Sam Houston on Nov. 13, where she became the ninth Lady Mav in school history to eclipse 300 career assists.
Milton, along with Ferrell, has become the second duo in school history from the same recruiting class to each have 300 or more assists in a career. Tamara Simmons and Shalyn Martin accomplished this feat in 2011.
Milton and Ferrell passed Simmons and Martin for the most assists by a duo in school history against Houston on Nov. 17 at 676. They became the first duo to surpass 700 combined assists in the win over UNLV on Nov. 27.
Ferrell is currently fourth in the SBC in assists with 4.4 per game, while Milton is fifth in the Sun Belt in assists per game with 3.8.
| Player |
Year |
Assists |
| 1. Krystal Buchanan |
2001-05 |
561 |
| 2. Katie Ferrell |
2018-pres. |
450 |
| 3. Terra Wallace |
2003-07 |
409 |
| 4. Paige Smithers-Wojciak |
1982-86 |
366 |
| 5. Terryn Milton |
2018-pres. |
356 |
| 6. Tamara Simmons |
2007-11 |
341 |
| 7. Shalyn Martin |
2007-11 |
334 |
| 8. Gale Haynes |
1993-97 |
332 |
| 9. Cierra Johnson |
2014-19 |
315 |
| 10. Carolyn Smith |
1977-81 |
282 |
ROAD WARRIORS
The Lady Mavs have been unbelievable on the road this season as they wrap up a massive road trip that saw eight of the last 10 games away from home.
During that stretch, UTA went 6-2, including an impressive 6-1 road mark in confernece play. Overall on the season, the Lady Mavs sit 8-2 overall on the road, their best mark based on winning percentage since joining the Sun Belt.
Head Coach
Shereka Wright has now produced two straight seasons of winning records on the road.
| Season |
Record |
Win % |
| 2021-22 |
8-2 |
.800 |
| 2020-21 |
5-4 |
.555 |
| 2019-20 |
9-4 |
.692 |
| 2018-19 |
12-4 |
.750 |
| 2017-18 |
5-9 |
.357 |
| 2016-17 |
9-5 |
.642 |
| 2015-16 |
8-7 |
.533 |
| 2014-15 |
7-7 |
.500 |
| 2013-14 |
1-14 |
.066 |
With a win over Coastal Carolina on the road on Feb. 19, UTA would put together the best road record in program history.
AMONG THE ELITE
UTA has been one of the top teams in the Sun Belt Conference year in and year out since joining the league in 2013-14. The Lady Mavs have been .500 or better every year except their very first season and have currently won 10 or more conference games in seven straight seasons, a conference-leading mark they hold with Troy.
1. Little Rock: 117
2. Troy: 110
3. UTA: 97
4. Arkansas State: 85
5. Louisiana: 83
6. Texas State: 82
7. South Alabama: 63
8. Georgia State: 60
App State: 60
10. Coastal Carolina: 43
11. Georgia Southern: 34
12. ULM: 31
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).
