AMES, Iowa – Looking to become the first No. 14 seed in NCAA Tournament history to ever win a game, the UT Arlington Lady Mavericks gave all No. 3 Iowa State could handle on its home floor Friday night in the First Round before dropping a narrow 78-71 decision inside Hilton Coliseum.
UTA led for 27 minutes and had a three-point lead with under six minutes to play before the Cyclones high-powered offense took over. Through the first 34 minutes of the game, the Lady Mavs held the nation's 2nd-best 3-point shooting team to just four makes from beyond the arc, but Iowa State made three in the final six minutes to overcome a gutty, spirited and resilient effort from UTA.
Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Starr Jacobs led UTA with 19 points, while De'Sha Benjamin added 14 off the bench and Terryn Milton netted 11. The Lady Mavs also received nine points each from Shyia Smith and Claire Chastain, with Smith pulling down a team-best eight rebounds.
Playing in its third NCAA Tournament game and first since 2007, UTA acted like it had been in this position before as the Lady Mavs stared the Big 12 member in the face and didn't back down from the opening tip, creating an eight-point lead at the end of the 1st quarter and extending to as much as 12 in the 2nd quarter.
The Cyclones took a three-point lead into the 4th quarter, but the Lady Mavs bounced right back and held a three-point lead, 64-61, with under six minutes to play before the Cyclones stormed back.
The game featured two of the best scorers in women's college basketball pitted against each other in UTA's Jacobs and ISU's Ashley Joens.
Jacobs – the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year who entered Friday ranked 12th nationally with 21.1 points per game – finished with the aforementioned 19. Joens – an Associated Press Second Team All-American selection who came in ranked 18th in the country at 20.2 per contest – delivered a season-high 36 points to go along with 15 rebounds for a massive double-double performance to spark the Cyclones.
The two teams alternated buckets the first four minutes of the contest, but on a Smith jumper at the 6:12 mark the Lady Mavs took a 7-6 lead and they would lead for the duration of the first quarter. After the Cyclones pulled within one, 11-10, at the 3:30 mark, UTA closed the period on an extended 11-4 run to create an eight-point edge, 22-14, following a Benjamin 3-pointer to cap the scoring for the quarter.
The Lady Mavs watched their cushion balloon to 11, 29-18, at the 8:25 mark on a Hawkins 3-pointer, and after a Ferrell knock down from beyond the arc with just over four minutes remaining the Lady Mavs had built a 37-25 edge – their largest of the night. However, the hosts – backed by the 5,546 in attendance – responded a few minutes later with a 7-0 surge to pull with four, 39-35, prompting a timeout from Shereka Wright with 1:18 left. That settled the Lady Mavs down, and they took a 41-35 lead into halftime thanks to 50-percent shooting (15-30) from the floor while holding ISU to 41 percent (14-34).
After making just one 3-pointer in the 1st half, the Cyclones knocked down two in the first two minutes of the 2nd half and ISU pulled within one, 46-45, at the 6:54 mark, but the Lady Mavs had a rebuttal to keep the No. 3 seed at bay for the moment. However, on a Joens 3-pointer at the 4:34 mark, Iowa State took its first lead, 49-48, since it was 6-5 at the 6:13 juncture of the 1st quarter. The Cyclones eventually grew their lead to five before settling for a 57-54 lead at the end of the quarter.
Unfazed by Hilton Coliseum coming alive, UTA re-took a 59-57 lead on a Ferrell triple early in the period, and the Lady Mavs re-built a lead as large as three on two occasions the next few minutes, the last of which came on a Chastain jumper with six to play, 63-60. But, a quick 5-0 personal run by Emily Ryan propelled ISU to a 66-64 lead with under five minutes to play, and UTA could only get as close as one point the rest of the way.
BOX SCORE NUGGETS
- All seven Lady Mavs who played at least 15 minutes scored at least seven points.
- UTA's first points came off a 3-pointer by Smith, which was the first made triple of the senior's season (0-10 entering the game).
- The nation's 2nd-leading 3-point shooting team in Iowa State (39 percent for the year) started 0-8 from deep while the Lady Mavs – who average 4 makes and shoot 28 percent from 3-point range for the year – began the night 5-6 to help fuel the 1st-half lead.
- UTA shot 44 percent (27-62) from the floor, while ISU connected at a 43-percent rate (28-65).
- UTA finished with a season-low nine turnovers.
- The Lady Mavs held a 17-0 advantage in bench points.
NOTABLES
- This was UTA's first-ever meeting with any team from the state of Iowa.
- UTA is now 0-3 all-time in NCAA Tournament contests: 58-50 loss in 2007 to Texas A&M in Los Angeles, and 69-49 to Texas Tech in Dallas in 2005. The Lady Mavs were a 13 seed in both contests, while their opponents were 4 seeds.
- The Lady Mavs nearly made history as no 14 seed had ever beaten a 3 seed.
- UTA finishes its season with a 20-8 record, but not before claiming the Sun Belt Championship in its final year in the league.
- Iowa State tied a school record with its 27th win.
- UTA suffered its second loss when leading at halftime. The Lady Mavs were 13-1 this season when leading at halftime.
- It is UTA's first loss when making at least six 3-pointers. They were previously 6-0 on the season when elipsing that mark.
- Five of the Cyclones' six losses this year have come to Texas (3x) or Baylor (2x).
Gallery: (3-18-2022) WBB NCAA Tournament vs. Iowa State
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