Box Score PENSACOLA, Fla. – The UT Arlington women's basketball team made it a memorable final trip around the sun as the 2nd-seeded Lady Mavericks raced out to a double-figure lead in the first quarter and never cooled off en route to dominant 76-61 victory over top-seeded Troy Monday inside the Pensacola Bay Center to win the 2022 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Conference Championship.
In its final year in the Sun Belt, UTA left the league as its best team with a mic-drop moment thanks to the conference's best player
Starr Jacobs delivering a double-double performance of 28 points and 10 rebounds – her third-straight game in the tournament with exactly 28 points.
Jacobs was named MVP of the Sun Belt Tournament after averaging 28 points, 10 boards and two steals in three games, including a pair of double-doubles.
De'Sha Benjmain scored 14 points with six boards and two steals, while
Terryn Milton has 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists, earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
Katie Ferrell scored nine with six boards, and
Shyia Smith poured in six points with four rebounds.
Claire Chastain had four points with 10 rebounds, while
Camryn Hawkins added three points.
Felmas Koranga led Troy with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Tina Stephens had 10 points and 14 rebounds.
The Lady Mavs came out the gate hot as they raced to a19-8 lead not even eight minutes into the game behind three 3-pointers, two coming from Ferrell, and one from Benajmin. UTA would balloon that lead to 25-13 at the end of the quarter thanks in part to Benjamin's second 3-pointer of the quarter.
UTA put the pedal to the metal in the second quarter as Benjamin knocked down her third 3-pointer, while Jacobs went to work inside to get the lead to 13. The Lady Mavs then exploded for a 13-0 run as they got a multitude of contributions offensively and defensively. Hawkins capped the big run with a 3-pointer to send the crowd into a frenzy and give UTA a game-high 24 point lead at 43-19.
Troy scored the final five points of the quarter, but UTA remained firmly in control with a 43-24 halftime lead.
The Trojans turned up the intensity defensively in the third quarter and controlled most of it. Troy got its deficit down to 14 midway through the third, but a UTA run pushed the lead back to 20. However, Troy responded again with a 7-0 run as the game went into the fourth quarter with UTA in front, 55-42.
Troy tried to find a final run to pressure the Lady Mavs late but every time the Trojans pushed UTA answered, particularly in the form of Jacobs.
The Lady Mavs virtually put the game away for good as Jacobs drove the lane with three minutes remaining and drew the foul, plus the basket, essentially locking up the conference title.
UTA ran the clock down and the celebration back to Arlington began as UTA took home an epic 76-61 win to claim the Sun Belt title.
NEXT UP
With the win, the Lady Mavs advance to their third NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2007. UTA will learn its opening opponent during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show this Sunday, Mar. 13, beginning at 7 p.m. Central on ESPN. Information regarding a public watch party for Lady Mav fans and supporters will be announced in the coming days.
Additionally, NCAA Tournament ticket information through UTA will be released following the bracket announcement, most likely on Monday, Mar. 14. For Maverick Club members who may have questions in advance, please contact Maverick Club Director
Kyle Callender at
kyle.callender@uta.edu or 817-272-0694.
The 2022 NCAA Tournament will be the first to have 68 teams. First Four games will be played on Wednesday, Mar. 16, and Thursday, Mar. 17, at four of the top-16 host sites. Traditional First Round and Second Round games will be played Friday, Mar. 18, through Monday, Mar. 21, at the top-16 seeds.
BOX SCORE NUGGETS
- UTA improves its record to 20-7, while Troy falls to 24-8 but has an automatic bid to the WNIT by virtue of winning the Sun Belt regular-season championship.
- Troy came in as the No. 1 rebounding team in the nation, but UTA out-boarded the Trojans, 51-46.
- Troy had outrebounded its opponents in nine-straight games.
- 51 rebounds is a season high for the Lady Mavs.
- UTA was a blazing 10 of 20 from the field in the first half, including four 3-pointers.
- A night after Jacobs played all 40 minutes, Milton played 40 minutes in the championship game.
- UTA held a 38-28 advantage in the paint.
NOTABLES
- UTA closes its run in the Sun Belt with its first championship in women's basketball, making an incredible run throughout the tournament where they won each game by nine points or more.
- UTA moves to 20-7 overall and claims its first 20 win season since 2019-20. It was UTA's fourth 20 win season since joining the the Sun Belt in 2013-14.
- In three games this weekend, UTA led for 113 minutes and 36 seconds, while opponents only lead for 5 minutes and 57 seconds.
- UTA's three tournament wins came over teams which defeated the Lady Mavs in the regular season in Georgia Southern, Louisiana and Troy.
- UTA is now 3-2 all-time in conference championship games.
- Shereka Wright became the first women's basketball coach in school history to take home a conference title in two years on the job.
- It is the worst defeat Troy suffered to a Sun Belt opponent this season.
QUOTABLES
"I want to start by giving credit to Troy and the standard that Coach (Chanda) Rigby has set; they are an amazingly-tough team. But today was our day. Our players competed for 40 minutes in a very tough game. They didn't fold, they faced adversity, they stayed together and that's what it looks like to be a champion. I'm so happy for our university, our athletic department, our student-athletes and our staff. It takes a village to get to this point, and we're going to celebrate today." –
Shereka Wright
"I feel like I have a calming presence that I bring to the team. It got really intense near the end of the game, but I kept getting our team together and telling them to calm down and take it one play at a time. And I think that worked for us." –
Terryn Milton
"Getting to the basket and finding open spots is something I've been working on and that I'm pretty good at doing. I think I can focus more on my shooting, but a lot of teams like to double-team me. Having those kick-outs to my teammates, and shooting the way we did this tournament just opens the floor up for all of us." –
Starr Jacobs
Gallery: (3-7-2022) WBB Sun Belt Championship vs. Troy
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).
