NACOGDOCHES, Texas --- The UT Arlington women's basketball team (9-10, 3-4 WAC) will look for their third-consecutive victory on Saturday with a 2 p.m. matchup at Stephen F. Austin (15-3, 5-1 WAC) inside the William R. Johnson Coliseum.
STORYLINES
- This weekend will represent the first of two regular season clashes between the No. 1 (SFA) and No. 2 (UTA) teams in the WAC preseason coaches and media polls. The two teams will also square off in the regular season finale in Arlington on March 2.
- Saturday's matchup will be the 67th all-time meeting between UT Arlington and Stephen F. Austin. The Lumberjacks hold a 47-19 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to a 70-55 win by UTA on March 14, 1975. The teams have alternated wins over the past six contests, and the last meeting produced a 79-57 win by SFA on Dec. 8, 2020.
- De'Sha Benjamin exploded for a season-high 17 points in Thursday's win over UTRGV, which included a 6-of-6 performance from the field in the first half, where all of her scoring came. Coincidentally, Kamaria Gipson registered a career-high 14 points in the team's previous game - a road win over Tarleton - with all of her production also coming in the first half.
- In the team's win over Tarleton on Jan. 14, the Lady Mavs tied the program's record for most points in a quarter with 34 in the fourth. Shyia Smith, who produced a team-best 20 points for her second career 20-point outing, made 10 of 11 from the foul line to tie Taleyah Jones for the team's single-game season high for makes at the charity stripe. Starr Jacobs, who added her fifth double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds, combined with Smith for 27 of the team's 34 points in the final quarter, as well as 34 of UTA's 44 second-half points. On Thursday against UTRGV, the trend continued as Smith went 6-of-6 from the foul line as part of a 13-of-15 performance from the team.
- The Lady Mavs are looking for their third-consecutive win after producing road victories over Tarleton and UTRGV.
- UT Arlington has been led by the duo of Starr Jacobs and Kayla White, who are averaging a combined 33 PPG through seven conference games.
INDIVIDUAL NOTABLES
- Jireh Washington, who has scored in double-digits in four of the past six games after re-entering the starting lineup upon return from injury, has produced at least 10 points, five rebounds and five assists three times this year.
- Kamaria Gipson is shooting a career-best .557 (39-of-70) from the field this year.
- Starr Jacobs is one of just two WAC players with three double-doubles in conference play along with Utah Valley's Jaeden Brown.
- Taleyah Jones, who registered the sixth double-digit scoring performance of her rookie season against Abilene Christian, is averaging 5.3 points in conference play, which makes her the fifth-leading true freshman scorer in the WAC behind Grace Schmidt (CBU, 17.5 PPG), Jordan Harrison (SFA, 13 PPG), Kyla Deck (SFA, 7.8 PPG) and Seattle's Mya Moore (6.7 PPG).
- Starr Jacobs, who erupted for a 28-point, 13-rebound double-double against Abilene Christian, has opened conference play on a tear as the senior forward is averaging 19.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game while shooting .591 from the field and .767 from the foul line over seven games. She has three double-doubles over that stretch.
- Kayla White has produced double-digit scoring in 11 of the past 13 games, a stretch that has included a pair of 20-plus point efforts. In the Dec. 31 win over Tarleton, she registered season-bests in points (21) and field goal percentage (.643), and she's currently the 14th-highest scorer in WAC play at 13.4 points per contest in conference play. Against Grand Canyon, it took her just six minutes and 48 seconds to reach double-figures.
- Shyia Smith made her 19th straight start to open the campaign at UTRGV, and she is the only Lady Mav to start every game. Overall, it was her 33rd-consecutive start dating back to Jan. 20, 2022 against Texas State.
A STARR BEYOND ARLINGTON
Senior forward
Starr Jacobs had quite the debut last year in her first season as a Lady Mav after a WBCA All-American JUCO career at Temple College, earning Sun Belt Player of the Year recognition along with becoming a four-time SBC Player of the Week, landing a spot on the NCAA's Starting 5 (2/9) and being named First Team All-Texas and Dave Campbell's Texas Junior of the Year.
In 2021-22, Jacobs was:
- The only player in the nation to average at least 21 points, two steals and 1.5 assists per game while shooting at least 50 percent from the field.
- One of just two players nationally along with DePaul's Aneesah Morrow to average at least 21 points, two steals and shoot at least 50 percent from the field.
- One of two players along with Michigan's Naz Hillmon to average 21 points, 1.5 assists and shoot at least 50 percent from the field.
This season, Jacobs carried that momentum over, being named the WAC's Preseason Player of the Year by the media and ESPN.com while becoming the first player in program history to be named to the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Preseason Watch List.
And so far, Jacobs has produced again this year.
- Double-figure scoring in 17 of 19 games
- Four games with 20-plus points, including a season-best 29 against Toledo
- Career-high 14 rebounds against California Baptist
- Five double-doubles
- .531 field goal percentage
- Leads team in scoring, rebounding and steals per game while ranking second in assists
OFFENSIVE POWERHOUSE
Fifth-year guard
Kayla White has had a tremendous start to the season after transferring in from Southern Methodist. The team's second-leading scorer at 13.6 per game, she leads the Lady Mavs in 3-point percentage (.378) while ranking second in minutes (27.9) and field goals made (80). She also checks in third with 1.6 steals per game. She poured in a season-best 21 points against Tarleton, 18 against Grand Canyon, a team-best 16 in a key road win over Houston that included several big baskets down the stretch and 20 in a home win over North Texas.
HEATING BACK UP
After missing five games due to an injury, fifth-year point guard
Jireh Washington is rounding back into form. At the time of her injury against Toledo on Nov. 26, the Arkansas State transfer was the team's leader in scoring, assists and steals. In her first two games back - Arizona (12/21) and California Baptist (12/29), she totaled 12 points, six in each outing. On Dec. 31, she returned to the starting lineup and has averaged 10 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.33 steals with double-digit points in four of the past six outings.
ONE OF 12
In the season opener against Texas Southern,
Jireh Washington registered 11 assists, which was just the 12th time a player has notched that many in a game in program history.
DECEMBER TO REMEMBER
Freshman guard
Taleyah Jones finished as the team's third-leading scorer in the month of December with 11.6 per contest behind
Starr Jacobs (15 PPG) and
Kayla White (13 PPG). On top of that, she was a team-best 7-of-17 (.412) from long distance in the month. She had a 12-point outing against No. 16 Arizona, which followed an explosive performance against Texas A&M - Texarkana where she became the 11th freshman in NCAA Division I play this year to score at least 30 points in a game.
MILESTONE WATCH
Starr Jacobs
- 97 points shy of 1,000 in her career at UT Arlington
- 8 assists away from 100 in her career at UT Arlington
Shyia Smith
- 10 steals away from 100 in her NCAA career
- 10 assists away from 100 in her NCAA career
- 5 made field goals away from 300 in her NCAA career
Jireh Washington
- 30 made field goals away from 500 in her NCAA career
- 22 assists away from 400 in her NCAA career
- 10 steals away from 200 in her NCAA career
Kayla White
- 10 points away from 1,300 in her NCAA career
- 11 rebounds shy of 400 in her NCAA career
- 11 made 3-point field goals away from 100 in her NCAA career
- 4 made fields goals away from 500 in her NCAA career
Desha Benjamin
- 21 points away from 800 in her NCAA career
- 5 assists away from 100 in her NCAA career
- 2 made 3-point field goals away from 100 in her NCAA career
AMONG ACTIVE NCAA CAREER LEADERS
Jireh Washington and
Kayla White rank among the nation's best in several career statistical categories. Washington is 117th among all active Division I players in scoring (1,329), 44th in free throws made (332) and 24th in free throw attempts (495). Meanwhile, White is 137th in points (1,290) among active Division I players.
FUN WITH NUMBERS
CAREER TOTALS
10+ POINTS IN A GAME
Jireh Washington - 71
Kayla White - 66
Starr Jacobs - 45
De'Sha Benjamin - 37
Shyia Smith - 32
Kamaria Gipson - 7
Taleyah Jones - 6
Nya Threatt - 1
20+ POINTS IN A GAME
Starr Jacobs - 20
Jireh Washington - 15
Kayla White - 12
De'Sha Benjamin - 3
Shyia Smith - 2
Taleyah Jones - 1
30+ POINTS IN A GAME
Starr Jacobs - 2
Kayla White - 1
Jireh Washington - 1
Taleyah Jones - 1
10+ REBOUNDS IN A GAME
Starr Jacobs - 9
Kamaria Gipson - 5
De'Sha Benjamin - 3
Shyia Smith - 3
Jireh Washington - 2
10+ ASSISTS IN A GAME
Jireh Washington - 1
DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Starr Jacobs - 9
Shyia Smith - 2
Kamaria Gipson - 2
De'Sha Benjamin - 2
Jireh Washington - 1
CATEGORY LEADERS
PPG
Starr Jacobs – 16.5
Kayla White – 13.1
Jireh Washington – 11.3
Shyia Smith – 8.4
Taleyah Jones – 6.8
RPG
Starr Jacobs – 6.8
Shyia Smith – 5.6
Jireh Washington – 4.5
Kamaria Gipson – 3.8
De'Sha Benjamin – 3.5
APG
Jireh Washington – 4.7
Starr Jacobs – 2.3
Nya Threatt – 1.8
Kayla White – 1.4
De'Sha Benjamin – 1.4
SPG
Starr Jacobs – 2.7
Jireh Washington – 2.1
Kayla White – 1.6
Taleyah Jones – 0.9
De'Sha Benjamin – 0.8
BPG
Kamaria Gipson – 0.6
Shyia Smith – 0.5
Starr Jacobs – 0.4
De'Sha Benjamin – 0.4
GOUDEAU STEPS UP
Alexsyah Goudeau made the first of six consecutive starts this year on Nov. 29, producing her first of three straight games with a season-high eight points. She also grabbed a season-best six rebounds against Baylor on Dec. 7 and has scored in 16 of 19 games this year, including six with at least five.
SMITH COMES UP CLUTCH
Fifth-year senior
Shyia Smith made the game-winning layup with 16 seconds left in the team's 75-72 win over Texas A&M – Commerce.
KG RAMPING UP
Kamaria Gipson, a third-year transfer from San Diego State, not only tallied her fourth double-digit effort of the season against Tarleton on Jan. 14, but she poured in a career-best 14 off the bench. That came after a 10-point effort against Grand Canyon, and she shot 12-of-16 from the field over those two outings. She then added six points and a team-high six rebounds in Thursday's win over UTRGV. Earlier this year, she helped the Lady Mavs produce wins against Texas Southern (11/7) and Texas A&M - Commerce (11/12) behind back-to-back double-digit scoring performances, including her second career double-double on the 12th. She also added a 10-rebound performance against nationally-ranked Baylor (12/7).
AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS
The Lady Mavs rank among the top 60 teams nationally in four categories:
- Free throw attempts per game (5th, 23.74)
- Free throws made per game (17th, 15.84)
- Steals per game (48th, 10.0)
- Turnovers forced per game (57th, 19.16)
Individually,
Starr Jacobs has ascended to the top 100 nationally in eight categories:
- Total steals (18th, 52)
- Steals per game (26th, 2.74)
- Total free throw attempts (27th, 108)
- Total field goals made (44th, 121)
- Field goal percentage (48th, 53.1)
- Total free throws made (58th, 72)
- Total points (61st, 314)
- PPG (89th, 16.5)
EXPERIENCED LINEUP
Despite injuries getting in the way at times, UT Arlington has used the below lineup nine times this year. It is a group that has combined for 491 games of NCAA Division I experience, and that total becomes 533 games of collegiate experience if you include the 42 games that Jacobs played at the JUCO level.
SHORT TURNAROUND
UT Arlington opened WAC play Dec. 29 with an 8 p.m. CT game at California Baptist. Following a 1:59 a.m. CT flight out that same night, the team arrived back at the CPC around 5 a.m. and began prep later that day for their Dec. 31 game against Tarleton.
HOME SWEET HOME
The UTA women have won five of eight games to open this season inside the College Park Center, where they have called home since Feb. 1, 2012. Since then, the Lady Mavs have compiled a record of 93-58 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 69-20 record.
| 2022-23 |
5-3 |
| 2021-22 |
8-4 |
| 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 |
93-58 |
BACK TO THE WAC
UT Arlington is back in the WAC after previously spending one year as a member of the conference in the 2012-13 season, where they finished 4-14 in league play and tied Texas State for ninth in the regular season standings. UTA spent the past nine seasons (2013-22) as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, where they are the reigning tournament champion. Prior to their initial WAC tenure, the Lady Mavs were a 48-year member of the Southland Conference (1963-2012) – of which it was a founding member.
New Mexico State, UTA and Seattle U are the only three current WAC schools that were also members of the league in 2012-13.
2012-13 WAC Membership (Current Affiliation)
Denver (Summit)
Idaho (Big Sky)
Louisiana Tech (Conference USA)
New Mexico State
San Jose State (Mountain West)
Seattle U
Texas State (Sun Belt)
Utah State (Mountain West)
UT Arlington
UTSA (Conference USA)
2022-23 WAC Membership
Abilene Christian
California Baptist
Grand Canyon
New Mexico State
Sam Houston
Seattle U
Southern Utah
Stephen F. Austin
Tarleton
UT Arlington
UT Rio Grande Valley
Utah Tech
Utah Valley
CHALLENGING NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
The UT Arlington women's basketball team wrapped up a tough non-conference slate on Dec. 21 with a loss to No. 16 Arizona. It was the third nationally-ranked team the Lady Mavs played as UTA fell to No. 16 Oklahoma on Nov. 20 and No. 19 Baylor on Dec. 7.
On top of that, UTA went on the road and nearly upset Kansas, trailing twice by just one late in the fourth quarter, the second time which came on a layup from
Starr Jacobs with 3:36 left before falling 79-74. Then, in the Maggie Dixon Classic against the Sooners, the Lady Mavs took a 74-73 lead with four minutes left in the game on a jumper from
Jireh Washington, but Oklahoma went on a 5-0 run and closed the game on a 16-6 spurt.
On Nov. 26 in Daytona Beach, UT Arlington lost to Toledo, a team that defeated No. 19 Michigan on Dec. 8. Last year, the Rockets won the regular season MAC title with a 19-1 record before finishing the season 29-6.
UT ARLINGTON BY THE NUMBERS
Milestone Wins
100th - 65-50 vs Texas Woman's – 11/13/79
200th - 64-51 vs Texas Wesleyan – 2/2/87
300th - 73-55 vs Nicholls State – 2/15/96
400th - 67-63 at Louisiana Monroe – 2/1/03
500th - 54-41 vs TAMUCC – 1/26/08
600th - 65-58 vs App. State – 2/13/16
700th - 60-40 at Arkansas State – 2/26/21
By The Decade
1972-82: 147-135 (.521)
1982-92: 109-165 (.398)
1992-02: 135-141 (.489)
2002-12: 169-132 (.562)
2012-22: 161-131 (.551)
2022-present: 9-10 (.474)
Overall: 730-714 (.506)
OPENING WITH HISTORIC OFFENSE
The 102 points that UT Arlington scored in the season-opening win over Texas Southern represented the most the program has ever produced in a season opener and fell just one shy of the overall single-game record. It was the eighth time the Lady Mavs have reached the century mark in 50-plus seasons of basketball. In fact, it was the most points they've scored in a game in nearly 25 years dating back to a 102-point outing against UTRGV on Jan. 26, 1998.
RESTOCKING THE PANTRY
While UT Arlington returns seven players from last year's roster (six that saw action), the Lady Mavs are replacing six players, highlighted by three key outgoing transfers -
Terryn Milton (Oklahoma State),
Claire Chastain (Oklahoma State) and
Katie Ferrell (Texas Tech).
Milton, Chastain and Ferrell comprised UTA's second, fourth and sixth leading scorers while Ferrell, Milton and Chastain were the second, third and fourth top rebounders, respectively. If that isn't enough, Milton, Ferrell and Chastain - in that order - were the top three assist producers on the team.
In total, UT Arlington is replacing over 40 percent of its contributions in five key categories:
Scoring - 44.5 percent
Rebounding - 60.5 percent
Assists - 75.2 percent
Steals - 52.5 percent
Blocks - 66.7 percent
FOLLOW THE LADY MAVS
For the latest news on UTA Women's Basketball, log on to UTAMavs.com or stay connected to the Lady Mavs on social media. Follow the Lady Mavericks on Twitter @UTAMavsWBB, on Instagram @UTAMavsWBB, and on Facebook at Facebook.com/UTAMavsWBB.
