LAS CRUCES, N.M. --- The UT Arlington women's basketball team (13-14, 7-8 WAC) will look to extend a three-game winning streak on the road this week beginning with a matchup at New Mexico State (13-14, 8-7 WAC) inside the Pan American Center on Thursday at 7 p.m.
The Lady Mavs will conclude the week at Grand Canyon on Saturday before hosting the regular season finale against Stephen F. Austin next week.
SERIES HISTORY
UT Arlington and New Mexico State have met seven times previously in an all-time series that dates back to Dec. 4, 1981 when UTA produced a 59-56 win in Las Cruces. The Lady Mavs won the first five games in the series, while NMSU has won the past two, including the most recent meeting on March 12, 2013 in the WAC tournament.
RACE FOR SEEDING
New Mexico State sits one game ahead of the Lady Mavs in the WAC regular season standings, although UTA ranks seventh in the WAC resume seeding system with -1.49 points compared to New Mexico State's -2.48.
In an effort to continue enhancing its at-large prospects and protecting top seeds in March, a résumé-seeding system is being used to determine how teams are placed at this year's WAC Tournament (men and women).
An algorithm rates performance against all D-I teams faced in the regular season, not just conference play. That will rank teams for the conference postseason tournament. Using this résumé-seeding system, teams will receive more credit for scheduling and playing stronger opponents than weaker ones. This should help the WAC have higher NET rankings, a key-criteria used by the NCAA basketball selection committees.
WAC Commissioner Brian Thornton and WAC Associate Commissioner of Basketball Drew Speraw worked with Ken Pomeroy of kenpom.com to put together the formula. To read more about the system,
click here.
BREAK OUT THE BROOMS
The duo of
Starr Jacobs and
Taleyah Jones helped lead the Lady Mavs to a pair of wins last week that stretched the team's winning streak to three. In doing so, Jacobs (Player of the Week) and Jones (Freshman of the Week) swept the WAC's weekly awards on Monday.
Jacobs was, once again, the straw that stirs the drink for UT Arlington as she had the best week of her career, averaging 27.5 points, 16.5 rebounds, four steals, 1.6 assists and one block while shooting 18-of-36 (.500) from the field and 19-of-25 (.760) from the foul line. In the win over Sam Houston, Jacobs posted career-high totals in points (35) and rebounds (20) while adding four steals, three assists and two blocks. She followed that up with 20 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and four steals against ACU. In doing so, she extended her lead over all WAC players with her eighth double-double in conference play - twice as many as the next best total.
Jones, meanwhile, continued a fantastic freshman campaign as she averaged 15 points, four rebounds, 2.5 assists and one block. She combined to shoot 10-of-25 (.400) from the field and 9-of-11 (.818) from the foul line. In the win over Sam Houston, the 5-10 guard registered 16 points, a season-high seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks. She followed that up with 14 points in the win over ACU.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
On Feb. 16, the Lady Mavs defeated Sam Houston 106-102 in double overtime in an instant classic that resulted in several statistical milestones and records.
- Starr Jacobs became the first player in UT Arlington women's basketball history to reach 1,000 career points in just two seasons with her fifth point of the night. She went on to score career-highs in points (35) and rebounds (20), which gave her the fourth-most points, the third most made free throws (13) and the fourth most minutes (49) along with the 13th 20-rebound effort in Lady Mav single-game annals. She also recorded her seventh of a WAC-high eight double-doubles in conference play.
- Jireh Washington came within one assist of registering the 10th triple-double in WAC history. Instead, she tied a season-high with 22 points, pulled down a career-best 12 rebounds and dished out nine assists - two shy of matching her career-high. It was her 16th all-time 20-plus point outing, her third career double-digit rebounding effort and the second double-double of her career. On top of that, she finished 10-of-11 from the foul line, narrowly missing becoming the first player in program history to finish at least 11-of-11 from the charity stripe.
- The Lady Mavs established new single-game highs for points (106) and largest combined score (208). They also tied for the second most field goal attempts (84), free throws made (31) and free throws attempted (41) while matching the fourth-best total for field goals made (37).
- With the win, UT Arlington clinched a berth in the WAC tournament.
- The game represented just the fourth double overtime matchup in program history with UTA holding a 3-1 record in those.
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.
Jacobs carried that momentum over this year, most recently earning her second WAC Player of the Week recognition on Monday. Earlier, she was 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. She is/has:
- The only player in the country averaging at least 16 points, seven rebounds, three steals and 2.5 assists per game
- One of just two players along with Niagara's Aaliyah Parker to average at least 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals per game
- Double-figure scoring in 25 of 27 games
- WAC-best eight double-doubles in conference play alone
- Six games with 20-plus points, including a career-best 35 vs Sam Houston
- Leads team in scoring, rebounding and steals per game while ranking second in assists
- Became one half of the first duo, along with LSU's Angel Reese, to produce multiple 35/20 games on the same day (2/16) across the NBA, WNBA and Division I men's and women's basketball
- Moved into sixth place among all active Division I players in career scoring average with 19.1 PPG
Additionally, Jacobs has ascended to the top 100 nationally in 10 categories.
- Total steals (7th, 86)
- Steals per game (10th, 3.19)
- Free throw attempts (18th, 173)
- Free throws made (29th, 121)
- Double-doubles (43rd, 10)
- Field goals made (52nd, 170)
- Total points (60th, 461)
- Points per game (72nd, 17.1)
- Total rebounds (78th, 220)
- Field goal percentage (86th, 352)
STATS AND STUFF
- In 11 road games for the Lady Mavs this year, Starr Jacobs is averaging a team-best 16.9 points per game while Kayla White (12.8 PPG) and Jireh Washington (11.3 PPG) rank second and third. Jacobs is also averaging 8.7 rebounds per game on the road.
- Kayla White, who has scored 20-or-more points in four of the past seven games, has five such outings in conference play, which puts her one behind Southern Utah's Cherita Daugherty and UTRGV's Iyana Dorsey for the most in WAC play this year. A total of nine players have at least four.
- After 28 games in her career with one block, De'Sha Benjamin recorded multiple blocks for the first time in the win over Sam Houston (2/16).
- With Starr Jacobs reaching 1,000 career points, the Lady Mavs now have three such players on this year's roster, including Jacobs (1,050), Kayla White (1,435) and Jireh Washington (1,392).
- Kayla White, who has averaged 18.9 points per game over the past seven outings, has elevated herself to fifth in the WAC in PPG in conference play at 15.9 per contest, thus giving the Lady Mavs two within the top five along with first-place Starr Jacobs (18.9 PPG).
- In addition to her first-place standing among the WAC's top scorers, Starr Jacobs leads all conference players in steals (3.6/game) and offensive rebounds (4.1/game). She also ranks second in rebounds (10/game), sixth in field goal percentage (.476) and ninth in assists (3.33/game).
- Shyia Smith had her 36-game streak of consecutive starts - dating back to Jan. 20, 2022 against Texas State - snapped in the win over Southern Utah (2/6). The senior forward, who has now missed the past five games due to injury, was the only remaining Lady Mav to start every game this year.
- Jireh Washington produced at least 10 points, five rebounds and five assists in a game this year for the fourth time against Sam Houston.
- The Lady Mavs tied a program record with 34 points in the fourth quarter at Tarleton on Jan. 14, a quarter-scoring record that has been achieved twice prior since the NCAA switched to the non-half format prior to the 2015-16 season.
- De'Sha Benjamin, who had a season-high 17 points in the road win over UTRGV, and Kamaria Gipson, who had a career-high 14 points in the team's road win over Tarleton, achieved both of their highs in the first half alone before going scoreless in the second half of each contest.
- In WAC play, UT Arlington is 4-2 in single-digit games.
FIRST 20
The Lady Mavs are 8-2 in games leading at the half this year and 5-12 in games they're trailing after 20 minutes. Most recently, they defeated Abilene Christian on Saturday after leading 42-36 at halftime.
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
50 points shy of 1,100 in her NCAA career
Shyia Smith
7 steals away from 100 in her NCAA career
3 assists away from 100 in her NCAA career
Jireh Washington
8 points away from 1,400 in her NCAA career
9 made field goals away from 500 in her NCAA career
8 steals away from 200 in her NCAA career
Kayla White
65 points away from 1,500 in her NCAA career
De'Sha Benjamin
3 assists away from 100 in her NCAA career
AMONG ACTIVE NCAA CAREER LEADERS
Jireh Washington,
Kayla White and
Starr Jacobs rank among the nation's best in multiple statistical categories.
- Points - Kayla White (117th, 1,435), Jireh Washington (129th, 1,392)
- Scoring average - Starr Jacobs (6th, 19.1 PPG)
- Field goal attempts - Kayla White (47th, 1,478)
- Free throws made - Jireh Washington (50th, 351)
- Free throw attempts - Jireh Washington (33rd, 518)
FUN WITH NUMBERS
CAREER TOTALS
10+ POINTS IN A GAME
Jireh Washington - 75
Kayla White - 74
Starr Jacobs - 53
De'Sha Benjamin - 38
Shyia Smith - 33
Taleyah Jones - 11
Kamaria Gipson - 8
Nya Threatt - 2
Alexsyah Goudeau - 1
20+ POINTS IN A GAME
Starr Jacobs - 22
Kayla White - 16
Jireh Washington - 16
De'Sha Benjamin - 3
Shyia Smith - 2
Taleyah Jones - 1
30+ POINTS IN A GAME
Starr Jacobs - 3
Kayla White - 1
Jireh Washington - 1
Taleyah Jones - 1
10+ REBOUNDS IN A GAME
Starr Jacobs - 14
Kamaria Gipson - 6
De'Sha Benjamin - 3
Shyia Smith - 3
Jireh Washington - 3
20+ REBOUNDS IN A GAME
Starr Jacobs - 1
10+ ASSISTS IN A GAME
Jireh Washington - 1
DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Starr Jacobs - 14
Kamaria Gipson - 3
Shyia Smith - 2
De'Sha Benjamin - 2
Jireh Washington - 2
CATEGORY LEADERS
PPG
Starr Jacobs – 17.1
Kayla White – 14.7
Jireh Washington – 12.3
Taleyah Jones – 8.3
Shyia Smith – 8.0
RPG
Starr Jacobs – 8.1
Shyia Smith – 5.4
Jireh Washington – 4.8
Kamaria Gipson – 3.8
De'Sha Benjamin – 3.5
APG
Jireh Washington – 4.9
Starr Jacobs – 2.7
Nya Threatt – 1.6
Kayla White – 1.4
Shyia Smith – 1.3
De'Sha Benjamin – 1.3
SPG
Starr Jacobs – 3.2
Jireh Washington – 1.7
Kayla White – 1.5
Alexsyah Goudeau – 1.0
BPG
Kamaria Gipson – 0.8
Shyia Smith – 0.5
Starr Jacobs – 0.5
De'Sha Benjamin – 0.5
GOUDEAU STEPS UP
Alexsyah Goudeau made the first of six consecutive starts on Nov. 29, producing her first of three straight games with eight points. She also grabbed a season-best six rebounds against Baylor (12/7). Most recently, the rookie poured in a season-best 15 points against Utah Tech (2/4), and she has made 11 starts this year.
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.
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM KG
Kamaria Gipson, a third-year transfer from San Diego State, registered the second double-double of her UT Arlington career (third overall) at Utah Valley (2/9). It was also her fifth double-digit scoring effort of the season, including her career high 14 established against Tarleton (1/14). 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 first double-double as a Lady Mav on the 12th. She also mixed in a 10-rebound performance against nationally-ranked Baylor (12/7).
AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS
The Lady Mavs rank among the top 65 teams nationally in five categories:
- Free throw attempts per game (5th, 23.78)
- Free throws made per game (9th, 16.15)
- Steals per game (31st, 10.0)
- Turnovers forced per game (59th, 18.41)
- Scoring offense (65th, 71.5)
EXPERIENCED LINEUP
Despite injuries getting in the way at times, UT Arlington has used the below lineup 10 times this year. It is a group that has combined for 517 games of NCAA Division I experience, and that total becomes 559 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 eight of 13 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 96-60 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 72-22 record.
| 2022-23 |
8-5 |
| 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 |
96-60 |
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: 13-14 (.462)
Overall: 734-718 (.505)
HISTORIC OFFENSE
UT Arlington has produced two of the program's nine all-time games with at least 100 points this season, highlighted by a record 106 points in the double overtime win over Sam Houston on Feb. 16. Along with the 102-point outing against Texas Southern on Nov. 7, which was the most points the Lady Mavs have ever scored in a season opener, this year's team has produced the two-highest scoring games in the program's past 25 seasons.
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
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