LAS CRUCES, N.M. --- Despite a valiant offensive effort in the second half - highlighted by Starr Jacobs scoring 24 of her team-high 26 points - the UT Arlington women's basketball team (13-15, 7-9 WAC) fell 69-60 to New Mexico State (14-14, 9-7 WAC) on the road inside the Pan American Center Thursday.
 
With the loss, the Lady Mavs fell to 5-3 all-time against the Aggies in a series that dates back to 1981, although the two teams hadn't met in nearly 10 years. UTA will conclude the road trip on Saturday at 4 p.m. CT against Grand Canyon.
 
Jacobs, who was limited in the first half due to picking up her second foul just five minutes in, finished 7-of-11 from the field and 12-of-13 from the foul line for 26 points, six rebounds and four assists. In fact, she nearly became the first player in program history to finish 13-of-13 from the charity stripe but missed her final attempt.
 
Despite falling into an 8-0 hole to begin the game, the Lady Mavs chipped away and outscored New Mexico State 10-4 over the final three-and-a-half minutes to trim the deficit to just two.
 
The Aggies answered with the first 10 points of the second quarter and held UTA scoreless until Nya Threatt made a free throw with 4:01 left in the half. UT Arlington's first field goal of the second quarter came on a layup from De'Sha Benjamin with 2:52 left as the Lady Mavs ultimately scored just five points as a team en route to a 30-17 deficit at the break.
 
The big runs continued for New Mexico State to open the second half as they jumped out to a pair of 20-point leads, the second of which came with 7:35 left. After a timeout, though, Taleyah Jones combined with Threatt for a 5-0 run, and a layup from Jacobs with 4:26 left trimmed the deficit to 13.
 
New Mexico State, for the second-consecutive quarter, made a shot in the final seconds to respond and push its margin to 17 through three to set up a combined 48-point fourth quarter.
   
In the final frame, UTA pulled within six on four occasions as Jacobs registered 16 of her 26 points. Three of those buckets that pulled the team within six came from Jacobs, and she assisted on the other - finding Kamaria Gibson for a layup after a quick double team.
 
Despite scoring 20 points in the final quarter, New Mexico State was held without a field goal over the final 5:27 as they finished 14-of-15 from the foul line as a team in the final 10 minutes.
 
Washington and Jones finished with 10 points apiece while combining to go 6-of-6 from the foul line. Washington joined the 1,400-point club for her career with her eighth point, and she also contributed three assists before fouling out. Jones went 4-of-5 from the field and had one of the team's seven steals.
 
In terms of bench production, Threatt added eight points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal, while Benjamin chipped in four points, six rebounds and a game-high three steals.
 
The Aggies were led by a game-high 27 points from Molly Kaiser, while Ene Adams added 12 points and eight rebounds.
 
With the loss, UTA fell to 4-3 in single-digit games in WAC play, as well as 5-13 overall in games they've trailed at the half.

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